Red worms
- Thread starter Bigroach3
- Start date
I'd like to know too. All the "redworms" I've bought have turned out to be brandlings.
Years ago we to be able to collect them at a local pig farm, they were an excellent bait. Unfortunately the farm was compulsory purchased and a shopping centre built on it.
Years ago we to be able to collect them at a local pig farm, they were an excellent bait. Unfortunately the farm was compulsory purchased and a shopping centre built on it.
Try horse riding stables. They often have a muck heap and are usually receptive to some worming for free. Here in Lincolnshire like other rural counties one often sees bags of horse manure outside an address for sale per the bag. Have a dig around in one as these are often loaded with redworm.
Look after the stock when you find some as they breed like billyo and you will have redworm for years.
My stock has travelled with me from property to property for at least 40 years.
Somewhere in the archives of this forum I described an easy compact way of keeping and breeding them that gives worms all year even in the coldest weather.
I think I called the thread " My Wormery".
Look after the stock when you find some as they breed like billyo and you will have redworm for years.
My stock has travelled with me from property to property for at least 40 years.
Somewhere in the archives of this forum I described an easy compact way of keeping and breeding them that gives worms all year even in the coldest weather.
I think I called the thread " My Wormery".
markcw
Exiled Northerner
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Have you tried Willy Worms ?
I buy all my maggots from Willy worms. Unfortunately, they only do Lobworms & Dendrobaenos.
sam vimes
Well-known member
I've long been puzzled by our smaller worm species. In my youth, brandlings and redworms were simply different names for the same thing. The name you used largely seemed to depend on the region you lived in. Somewhere down the line, dendrobaena worms turned up and redworms/brandlings became a thing of the past unless you had access to a good pile of muck and were willing to dig. What I knew as brandlings in my youth were dug from the horse muck heap on the local farrier's allotment. They were an absolutely devastating bait for the local grayling, though you needed plenty because they were very soft.
Fast forward thirty five years and everyone seems to believe that redworms and brandlings are different, redworms are brilliant bait and brandlings are terrible bait that actually repel fish. I've also heard people say similar about dendros and the yellow liquid they exude when hooked. It's got to the point that I now have no idea what I was using as a kid other than they weren't dendros and they weren't lobworms. It's also interesting that at least some of the lobworms available from tackle shops may be Canadian Nightcrawlers. These may or may not be a different species depending on what you read.
I wish I knew what was going on and I wish I still had a good source of the small worms muck heap worms I used to use, regardless of what they were called.
Fast forward thirty five years and everyone seems to believe that redworms and brandlings are different, redworms are brilliant bait and brandlings are terrible bait that actually repel fish. I've also heard people say similar about dendros and the yellow liquid they exude when hooked. It's got to the point that I now have no idea what I was using as a kid other than they weren't dendros and they weren't lobworms. It's also interesting that at least some of the lobworms available from tackle shops may be Canadian Nightcrawlers. These may or may not be a different species depending on what you read.
I wish I knew what was going on and I wish I still had a good source of the small worms muck heap worms I used to use, regardless of what they were called.
Chris, Yes like you I suddenly became aware of Dendras. I have assumed that brandlings were the worms tackle shops sold in expensive little tubs. I have assumed they were the same as what gardening websites called tiger worms or compost worms.
Lob worms have been the big ones dug in the garden.
My redworms in my wormery are definitely different from any of the above. They are smaller, reder and are very easy to breed. In fact sometimes when I have left a forgotten bait tub on the garage floor they have bred in it producing many little white thread like offspring. One could almost say they breed like rabbits!
The wormery I referred to above supplies redworm all year round as long as I put bubble wrap or similar under the lid. Fish of all sorts love them and should I require a bigger bait for a bigger hook I simply use two or three.
If you want a starter breeding batch you may still have my telephone number or just PM me.
Lob worms have been the big ones dug in the garden.
My redworms in my wormery are definitely different from any of the above. They are smaller, reder and are very easy to breed. In fact sometimes when I have left a forgotten bait tub on the garage floor they have bred in it producing many little white thread like offspring. One could almost say they breed like rabbits!
The wormery I referred to above supplies redworm all year round as long as I put bubble wrap or similar under the lid. Fish of all sorts love them and should I require a bigger bait for a bigger hook I simply use two or three.
If you want a starter breeding batch you may still have my telephone number or just PM me.
Its worth repeating this for those wanting their own endless supply of REDWORM baits all year round.It is a rough diagram I know but it explains the basics of it.
