Though they’re great walleye bait, Mark Martin knows that not all worms are created equal—not even the live ones.

Dive right in

Like all fish, walleyes are opportunistic feeders. In other words, they’ll eat whatever passes by when they are in the mood to eat.

What about all those minnows and bugs walleyes feast on all summer long? They are still feeding on those. The cool thing about worms is you can easily change their appearance by adding a little bling to your rig, or even just doubling them up or nipping them in half. You can fish them fast, slow and all speeds inbetween.

The livelier the better

You’d be hard pressed not to find live nightcrawlers in my boat anytime I’m on the water. Lethargic, lifeless crawlers won’t cut it. In fact, dying worms skewered onto a hook will repel fish rather than entice them to take a bite.

‘Crawlers must be kept cool and moist, not wet. When purchased, most nightcrawlers are packed in rich, black dirt. They should be kept in this natural mixture for long-term storage, say, over a period of months, as they get nourishment from it. They need to be kept cool; somewhere in the mid-40-degree mark is about right. For shorter-term use, however, a pre-mixed worm bedding is ideal, best if it comes pre-moistened with just the right amount of water already added. Nightcrawlers don’t do well if their surroundings are too clammy. Keep their bedding moist, not wet.

When bringing along worms, I keep them in an insulated container. A foam liner does two things: it keeps the temperature inside the container constant and cool; and it acts as a shock absorber. Worms, no matter the type, will perish quickly if jostled around too much.

I keep my nightcrawlers in a cooler rather than adding ice to the container itself. As the ice melts, it would saturate the bedding and eventually kill the critters.

Real vs. imitation

Whether I use live crawlers or soft baits that imitate the real thing is up to the fish. Knowing when to use one over the other comes from many years of trial and error while on the water.

I base my choice on the environment of the waterway I’m fishing, my technique, as well the other species of fish that reside in it.

For example, when perch are present and pecking away at my live ‘crawlers on a ‘crawler harness until it’s completely ripped from the hook, I’ll change up and use Gulp nightcrawlers instead of live ones. Gulp is soft, yet tough enough that small fish can’t tear it apart before walleyes get a chance to take a poke at it. And, Gulp expels scent that predator fish love.

When casting and jigging, on the other hand, I’ll often start out with soft baits. They stay on the hook better when being ripped through structure such as weeds, wood and rock. PowerBait Worms and Jigworms are two of my go-to baits when walleyes are in vegetation. I skewer them onto a 1/8- to 1/4-ounce Metallic Eye-Ball Jig as this particular model has a worm and grub barb on it that holds the bait in place, snug to the head.

Changing form

Because worms do not live in water and are not natural forage for fish, changing their form can add the attraction needed to entice walleyes.

A spinner blade above a nightcrawler, such as on a crawler harness, gives off the flash and vibration that attracts walleyes. Anytime I’m pulling harnesses, whether high in the water column behind in-line planer boards, or, near bottom behind bottom-bouncers, I’ll rig a nightcrawler onto a spinner harness. The blade on this rig gives the impression of a small fish.

If walleyes are feeding on insects, such as mayfly nymphs, I’ll use smaller blades and only half a worm on a single-hook spinner rig. When they are feasting on bugs, walleyes are more likely to take a bite at my bait if it’s been shrunk down.

Worms, too, mimic the small lampreys that walleyes often eat during the midsummer period. In rivers for example, I’ll just nip the nose of a nightcrawler onto a razor-sharp Diichi single hook without any spinner ahead of it. If the water is dirty and I feel a little color is needed to attract attention, I’ll slip one to three small, brightly colored beads ahead of the hook. Just pinch a couple split-shot a few feet above the hook, or tie up a slip-sinker rig and hang on.

Worm roundup

When it comes to using worms, let your imagination run wild. Just remember to keep your live ones lively, and use soft baits that smell like the real thing. Do so, and you’ll catch fish on them all summer long. After all, the best thing about worms is they work wonders when it comes to hoodwinking walleyes in open water.

If you enjoy walleye fishing, you’ll enjoy the June issue of MidWest Outdoors, available the first full week of June at the newsstand or by subscribing on our website.