# wigglers



## limpinglogan (Sep 23, 2009)

any one use the preserved wigglers for steelhead? waxies have been working well for me but the wigglers seem like they would look better on a hook then a waxie.


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## salmonsteel97 (Nov 18, 2012)

i think that live bait works better
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SALMOTRUTTA (Nov 10, 2010)

ive used wigglers succesfully to catch steelhead through the ice and on a jig under a float. they need to be alive though.


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## troutguy26 (Apr 28, 2011)

Pickled wigs are a joke


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## limpinglogan (Sep 23, 2009)

> Pickled wigs are a joke


I wonder if there is a place to by them alive.

I want to try them for jigging for walleyes on northern lakes during a mayfly hatch...it seems like they would work well.

The only reason I was asking is because I has an old timer tell me he used to use wigglers for steelhead and they look better on a hook in comparison to waxie. I think waxies just look like a clump of white goo...but they work I guess.


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## Fishin' Wizard (Jan 4, 2009)

Columbos bait north of Chelsea will have them if there's ever any ice. They work well for gills. They get them out of Wisconsin but you can seine them in Michigan rivers too. Search this site, we used to do it all the time.


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## troutguy26 (Apr 28, 2011)

Without ice wigglers are hard to find. With ice everyone has em and yes they do work really good for steelhead and walleye and perch and so on. They are to tough to keep is why noone stocks em just cause.


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## vanj85 (Jun 23, 2011)

I know of two maybe 3 places which keep 'em year around except when there out of season, right around the mayfly hatch, due to them hatching. Franks in morley, mi has the biggest and freshest, parsleys in newaygo usually has them, and I think tbn outfitters in down town gr carries 'em year round, but not positive. I've caught a lot of perch, and big gills on em, as well as crappie, pike, steel and walters. I think I have wigglers with me everytime I go out fishing. Best all around live bait in my opinion.


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## StiffNeckRob (Apr 19, 2007)

Brenner's on Northland usually has them and Shoreline in Muskegon had them last weekend.


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## riverbob (Jan 11, 2011)

StiffNeckRob said:


> Brenner's on Northland usually has them and Shoreline in Muskegon had them last weekend.


 brenner's is on west river dr. Never tried canned wiggler's. but live ones work on steel, I've had my best luck using them in feburary.(but they r something different so give them a try any time)


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## riverbob (Jan 11, 2011)

troutguy26 said:


> Without ice wigglers are hard to find. With ice everyone has em and yes they do work really good for steelhead and walleye and perch and so on. They are to tough to keep is why noone stocks em just cause.


 I don't know what ice has to do with wigglers, but i know it's alot harder to get them under the ice then it is in open water.


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## grand isle-usion (May 5, 2009)

Hey Bob, did you do anything after I talked with you last Friday? Sure has been slow in the neighborhood lately.


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## troutguy26 (Apr 28, 2011)

riverbob said:


> I don't know what ice has to do with wigglers, but i know it's alot harder to get them under the ice then it is in open water.


Sales would be one.


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## jrv (Nov 11, 2008)

riverbob said:


> I don't know what ice has to do with wigglers, but i know it's alot harder to get them under the ice then it is in open water.


It's b/c usually only ice fisherman are buying them, so they aren't going to stock them w/out out it. 

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


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## steely74 (Feb 9, 2010)

Wigglers are a pain to keep alive...


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## vanj85 (Jun 23, 2011)

I've never had a problem keeping wiggs alive, just little bit of water and keep cold in a container w/holes. I usually use a rectangle ziplock container with some slits in the top, about an inch of water in the bottom, change out daily. I've kept them alive for weeks that way. I know a lot of stores that stock them in summer as well as winter, just not in transition periods, aka now. If your not using wigglers in the summer fishing your missing out on a great bait to use. I've had panfish not want yo hit anything, worm, waxy, plastics, but drop 2 wiggs on a thin wire hook down and bang the hit like a freight train.


