How to keep the red worm?

Do you know how to keep the red worm? The red worm is the larva of Chironomus, and it is one of the main baits for fishing in natural waters in many parts of our country, especially in the north, in winter when the temperature is low. The editor below will introduce how to preserve the red worm.

From the beginning of November to April of the following year, for as long as half a year, as long as the fish are still eating, they are especially fond of these small creatures growing in sewers and dead blisters and in pits, ponds and streams, especially as good bait for winter fishing. There is a fishing proverb: "Spring earthworms and summer noodles, fishing for red worms in winter is the first choice." The word "first choice" illustrates the important position of red insects in winter fishing. The winter fishing referred to here includes water fishing after winter, ice fishing after freezing, and water fishing after melting ice in early spring, that is, fishing in the low temperature season mentioned above. In the northeast region, red insects are used for fishing crucian carp and other fish from late October to May Day of the following year. It was not until the temperature rose in early May and the small fish became more active and began to make trouble that they switched to commercial bait fishing.

Category and selection

1. Species of red insects

According to the research of zoologists, red insects are widely distributed all over the world, from tropical swamps to polar regions, from plains to glaciers above 5600 meters. At present, there are more than 5000 known species of Chironomidae in the world and about 500 species in China. The red worms we see in ornamental fish markets and fishing gear stores are just a few of them.

Red worms vary in size and thickness. Anglers used to divide red worms into "male worms" and "female worms". The male worm is 20mm long, 1mm in diameter, 1mm in diameter and 2mm in diameter. It has a short, stout body, a blue-black head, tough skin and resistance to bite. This is the big red bug that is used as bait. The female worm is 25mm long and 30mm in length and less than 1mm in diameter, but its body is slender, thin and soft, and its head is black or green. It is often used as bait. There is also a small red worm, which is only 1 cm long, which is mainly used to feed ornamental fish and can also be mashed and mixed with pasta as bait. The "male worm" and "female worm" mentioned here are actually different kinds of red worms, but they are just names that anglers are used to.

2. The selection of red worms

Although red worms can be used as bait, there are advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, you should choose when buying and collecting by yourself. Like the so-called "male worm" with a blue-black forehead and a stout body, it is easy to survive and durable, and is most favored by anglers. Tie it to the hook, like a blooming red chrysanthemum, sink to the bottom and constantly twist, has a great attraction to the fish, easy to be found and swallowed by the fish. Those so-called "mother worms" that turn green or black on the forehead, light red, long knots and slender, are not only difficult to raise and easy to die, but also difficult to use when fishing. Tie it to the hook half dead, unable to twist, the effect of attracting fish is not as good as the "male worm". Also because of its soft, drooping under the hook for a long time, fish (especially small crucian carp) often only hold the insect body growing out of the hook when eating bait, and raise their head to float before inhaling the hook into the mouth, resulting in a high rate of empty hooks. At the same time, if you encounter a small miscellaneous fish hook, can not be pecked by a small miscellaneous fish, leaving a thin layer of white skin, completely lose the role of attracting fish. Because the "male worm" is selected from one by one of the artificially collected red insects, the price is more expensive, which is 5 to 10 times that of the "female worm". When using "male worm" for fishing, the dosage is far less than that of "female worm". The "male worm" can be like an earthworm, hanging on the hook alone, and its intensity is much higher than that of the "female worm", so anglers mostly use the "male worm" as bait when fishing. The price of "mother worm" is cheap, and it is mostly used to hit nests as bait and red worm bait (together with commercial bait).

How to keep the red worm?

If you collect or buy a lot of red worms, you can't run out of them at one time, or you have a surplus every time you go fishing, you need to keep them. There are many ways to keep red worms. Here are several commonly used methods.

1. Simple preservation method: put it in tea brine or keep it on a wet cloth bag, which can be kept for 2 to 3 days.

2. The method of soil preservation: the red worms can survive for a long time by putting them in a basin with water and sediment, but when using them, you have to sift out the sediment with a specially made small sieve to separate the mud from the insects, which is more troublesome.

3, refrigerator short-term plastic bag storage method: red worms are afraid of heat and cold, temporary collection, can be used plastic bags containing red worms, placed in the refrigerator freezer, can be preserved for 10 to 15 days.

4. Long-term preservation of refrigerator utensils: put red worms in large enamel bowls or glass containers containing clear water, stainless steel lunch boxes and small porcelain pots, keep them in the freezer, or keep them outside in winter to keep them from freezing. Change the water once every two days to pick out the blackened dead red worms in time. This method of keeping red worms survives for a long time, and it is convenient and convenient to use. However, we should be careful not to use plastic and aluminum products to keep red insects, otherwise it will shorten the preservation time. The "mother worm" is very difficult to keep and should be bought now.

5. The method of keeping the bundled red worms: dip the bound red worms with some water first, according to the daily dosage, put them in small plastic bags packed with fruit, and then discharge the air and tie the mouth to death to prevent the water from evaporating. Then freeze them in the freezer and take them out when you leave. If you have a long journey and are afraid that the ice will deteriorate after melting, you can keep it in a thermos cup. The remaining bundles of insects in each fishing can also be preserved in this way, but because some red insects in the remaining bundles have died and the color has changed, the fishing effect will be slightly worse.

6. carrying and preservation of insect bundles: in order to prevent red insects from being tied up in the cold wild environment, and to start fishing in the shortest possible time, red insects should be tied up at home before fishing. The bundled bugs should be put in a fishhook box, put all the thread ends outside the box, and then store the box in the freezer, not in a warm room, otherwise the red worm will easily die and deteriorate. As the hookup rate of live insects is higher than that of dead insects, live insects should be used as much as possible when temperature conditions permit. When using outdoors, it should be noted that the storage temperature should not be lower than zero, the frozen red worm will break as soon as it is touched, and the frozen red worm can continue to be used. When the temperature is below zero, you can put the red worm in the pocket of your coat. When the temperature is above zero, it can be cooled on the ice and covered with sunshade. Hold a bundle of worms when in use, and then pull the thread out. Don't pull the wire and pull the worm, it's easy to pull the worm off.

7. Wild carrying and preservation of live red worms: if you are afraid that the red worms will not be enough, spread several layers of wet cloth or newspaper in a small box, put the red worms in and cover them with newspapers, store and carry them in a place with a temperature higher than 0 ℃ and less than 5 ℃. When you come back from fishing, store it in a container for keeping live red worms.