# Where to go digging for wigglers



## Jim_MI (Jul 9, 2012)

The bait shops around me only carry preserved wigglers now. I would like to try digging up some fresh ones to use for spring perch fishing. I built a digger thing out of a coffee can with the bottom cut out and covered by 1/8" wire mesh. It catches dragonfly and stone stonefly larva and that sort of thing in mucky near-shore areas of local lakes, but no wigglers yet. Anybody know where I might be able to dig up some fresh wigglers around the Charlevoix area?

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## detroitjim (May 9, 2016)

Lots of suggestions on where to find them . Maybe not specific to Charlevoix but the type of waters to look for.
The "search" function at the top of the page works good.

https://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/threads/wigglers.13506/

https://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/threads/diggin-wigglers.645005/#post-7348109


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## Huntnut (Jan 21, 2000)

We use a floating box about 2' x 3' made of 2x6 with foam on the outside so it would float. The bottom of the box was 1/4" wire square mesh.

Square shovel fulls of mud/muck and shake it in the water to sift the mud out and leave the wigglers trapped and exposed in the box. 4 or 5 shovel fulls in and shake.

Mucky muddy bottoms with those little **** tail weeds in the slow water or sloughs were the best. Sometimes, you can see the wiggler holes in the mud bottom. Most of the bugs will be in the top 6 or 7 inches of mud.

Can't tell you my best wiggler spots...that's like giving up prime mushroom spots! A good spot will give up a few hundred giant wigglers in an hours worth of effort.

Diggin bugs for steelies and trout is the very first stop we make when we hit the rivers for a couple days of fishin. Incredible bait...way bigger and way more lively than what you get in the bait shops.

Big enough to grab the chrome by the nose!

Have fun!


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## Jim_MI (Jul 9, 2012)

Thanks for the advice, guys. I tried the boot-sucking mud of a local creek today and caught several dozen. Now what? I put them in a shallow pan with some creek bottom mud and a bubbler stone. Any advice on how to keep them healthy until I get out fishing?

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## salmon_slayer06 (Mar 19, 2006)

thank you for sharing learn something new everyday


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## 6Speed (Mar 8, 2013)

detroitjim said:


> Lots of suggestions on where to find them . Maybe not specific to Charlevoix but the type of waters to look for.
> The "search" function at the top of the page works good.
> 
> https://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/threads/wigglers.13506/
> ...


Great old top thread there. Don ended up making me a fine wiggler seine back then and I still have it. The difference between his version and Huntnut's is that he used PVC pipe about 3" in diameter and glued caps on each end for flotation.

Sure was good seeing some old members in that thread and Spanky giving me some crap. The search function on this site is a good tool to use guys!


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## Jim_MI (Jul 9, 2012)

I was able to download a circa 1953 fisheries research doctoral dissertation on the life cycle of hexagenia limbata (mayfly nymphs) from the U of M Forestry Library. Lots of interesting info! To answer some of my own questions:
1. Wigglers burrow into marl / muck where they live in U-shaped tunnels. The larger ones dig deeper tunnels, but none deeper than about 6". The greater the sand content of the bottom, the fewer wigglers there will be because their tunnels collapse if made in sand. In good bottom marl, bug density will range from 5-25 wigglers per square foot.
2. They eat muck and whatever microscopic organisms inhabit it, such as algae and diatoms. 
3. The more living plant vegetation in the muck, the fewer the wigglers. So when hunting,, look for their 1/4" - 1/2" diameter tunnels in areas devoid of weeds.
4. They require oxygenated water, which they pump through the tunnel using their multiple gill flagellae. They will die within 12-30 hrs in stagnant (unoxygenated) water. When conditions are right, they will remain in the muck. When oxygen gets low they lay on top the muck. When sufficiently distressed they will begin swimming around toward the surface and eventually "drown". But sometimes when they look dead they can be revived by getting dissolved oxygen back into the water.
5. They can be found at depths from 6" to greater than 20 ft, if oxygen and marly bottom conditions permit. 
6. After collection,, they can be raised naturally in "cages" made out of large (> 5 gal) paint cans, with large holes cut in the sides and top that are then tightly covered with wire screen to prevent escape. Put 4-6" of muck in the bottom, add wigglers and stake this vertically in a flowing cold stream bed. The stream will provide oxygen.
7. They can be raised indoors in an aquarium with 4-6" of muck and an aerator stone. Add algae or freshen / replace the muck periodically. 
8. They survive well over a wide temperature range (32 - 80 F) but will mature more quickly in warmer water, especially when food is plentiful. That's a bad thing if you are planning to use them for bait, since they can emerge as winged mayflies in less than 1 yr under indoor lab conditions.
9. The usual life cycle in a lake or stream requires 2-3 years to grow from egg to nymph to adult. 

Probably more than anyone wanted to know, but it helped me understand how to collect and maintain these for perch bait.

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## Huntnut (Jan 21, 2000)

6Speed said:


> Great old top thread there. Don ended up making me a fine wiggler seine back then and I still have it. The difference between his version and Huntnut's is that he used PVC pipe about 3" in diameter and glued caps on each end for flotation.
> 
> Sure was good seeing some old members in that thread and Spanky giving me some crap. The search function on this site is a good tool to use guys!


Yep, I also use glued capped PVC pipe for flotation...Had to dig out my wiggler box to post some pics...got a bit carried away with the paint lol
































Had to dig it out now that this thread gave me the itch to go dig some bugs and hit a river...a bit dusty but you get the point.

6Speed....it took me a bit... Clay?


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## 6Speed (Mar 8, 2013)

Huntnut said:


> Yep, I also use glued capped PVC pipe for flotation...Had to dig out my wiggler box to post some pics...got a bit carried away with the paint lol
> 
> View attachment 526047
> View attachment 526049
> ...


Yea, it's me.

Those were great times huh!


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## Huntnut (Jan 21, 2000)

Hello old friend...glad to see we survived the last 20 years. Great times, tight lines!

Hope we meet up again on a river somewhere some day.


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## 6Speed (Mar 8, 2013)

Huntnut said:


> Hello old friend...glad to see we survived the last 20 years. Great times, tight lines!


Oh yea! We had a great time back then. Ralf and I keep in touch but I do miss those times. What some great outings we had!


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## TheMAIT (Nov 7, 2005)

Can you dig them at all times of the year?


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## Jim_MI (Jul 9, 2012)

They live for several years in the mud. So, if the bottom mud is accessible you should be able to find some. The commercial guys work through the ice because it provides access to the mud flats, and the market is strongest for wigglers then. But they are there year round.

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