# Beach Worms



## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

The beaches around here are full of worms. I never miss.

I went out this morning to get some bait for the kids for the weekend. After 20 mins I was still trying to dig up a pippy for the teaser. I guy walks past and enquires. I told him I was yet to start due to the lack of pippies. He said he's tried for an hour and a half without even seeing a worm head or a pippy. I gave up on the pippy and tried with half a pilchard for an hour. As always, I use pilchards as the stinker. I saw one worm the size of a pinhead.

The weather is fine, a 10 knot NE wind, small swell, rising tide about half way up (the other guy must have started near bottom. Not perfect conditions (wind and tide), but this would normally make them hard to catch, not invisible.

Does anyone with worm zen know what the problem was?


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## SoutherlyBuster (Jul 2, 2009)

I would think that a sudden change in water temp would be the most likely influence to turn them off, you are right that while they don't like the nor easter's they should still be popping up for a look.

I have been beach worming for over 30 years and still get suprised that they can be there in droves one day and gone the next???

I have noticed over the last 2 summers down here on the south coast that the whiting numbers have been really down off the beaches although there is plenty in the easturies.


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

I agree with all of your points Red, but such things generally make them timid, not dissapear. There were simply none in 300m of beach. They can be timid on rising tide, in wind, in pebbly or shelly sand, but you still see them pop their heads up for a peek. Today, there was simply nothing for (from the sound of it) 2.5 hours of the first half of the rising tide.

I often use half a pilchard as my teaser (hand bait), untreated. I always used to do this, even though they bight off chunks and dissapear. I now find pippies far superior as you can actually pull them out tug-o-war style.


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

RedPhoenix said:


> a big cut-away can strip away worms, if it's deep enough


Maybe that's it. We lost at least 1m of sand from all the beaches a couple of weeks ago. Maybe I haven't wormed since then.


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## Guest (Aug 5, 2011)

Ado said:


> We lost at least 1m of sand from all the beaches a couple of weeks ago. Maybe I haven't wormed since then.


That would be my money. It would take a little while for them to re-establish after a big loss. Either that or someone has pillaged the area badly before you. But if they were around you'd at least see some timid rises.

dinner plate sized stingray, the best stinker ever. cut the tail off and no spikes...


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## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

RedPhoenix said:


> Absolutely. I remember being practically smothered in pippies when I was a young fella, after digging in the sand for a minute or so. Pippie numbers seem significantly down on my (perhaps, rose coloured) memories of yesteryear though.
> 
> Red.


I've been on plenty of beaches recently where one handful of sand contains at least 5 pippis so I'd say there's a good chance you are remembering correctly. I've never found them in good numbers on popular beaches.


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

Junglefisher said:


> RedPhoenix said:
> 
> 
> > Absolutely. I remember being practically smothered in pippies when I was a young fella, after digging in the sand for a minute or so. Pippie numbers seem significantly down on my (perhaps, rose coloured) memories of yesteryear though.
> ...


I can remember them being like that on Main Beach on the Gold Coast


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

BigGee said:


> anselmo said:
> 
> 
> > I can remember them being like that on Main Beach on the Gold Coast
> ...


might catch somethiing else though

(especially during schoolies week)


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## jtrippa (Feb 18, 2008)

I am down in Jervis Bay and I remember the days when there were pippis and crabs and fish everywhere. You just walked along the beach and could pick up enough for bait within a few meters... I have no idea where the have gone but its been years and years since the pippis were around. we tend to get a lot of small ones these days but n ever see them mature which is a little weird :shock:

:? as for beach worms I have tried so many times to catch them but I just don't have the knack will try again this year :?


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

I'll have to wear my mankini next time.


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

Bertros said:


> As I understood it, the thong helps with finding some crabs, but the more rotten the better to catch those worms
> 
> But seriously.... A trip north, a $2 investment from the local fish shop for a carcass and a locally pulled worm or two, which leads to fish, which leads to more worms, which leads to more fish...... That is my idyllic summer holiday.


This is currently my life


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## KingDan (Feb 25, 2011)

I spent a year living on in a little beach town and would always keep a fish frame in the freezer to catch beach worms and often did this more than once a week. I would usually use either the tail or rib cage as the teaser. I often took down a cube of cheese to use when they were shy. This often made them stick their heads right out and over the cube to try and grip it and made it easier to get your fingers around them. Generally mornings, evenings, overcast days, light to no winds and strong surf resulted in the best success rates. Areas around gutters at low tide and fine sand that looks a bit wetter than the rest often held a few worms. I rarely managed to get a worm on the second attempt and it is better use of your time to move on to find the next and think you should not hit the same place over and over.

I am 6"3 and the largest I caught went from my shoulder to the sand and was pretty exhilarating getting it out whole. It is a good feeling to catch a feed of fish from nothing but the left overs from the last catch.

Dan


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

I'd love a pic of these true "sand monsters".

We've got these inn keeper worms here that are deadly surf bait. You pump them similarly to ghost shrimp (yabbies?).
Image for illustration. Not mine.


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

Eeeeeeeeyyooooooo

I don't think I could pierce those with a hook without my eyes watering. :shock:


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

:lol: Or bending over in a cringe at the waist.
Use the correct pump, though.


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## Squidder (Sep 2, 2005)

Ado said:


> I'll have to wear my mankini next time.


Don't lie Ado, you were wearing your mankini when we went worming last weekend - and I have the photo to prove it! :twisted:


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

The Brazillian paid off handsomely. If I kept the Guy Sabastian tuft, I would look rediculous.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

I found out where you went for that treatment. All the way to Korea for a Brazilian?


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## egg83 (Dec 29, 2010)

Ive watched my brother use his finger for stink bait and for the worm to bite on.
I cant even pull one out


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## baitlobber (Aug 3, 2011)

gday all,am new to the forum and kayak scene,so this is my first post woohoo.. 
have done a fair amount of beach fishing and couldn't catch a beach worm if my life depended on it,my beach fishing buddy usually has no problem in catching a stack of them. 
he always uses a smoked trout out of a packet as a bait and teaser, bought from the local supermarket,sound strange? i thought it did and i laughed at him the first time he said he used them... "i'll show you" was his reply,and show me he did.. within half hr he had 7 decent sized worms then he said "so what are you using for bait and laughed at me" 
i know it sounds strange,but give it a try,you might be surprised.. :shock: :shock: :shock:


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

Hi baitlobber. Welcome to the forum.

I'm sure a smoked trout would be excellent. Smelly and oily, the perfect combination. However, I'm not sure I'd be sacrificing my $40/kg smoked trout to catching worms. It's likely to be much tastier than anything I'd catch from the beach with the worms. A few pilchards works for me. I can usually bag out (20 worms) within an hour on those. Others use fishframes, even better if you bury them for a couple of days so they makre your eyes water. I'm not that organised, whichj is why I just use a few pilchards from the freezer.


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## baitlobber (Aug 3, 2011)

i think out of a packet he pays about $6 or $7 dollars,when finished worming it goes back in the esky and into the freezer when he gets home,ready for the next day on the beach. he uses the same trout 5 or 6 times.he missed roughly the same amount as he caught in that time,since that first trip with the trout i havent kept a watch on the time it takes to gather the worms as im to busy trying to catch my first one and still to no avail... i just cant get the buggers..


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