You need a plastic dustbin or similar. With a clip on lid. Small holes drilled under the lid for ventilation. CUT THE BOTTOM COUPLE OF INCHES OFF THE BOTTOM. Bury the bin to just below the ventilation holes. This is what winterises it. In winter cover the inner vege matter with bubble wrap or a piece of old carpet for insulation. An inch or two of gravel for drainage in the bottom. After a year or so the bottom layer will look like soil and is good for the garden. KEEP TOPPING UP WITH VEGE MATTER. Dont let it dry out in summer.
Its not for those who match fish and want big amounts of worm for chop every week but it will supply free bait enough for a couple of trips a week for pleasure anglers.
Dont get back and say that you have a muck pile. Not everyone has. This is for people with a square yard of ground to use in a garden without the hassle of collecting them.
It is mostly below ground level as this is what makes it winter proof.
The small ventilation holes below the clip on dustbin lid must be small enough to stop slugs getting in and breeding unless you want them as bait that is.
Bubble wrap under the lid ensures worms even in freezing weather. Sorry about the sideways poor diagram but it does illustrate it.
You need a plastic dustbin or similar. With a clip on lid. Small holes drilled under the lid for ventilation. CUT THE BOTTOM COUPLE OF INCHES OFF THE BOTTOM. Bury the bin to just below the ventilation holes. This is what winterises it. In winter cover the inner vege matter with bubble wrap or a piece of old carpet for insulation. An inch or two of gravel for drainage in the bottom. After a year or so the bottom layer will look like soil and is good for the garden. KEEP TOPPING UP WITH VEGE MATTER. Dont let it dry out in summer.
Its not for those who match fish and want big amounts of worm for chop every week but it will supply free bait enough for a couple of trips a week for pleasure anglers.
Dont get back and say that you have a muck pile. Not everyone has. This is for people with a square yard of ground to use in a garden without the hassle of collecting them.
It is mostly below ground level as this is what makes it winter proof.
The small ventilation holes below the clip on dustbin lid must be small enough to stop slugs getting in and breeding unless you want them as bait that is.
Bubble wrap under the lid ensures worms even in freezing weather. Sorry about the sideways poor diagram but it does illustrate it.
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Thanks Pete - that plugged-in-the-ground model looks good and makes much more sense than the attempts I made with various big plastic containers. They involved a lot of messing around with compost, and I now know something I didn't about decaying vegetable matter. It contains plenty of aspergillus mold spores. We breathe them in all the time, and normally our lungs clean themselves. But if you have impaired immune system - I do, side effect of rheumatoid arthritis treatment - they move in and cause fungal infection, aspergillosis, in the lungs. Users of corticosteroids are vulnerable, too, and I've had my share of those. Mine came on after playing around with wormeries that never worked anyway - lose: lose. I keep my hands out of compost these days, although staying away from damp decayed vegetation is tricky for an angler.
I recognise those little redworms. I used to get loads at the bottom of a compost heap in the garden when I lived at home, and from muckheaps later. You'd never confuse them with the bigger, mass-produced dendra's or the brandlings you'd find near them sometimes. Great bait for roach and bream. There's a sign on the counter in my local ts: We sell proper redworms. There's also a worm farm a few miles away where you can buy as many dendra's as you want. The bloke used to breed his own, but has simplified his operation by buying in small worms and feeding them on. He gave me and a friend a tour of the sheds - I can show a girl a good time - and the worms are in big shallow trays of compost and fed on layers' mash chicken feed. One of our members on here is a worm fan, and is happy to hit the bank with just a kilo of them for bait and catch everything that swims. I've really only used them as hookbait apart from adding some chop to casters for roach in certain waters, but I can see the attraction of feeding and fishing them.
I recognise those little redworms. I used to get loads at the bottom of a compost heap in the garden when I lived at home, and from muckheaps later. You'd never confuse them with the bigger, mass-produced dendra's or the brandlings you'd find near them sometimes. Great bait for roach and bream. There's a sign on the counter in my local ts: We sell proper redworms. There's also a worm farm a few miles away where you can buy as many dendra's as you want. The bloke used to breed his own, but has simplified his operation by buying in small worms and feeding them on. He gave me and a friend a tour of the sheds - I can show a girl a good time - and the worms are in big shallow trays of compost and fed on layers' mash chicken feed. One of our members on here is a worm fan, and is happy to hit the bank with just a kilo of them for bait and catch everything that swims. I've really only used them as hookbait apart from adding some chop to casters for roach in certain waters, but I can see the attraction of feeding and fishing them.
sam vimes
Well-known member
This is part of the problem. The only source I can find that insists that redworms and brandlings (and a variety of other names) are not one and the same are anglers. I put a link in my original post, but I suspect that doing the text link thing tends to lead to them being missed. The article suggests that redworm, brandling worm, panfish worm, trout worm, tiger worm, red wiggler worm are all names used for the same thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenia_fetida
I don't know what to believe but I know plenty of anglers believe that brandlings are different to redworms.
