Set Up
Inspect your new Crawler Caddy just in case
there has been any shipping damage in transit. Let us know
right away if there is any shipping damage.
Fill your Crawler Caddy only about half full or a little
over half full with your favorite worm bedding. Make sure
to follow the directions that come with the bedding
carefully so that it is properly prepared. You want it only
to be damp, not wet.
Drop your night crawlers onto the top of the fresh bedding.
They will find their own ways into the bedding itself.
Check your Crawler Caddy after a day or so and remove any
dead worms you find still on the top of the bedding.
Use
I maintain that the common night crawler is the best bait a
fisherman can use for all his fishing. But they are
fragile. If the temperature of their environment gets above
the high 50’s, you are at risk of losing them all
very fast. Yuck, what a mess! So, keep them cool. The best
place is on the bottom shelf of the family refrigerator.
Or, keep them in an old fridge in the basement. When you
are ready to go fishing, get one of those ice paks and lay
it on top of the worm bedding in your Crawler Keeper. Or,
just as good, get a zip lock or two, put ice cubes in them
and place them on top of the bedding. (Just make sure there
are no leaks in the zip locks. As the ice melts you could
get too much water in the bedding if there is a leak in the
bag.) Either of these two ‘cold’ sources will
keep your worms just fine for a long time even in very hot
weather.
Feed your worms, too. Keep a shaker container of worm food
(available in every bait shop or sporting goods store) on
your shelf. Sprinkle just enough food on the top of your
bedding that the worms will consume in a day or two.
Don’t put too much on at once. It might sour which in
turn might cause a die off. Not good.
Care
Your Crawler Caddy is constructed using only cedar, a wood
that is naturally resistant to rot and decay. So,
don’t worry if it gets wet or dirty. Don’t let
it sit in a puddle of water. (The Crawler Caddy could flood
and drown your worms.) But water won’t hurt it at
all.
At the end of the season, when you no longer plan to use
your Crawler Caddy for an extended period of time, just
dump the contents and either release the remaining worms or
transfer them to a larger, ‘keeping’ container
until you are ready to go fishing again. Then rinse the
Crawler Caddy out as thoroughly as you can with a garden
hose, let it dry, and put it on your favorite storage
shelf. You might want to put it into a plastic bag just to
keep it clean and dust free. That’s all the care your
Crawler Caddy needs.
Tips and Care
How to set up, use, and care for your Crawler caddy
