The name Night crawlers can conjure up some wild images in our imaginations. So, let me assure you that the night crawlers we’re talking about aren’t the blue, pointy tailed, teleporting mutant from Marvel’s X-Men franchise.
The Night crawlers, we’re going to be talking about, are the big, plump, juicy worms you see on top of your lawn or sidewalks after a heavy rain.
As a kid, my friends and I ran around collecting night crawlers because they were good, free fish bait. We even went out with flashlights on rainy nights, hunting them to go fishing the next day.
Why all this fuss over a big juicy worm? Well, because there aren’t many fish that don’t like to chomp on a juicy, night crawler dangling on a worm rig, including bass, perch, panfish, catfish, trout, and more. Read on to see how this popular bait can keep your target species biting under the ice.
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Do Night Crawlers work for ice fishing?
Night crawlers are one of the most common baits for fishing. Probably because they work so well for many species and are readily available in our surroundings and bait shops. Crawlers still work for ice fishing, but some rules change.
In the colder water, fish are sluggish and bite less aggressively. The frozen surface changes which foods are natural at this time of year. As a result, some species like walleye don’t go for night crawlers like they do in warmer weather.
Relax, many other game fish still enjoy a plump nightcrawler snack. Before we get into how to use them for ice fishing, let’s learn a little about them.
Everything You Ever Wanted Know About Night crawlers
Originally from Western Europe, night crawlers are an invasive species. For this reason, many state DNRs ask that you not dump them in forested areas and throw leftover crawlers in the trash.
They are a type of earthworm in the lumbricus genus. Night crawlers are 4-8 inches long with a reddish brown color. They feed on the live and dead plant material on the soil’s surface. Tunneling through the soil helps Aerate and water the soil, improving soil quality.
We can find Night crawlers in gardens, fields and lawns, and it’s not uncommon to see them on sidewalks or driveways after a heavy soaking rain.
They earned the name of nightcrawler since they mostly come out at night, the reason being, they must remain moist to allow breathing through their skin, coming out in the sunlight could dry and suffocate them.
Night crawlers and earthworms are cold-blooded, so, when ice fishing, you want to protect them from freezing. The following video gives some excellent suggestions for maintaining them on the ice.
How Do You Ice Fish With a Night crawler?
When fishing with night crawlers, always remember they work best when alive, so take the steps mentioned above to prevent freezing or just keep them warm in a small, tightly sealed jar in your coat pocket.
Target species decides how you use night crawlers while ice fishing. If you are ice fishing for lake trout, a whole nightcrawler with a worm harness is an excellent strategy.
A worm harness comprises one or two hooks strung together in line with a leader. Shiny, flash objects attract trout, so the worm harness often has beads, a spinner blade, or both. To use the nightcrawler harness, jig your rig 2-3 feet off the bottom in a rhythmic motion.
Another method is to use a nightcrawler on a hook, use a worm blower to fill it with air so it floats up over the sinker.
For many other species, a combination of jigs tipped with a piece of night crawler is effective.
Vary jig size based on your target species. Jig your bait about 2 feet off the bottom. If that doesn’t work, pound the bottom a little with your jig, then bounce it about a foot off the bottom.
Don’t be stingy with the bait. A larger crawler can entice a larger fish.
What Fish are Night crawlers Good For?
In the winter and under the ice, night crawlers don’t work well for larger game fish like Northern Pike or Walleye. For these species, it is best to stick with minnows, chubs or shiners that are still typically present under the ice.
Perch may show some interest in night crawlers, but still prefer minnows. Panfish will go after crawlers but be sure to appropriate size hooks and smaller bits of night crawler. For more information on hook style and sizes, read, What Size Hook Should I Use For Ice Fishing.
Crappie are the big mouths of the panfish world, so if they’re your target species, go with a larger hook and probably a whole nightcrawler.
If you break up a nightcrawler into smaller parts, don’t put them back with the whole night crawlers. Something about the injured crawler kills the others. Also, when you head home for the day, you can keep your leftover crawlers in the fridge for the next. Just don’t let them freeze.
What is the Best Bait For Ice Fishing?
Ask this question on an ice fishing forum and the answers would probably never end. However, as you read through those answers, a consensus of sorts would emerge, and that consensus is live bait in some form.
In the cold-water, fish are slow to take your bite because their metabolisms are lower, so are their oxygen needs. Therefore, it takes more to prompt a bite. Live bait has the added advantage of adding scent to the water that fish can sense.
A hooked minnow or shiner doesn’t resemble a bait fish in distress, it is a bait fish in distress and a tempting free lunch to a hungry fish. A night crawler or maggot on a hook or Jig adds motion to your bait and scent as a further enticement to a lethargic game fish.
When selecting a live bait, choose one that you know to be a common part of the food chain where you’re fishing and your target species is more likely to take your bait.
Can You Use Worms for Ice Fishing?
Night crawlers are a type of earthworm, so, yes, you can use worms for Ice fishing. With that said, there are also wax worms which are the larva of wax moths. I’ve landed a lot of Steelhead trout with wax worms on a black or chartreuse jig.
Maggots aren’t worms, but we use them similar to wax worms for bait. Then there are red worms. They are much smaller and thinner than night crawlers. They wiggle like crazy and are good for smaller panfish like bluegill or smaller perch because of their small mouth sizes.
Wrapping It Up.
So in the end, Night crawlers aren’t as effective under the ice as they are in warmer open water. But they still work well for several popular game fish like lake trout, crappie and occasionally perch.
They are inexpensive and readily available in bait shops even over the winter. They’re easy to keep alive, just don’t let them freeze, and they keep well when you have crawlers left.
With this and more going for them, it seems you can’t go wrong using night crawlers for ice fishing.