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## riverbob (Jan 11, 2011)

steely74 said:


> Wigglers are a pain to keep alive...


I keep mine in saw dust (hard wood shaving) they keep for a few days n u don't have to change water all the time. the only time i have trouble getting them is in the summer when they r changing


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## tannhd (Dec 3, 2010)

I think D&R in Kzoo has them. 

I dont use them. They creep me out.


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## Roger That (Nov 18, 2010)

tannhd said:


> I think D&R in Kzoo has them.
> 
> I dont use them. They creep me out.




yah me too.. i'm pretty sure they have teeth and/or are some weird alien from the movie Men in Black.


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## -Axiom- (Jul 24, 2010)

You can't find wigglers in the summertime because they are mayflies.


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## tannhd (Dec 3, 2010)

Roger That said:


> yah me too.. i'm pretty sure they have teeth and/or are some weird alien from the movie Men in Black.


 
They look like they want to wiggle up my pee hole and lay eggs.


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## wartfroggy (Jan 25, 2007)

I am not sure what the deal is with everyone commenting on how hard they are to keep alive? you can throw the things in the fridge for over a week and be just fine, how is that hard? 

Also rather suprised that so many people have a hard time getting them down there. Around here, I can think of 5 or 6 places close by that have them 9 times out of 10. But, I guess between availability and demand, they might not be worth it in some areas. 

As to the OP, I would stick with the waxies over preserved. The preserved wiggies are ok in a pinch, but are softer and mushier than live. They are ok for perch during the summer closure that you can't get live, but that is about it. Even live wigglers probably won't stay on your jig as well as a waxie. Live wiggies might be worth trying if you are set on it. Have caught plenty of steelies on fresh wiggies through the ice. Put 1 on each point of a small treble so you have a little gob of bait, and works great.


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## diztortion (Sep 6, 2009)

My Grandpa had gave me some preserved wigglers. 

I went to Tippy and got brutally beat by a person next to me fishing live wigglers..

Never again..

FIN


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## limpinglogan (Sep 23, 2009)

All good stuff to know.


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## llpof (Mar 31, 2012)

wartfroggy said:


> Have caught plenty of steelies on fresh wiggies through the ice. Put 1 on each point of a small treble so you have a little gob of bait, and works great.


Can be done on the pier successfully on calmer days, and besides steel: browns, whites, and menominees in the mix, try them a pair of droppers, like a perch rig.


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## StiffNeckRob (Apr 19, 2007)

riverbob said:


> brenner's is on west river dr. Never tried canned wiggler's. but live ones work on steel, I've had my best luck using them in feburary.(but they r something different so give them a try any time)


 
Yeah, it was a total typo sorry. Trying to multi tasking while posting.


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## REG (Oct 25, 2002)

tannhd said:


> They look like they want to wiggle up my pee hole and lay eggs.


I think they have to get up into your bladder to lay eggs, don't they?:yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes:


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## steelton (Jan 29, 2012)

Those aliens do what they want where they want. The wigglers will be first to rise again after the end of days tomorrow. Now who's laughing.


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## troutguy26 (Apr 28, 2011)

steelton said:


> Those aliens do what they want where they want. The wigglers will be first to rise again after the end of days tomorrow. Now who's laughing.


Well i just woke up and everything seems normal outside. No aliens, wigglers or zombies roaming around. Looks like im in the clear to go fishing and the world isnt ending. Gonna be a cold and windy one tho. No surf for me today.


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## tannhd (Dec 3, 2010)

I guess I'll go fishing too.


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## steelton (Jan 29, 2012)

Well turns out they didn't take over as previously stated. I must have read my calendar wrong. It's another fifty year off yet. Oops. Oh well back to fishing.


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## syonker (May 7, 2004)

What about hellgrammites? 

A little beefier than a wiggler, but with a wicked pincher:rant:


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