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Buy your mealworms early
#1
If you order your mealworms, for ice fishing, through the Internet, I would suggest that you don't wait.  Yesterday, I ordered mealworms on rainbowmealworms.net and they won't be shipped until November 30th.  They explained to me that because many pet supply stores have gone out of business, and because USPS and FedEx are limiting the number of shipments that they are allowed to ship each day, that shipping is being delayed.
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#2
Thanks for the reminder Kent. Last year local supplies seemed sketchy and it will probably be worse this year. How do you store your worms?
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j.o.a.t.m.o.n.

jack of all tackle, master of none
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#3
(11-20-2020, 04:20 PM)joatmon Wrote: Thanks for the reminder Kent.  Last year local supplies seemed sketchy and it will probably be worse this year.  How do you store your worms?

I put my mealworms in a sealed container (with holes in the lid) in some old grain that I have.  They store fine in my unheated garage (stays above freezing) until it starts to get warm, in the spring, when I move them into my bait fridge.
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#4
(11-20-2020, 04:20 PM)joatmon Wrote: Thanks for the reminder Kent.  Last year local supplies seemed sketchy and it will probably be worse this year.  How do you store your worms?

I buy 1000 at a time and store them in the garage. As long as your garage is at or around refrigerator temps, they’ll keep for a long time. I tend to lose more when it gets closer to freezing.
I had to call in sick so I could go to Lake Powell!
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#5
Kent that is a great tip, but I struggle keeping mine alive if I buy a big quantity, but I've never tried the grain storage idea, I have a bunch of seed grain left over in my shed and so I'll have to try it this year... Problem is it gets pretty cold in the unheated shed in Cache Valley, so I probably won't get too many at a time... Thanks for the tip.. Jeff
When things get stressful think I'll go fish'en and worry about it tomorrow!
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#6
(11-20-2020, 06:39 PM)kentofnsl Wrote:
(11-20-2020, 04:20 PM)joatmon Wrote: Thanks for the reminder Kent.  Last year local supplies seemed sketchy and it will probably be worse this year.  How do you store your worms?

I put my mealworms in a sealed container (with holes in the lid) in some old grain that I have.  They store fine in my unheated garage (stays above freezing) until it starts to get warm, in the spring, when I move them into my bait fridge.
What is the advantage to storing them in the grain?
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#7
Has anybody but me ever had no luck at all with meal worms. I have been buying them and using them for 30 years and don't remember ever catching anything on them. But I keep hearing they are working, so I keep getting them. My last to trips to Henry's, I watched Obifishcenobi catch 78 fish and I think all but 2 on meal worms. But I fished all day with him using the same thing as him and a meal worm and I got one bite and missed it. Today I skipped the meal worms and just tipped with sucker or just a inch of night crawler and I did good.
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#8
(11-23-2020, 06:54 PM)Matador Wrote: What is the advantage to storing them in the grain?

All I know is that it worked.  I felt like I wanted to keep them dry and so I put them in dry grain.  Some years, I have fed them slices of potatoes, carrots and apples, but most years I just let them fast.

(11-24-2020, 01:12 AM)fast_randy Wrote: Has anybody but me ever had no luck at all with meal worms. I have been buying them and using them for 30 years and don't remember ever catching anything on them.  But I keep hearing they are working, so I keep getting them. My last to trips to Henry's, I watched Obifishcenobi catch 78 fish and I think all but 2 on meal worms. But I fished all day with him using the same thing as him and a meal worm and I got one bite and missed it. Today I skipped the meal worms and just tipped with sucker or just a inch of night crawler and I did good.

They have always worked for me when fishing for trout.  I have even had good luck with them after ice fishing.  I like the giant ones and sometimes will tip with two of them.  I also like to use cut bait and crawlers.
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#9
Randy are you using a whole meal worm? If so tear them in half and kind of squish out some guts... Last year meal worms were my number one bait... However, before I started doing the tear and squish I didn't catch much with them... Meal worms lasted a little longer on the hook than the wax worms and they stand a little more cold too...

Also to go along with the grain story, when I was a kid we used to have a grainery where we stored chopped grain to feed the cattle, in the corner of this building was a big pile of grain dust that we didn't feed because it was basically flour, anyway that pile was full of meal worms, so grain is a natural food for the meal worms, so that's why his idea is so good... I'd just forgotten that until he reminded me...

One last thing on bait, where it's legal to use, I found small chunks of perch was a really good bait as well... Sure hope I can find some bait this year, I haven't even started to look for any yet... Later Jeff
When things get stressful think I'll go fish'en and worry about it tomorrow!
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#10
(11-24-2020, 01:43 AM)kentofnsl Wrote:
(11-23-2020, 06:54 PM)Matador Wrote: What is the advantage to storing them in the grain?

All I know is that it worked.  I felt like I wanted to keep them dry and so I put them in dry grain.  Some years, I have fed them slices of potatoes, carrots and apples, but most years I just let them fast.


They have always worked for me when fishing for trout.  I have even had good luck with them after ice fishing.  I like the giant ones and sometimes will tip with two of them.  I also like to use cut bait and crawlers.

Thank you for the reply Kent.
Very interesting. Sounds like climate control then.
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#11
It is just plain weird is all I can say. I have been pinching the heads off them. And I have tried them right side up and upside down. I just have no confidence at all with them, so they don't work with me.
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#12
(11-24-2020, 01:16 PM)SkunkedAgain Wrote: Randy are you using a whole meal worm?  If so tear them in half and kind of squish out some guts...