Thanks for the offer. Unfortunately, I have absolutely nowhere that I could put a wormery.
rayner
Well-known member
I really thought that brandlings were nothing like red worms. Red worms that I get are softer that can come off on the cast, the brandling seeps a yellow liquid that I believe puts fish off eating them plus they are hard. The place for reds is as said above by John Step, manure heaps. Well-rotted manure is where to dig new manure is too hot for worms.
sam vimes
Well-known member
I accept that loads of anglers think that redworms are different to brandlings. However, I used to get my "brandlings" from a long established mature horse muck heap and they were pretty small, soft and not very resilient. There was no need to change hook size from those I'd fish single maggots with. The "brandlings" I used did not excrete a yellow liquid when hooked. The first time I saw that was when dendrobaenas first appeared in tackle shops. I've yet to find dendrobaenas that are as effective (or as small) as the little muck heap worms of my youth.
As said previously, a good Googling only reveals non-angling sources that suggest that a multitude of different names (redworm, brandling and more) are applied to one single type of worm. I really don't know whether those that insist that redworms are different to brandlings are right. However, no matter how insistent anglers may be about it, they aren't very forthcoming with anything close to definitive. However, as so many are so insistent, I can only assume that what I collected and called "brandlings" were indeed redworms. I've no idea what others might be talking about when they say "brandling".
As said previously, a good Googling only reveals non-angling sources that suggest that a multitude of different names (redworm, brandling and more) are applied to one single type of worm. I really don't know whether those that insist that redworms are different to brandlings are right. However, no matter how insistent anglers may be about it, they aren't very forthcoming with anything close to definitive. However, as so many are so insistent, I can only assume that what I collected and called "brandlings" were indeed redworms. I've no idea what others might be talking about when they say "brandling".
It's not the first time confusion has arisen over the absence of a standard vocab to name things. The distinction between what some of us call redworms and brandlings is stark. Rayner pointed out two differences that I recognise. The tubs of Proper Red Worms sold in my ts are nothing like brandlings or dendra's.
Maybe this worm-spotter flow-chart helps. Maybe not. Language is slippery. A red worm need not be the same as a redworm, and many kinds of worm are red/reddish in colour. Two girls at Butlins. One had a red coat in the wardrobe. The other had a Redcoat in hers. A paper bag is made of paper. The paper boy isn't.
Maybe this worm-spotter flow-chart helps. Maybe not. Language is slippery. A red worm need not be the same as a redworm, and many kinds of worm are red/reddish in colour. Two girls at Butlins. One had a red coat in the wardrobe. The other had a Redcoat in hers. A paper bag is made of paper. The paper boy isn't.
sam vimes
Well-known member
It's an interesting chart. However, what type of worm do you lot mean when you say "redworm"? I can only see the "red head worm" that fits the name and the "compost worm" that might fit the residing in muck heaps description that many give.
Language is indeed a slippery thing. However, I suspect that these names are used in a rather haphazard way amongst anglers. I also suspect a distinct regional slant in much the same way as what ruffe (ruffe, pope, daddy etc) are called in different parts of the country. We can easily be using the same names for totally different things or calling the same thing different names.
Language is indeed a slippery thing. However, I suspect that these names are used in a rather haphazard way amongst anglers. I also suspect a distinct regional slant in much the same way as what ruffe (ruffe, pope, daddy etc) are called in different parts of the country. We can easily be using the same names for totally different things or calling the same thing different names.
sam vimes
Well-known member
Interesting reading that no distinction was made until the 1980s and that some are still not entirely convinced that there is any distinction.
rayner
Well-known member
As stated by sam vimes there is a list of worms all called reds. A search found that in the USA red worms are called red wrigglers, also sold as red wrigglers are Indian blues. After seeing an Indian blue worm, it does indeed resemble a brandling worm. It has the characteristic yellow tail and moves differently. To move it stretches out where reds do not, also the (citella) saddle on the red worm is raised, on a branding, it is not the brandling has a yellow tail.
From memory, bearing in mind it was forty years ago when I last collected them, the stripes were much less pronounced, if any and didn't exude the yellow liquid when pierced.
If only they hadn't built Teesside park I'd have gone and got you a bucketfull.
If only they hadn't built Teesside park I'd have gone and got you a bucketfull.
sam vimes
Well-known member
I don't recall the "brandlings" I used exuding the yellow liquid. I didn't encounter that until dendrobaenas arrived in the tackle shops. I can only conclude that what I was calling brandlings were in fact what many anglers are calling redworms.