Live vs Wrapped Black Lugworm

[Cwab]

And I thought worms were expensive up here.. I can get 10 frozen black lug for £2.00..

Very much a case of never mind the quality feel the width flappy and size is important.
You are a lucky man indeed.

 

[Angrybear]

Live 'fresh outs' are my preferred bait for all my proper fishing (in other words, codding)
I'll keep them for up to a week like that in trays with an ⅛" of sea water to keep them moist.
However, if they are tanked, I'd prefer to use fresh wrapped, as I feel tanked worms get washed out.

100% agree.
Can only get live rag or frozen Blacks locally, & the rag is a 25 mile round trip,
iirc the blacks are £3.50 a roll (10) so 2 rolls for the price of fuel to get some Rag.

 

[Cwab]

I never try to consider cost when fishing but guess per session will use around £30 worth with a little change of now frozen bait( compromise), which I keep in bait freezer allowing freedom of been flexible ready to fish at any point.
Used to in addition keep live blacks in trays in fridge for up to a month depending on next digging tides but no longer do.
On reflection would rather spend £30 on two dozen large live blacks ( 8-10 inches long and fat as little finger) but acquiring these days easier said than done and no longer delivered to door like a pizza. edit, do suspect it would improve cod catch rate when they show up and the crabs and rocking would appreciate.

 

[Trampster]

Thanks for the reply @Kine262 when you use live lug do you gut it before threading onto your hook? Or do you thread it straight on as is? I was just threading on as is and it caught me fish on a hard day but I did find it more difficult to thread onto my hooks and my hands even today are still covered in yellow dye lol

For any bait this is really smelly or stains your skin, slip on a pair of Latex or surgical gloves.

 

[SirGunner]

For any bait this is really smelly or stains your skin, slip on a pair of Latex or surgical gloves.

Yeah that's what I'm thinking for my next session if I try these live worms again @Trampster

 

[Topwater]

Yellowtail lug
Black lug
Common (blow) lug
Tail-less lug

All different species.

Many decades ago when I did a bit of research there were only 2 recognised species. Has this changed now? I've always thought there were at least 3 (black, yellow tails and blow) from an anglers perspective but whether thats down to differences of location or life stage etc I'm not sure. Cant say I've ever heard of the tail-less lug. Genuinely interested to know

 

[Ianpick]

I too did some research many years ago which is when I discovered the existence of the tail-less lug.
As I remember it is only found in a few very specific habitats, I think, in South Devon.

I suggested at the time that there was a lot to learn about the the ecology of the intertidal zone and there may be even more species of marine worms down there.

It has been suggested that black lug might comprise more than one sub-species.

Not much money to be made out of them so little interest from the organisations that could carry out the research. I did have a protracted conversation with a marine biology student who wanted samples, but the logistics were just too difficult for me to help him out.

Lugworm explained | Planet Sea Fishing

Lugworm is without doubt the king of worm baits. Here Steve Walker delves into the world of 'blows', 'blacks' and 'yellowtails'. Lugworm are extremely common around the British Isles but reference books often wrongly describe a single species: Arenicola marina, or the common lugworm. In 1993...

planetseafishing.com

This is a good read and does suggest 4 species but not in detail.

 

[Cwab]

Also worth a mention that around spawning worm do not keep as well live in fridges or tanks but matter less if freezing down, bar killing breeding stock if over pumped or dug which seems to be the case in some places with lower tides needed to be worth the effort.
Yet can think of blow lug beds which get hammered and seems to make no odds