I never do that; however, I can see how that would work when fishing for panfish.  When fishing for trout I would suggest trying them whole and sometimes even go with two meal worms.

(11-24-2020, 04:00 PM)fast_randy Wrote: It is just plain weird is all I can say. I have been pinching the heads off them. And I have tried them right side up and upside down. I just have no confidence at all with them, so they don't work with me.

I have always found it interesting how one angler will have great success with a particular rig or bait and another angler will have limited or no success fishing with the same rig or bait.  Confidence in a bait or rig sure seems to make a huge difference.
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#13
Went to walmart today to get meal worms... nada. Are they at sportsmans? Where you guys finding them locally?
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#14
O man that don't sound good, I haven't gotten any yet... You might try Pet's Mart, they use them to feed lizards or something, so that's where I go when I can't find them at the fishing stores... Good luck and leave a few for me... Later Jeff
When things get stressful think I'll go fish'en and worry about it tomorrow!
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#15
Got my seasonal bait orders in (waxies & mealies) which should arrive by Dec 1-3. While I have never had an issue keeping my supply of mealies alive just placing them in the garage fridge. Over the years I have had issues sometimes with the waxies. The fridge can be a bit to cold as its at the preferred beverage temp. I have started placing the waxies on a shelf in the garage which stays about 40-45deg with better success. I definitely will be adding some grain into the mix for the mealies, Thanks for the tip
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#16
(11-24-2020, 04:16 PM)kentofnsl Wrote:
(11-24-2020, 01:16 PM)SkunkedAgain Wrote: Randy are you using a whole meal worm?  If so tear them in half and kind of squish out some guts...

I never do that; however, I can see how that would work when fishing for panfish.  When fishing for trout I would suggest trying them whole and sometimes even go with two meal worms.

(11-24-2020, 04:00 PM)fast_randy Wrote: It is just plain weird is all I can say. I have been pinching the heads off them. And I have tried them right side up and upside down. I just have no confidence at all with them, so they don't work with me.

I have always found it interesting how one angler will have great success with a particular rig or bait and another angler will have limited or no success fishing with the same rig or bait.  Confidence in a bait or rig sure seems to make a huge difference.

Kent, I guess I don't use them for trout much, I typically use those crappie nuggets when I fish for trout...  So you were right on the money with the panfish/bass prediction, also if I am down sizing and using the tungsten jigs I just use the half meal worm..  Trout also seem to like the wax worms better than the meal worms for me...  

Randy, I always take a full selection of bait with me if I can find it...  and I tend to use the spikes, waxies, meal, night crawlers, nuggets and cut bait.... I truly believe that the lure is just the bait delivery device, and they don't tend to matter as much as what you're feeding the fish on them...  If i have some of all the bait types, I'll rotate through them if I can't get a bite... But meal and nuggets tend to weather the cold better, so when the crawlers and waxies have frozen stiff I usually end up using the meal worms and nuggets the majority of the time, so I catch more fish on them than the rest... (cutbait is always good too)  Do you have an underwater camera?  After watching how the fish take the lures, I tend to believe that twitching at the right time will entice more hits than the prime rib of baits, but maybe it takes both??? I'm sure getting ready to hit the ice... Soon I hope... Later Jeff
When things get stressful think I'll go fish'en and worry about it tomorrow!
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#17
Forgot to mention. I never used to pinch an end off of the mealies and since I have started to do this my amounts of strikes have increased. This includes pannies and trout. My biggest laker (36in) was caught on a 1/2oz pk flutterfish with 3 pinched mealies, pretty sure I just got lucky on that one though (right place, right time). Now this is JMO and it works for me so far.
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#18
Jeff, I agree and always have everything when I fish. All you mentioned including all the power baits, and I always have red sided shiners and sucker meat also. That's why I always have meal worms, just in case. Lol. I have a seven gallon bucket with a seat cover that is plum full with everything I can think of.
Normally, at least the last 4 or 5 years, I did great with a white tube and red sided shiner, it's what's I used to use at Strawberry for the cuts before I moved to Idaho. But this year I couldn't catch one on that.
And I do have a new camera. The new Vexler IR. I took it the first trip when I met Shawn at the fish hatchery. I had just got it the evening before and when I found Shawn and started fishing, it was still have dark. And I didn't realize that a piece of plastic was over the lens. I messed with it and couldn't find my jigs. I'm the meantime I was watching Shawn pull fish after fish up. So I left it in the truck after I took Shaw to Staley.
When I got home, I hung the camera from my deck to try and figure out how to tell witch way it was pointing. I found the plastic on the lens. But I was thinking about painting the side of the cable white. So I just had to point the white side of the cable to the jig. But I just took my helix 5 sonar the last time. Maybe I'll take my camera Friday when I go back.
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#19
Last time I was to Henry's on ice last winter, the camera didn't help much, but the trip before it was the best thing ever... I could watch the fish come in and take my jigs, it was great, but last year I was fishing deeper and it was harder to see the fish... so it kind of depends on where you're fishing and it may or may not be the best thing ever....

Randy I built a manual rotator for my camera, I think I'm going to like it more than the automatic one, but to me, you have to have some sort of panning device to control your camera position or else they are useless... Once you control the camera position, they become really nice tools... Later Jeff
When things get stressful think I'll go fish'en and worry about it tomorrow!
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#20
Jeff, can you put a picture of your panning deal on? I guess I should utube it.

We were in 10 feet Monday. But I have one or two infrared lights I can turn on. I didn't know you had to turn them on at the screen when I tried it before.
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