Alright, I got a question for you guys and gals.

I remember as a kid, the old guys that took me fishing all had an old coffee can with night crawlers. I think I remember them throwing old coffee grounds in there with some dirt.

Here's the question: Does coffee grounds in a worm can put coffee scent on the worms that would put the fish off?

Yesterday, I spent a good part of the day fishing trout. I normally do well, but yesterday I didn't touch a fish. I was using night crawlers out of my "coffee grounds and dirt" can. Just wondering what you all think about this?

Who knows, doubtful it would put them off, but I suppose it could. Coffee scented plastics and scents are fairly common in the bass fishing game if that means anything.

Quite a few years ago I stopped by the Dock at Pot holes. There were probably 50 or so people fishing and most had a 1-2 trout, but as I was walking back out a guy passed me with several limits. I think he was several limits over his limit. I asked him was he was doing different and he told me that he mixed in shrimp meal with his dirt and it gave his worms a shrimp scent. Since he had about 4 or 5 times what any one else on the dock did, I always wondered about it and if it was true how it might work on steel head. I also remember he handed me a dozen or so steel head jigs, so I probably should have asked.

My grandpa used to have a worm box in the ground with a screen below it where he grew worms for bait. He put all of his coffee grounds in there. Always had plenty of big worms for trout bait, not sure if the coffee grounds were for food or to make the bait better. When we went fishing he always carried around the worms in some of that coffee ground dirt in a Sir Walter Raleigh pipe tobacco can that I still have.

Stokers Fred's Choice. Redman or Levi will work in a pinch. I'm not kidding.

When I was a kid - a long long time ago Everyone put coffee grinds (and eggshells and orange peels etc) in their backyard worm bed. I always assumed it was just food source for the worms - as in compost. Never thought of it having any affect on scent or fish. They always fished fine for us.

Kevin Van Dam has coffee scented plastic worms. I mean,it's Kevin Van Dam! I liked him in the movie bloodsport. My grandpa always had his nightcrawler garden spruced up with coffee grounds.

Looks like the consensus is that coffee grounds shouldn't put the bite off, so I suppose I was just having a bad day. But this has got me thinking.

I'm gonna start a new worm bucket..this time with just good rich earth, but I'm also going to add some garlic powder! Wonder if I will get garlic scented worms?

soak newspaper in water until soft and almost falling apart, put in can, then put night crawlers in.

coffee grounds are acidic, high PH, main reason people use them as a top coat on raspberry plants and whatnot, to increase the PH in the soil...

acidity can also make certain things not grow right...

including worms...

My guess is that just about everybody else did as poorly as you did that day. Some days, whether it's because the barometric pressure is too low or too high, or it's something completely different, they just don't bite. If you can't catch a trout on a nightcrawler, it's likely one of those days.

Of course, it might have been the trout telling you to take up fly fishing for trout. Every bit as effective as worms, with none of the mess!

Evo,

Please re-check your chemistry. You have it backwards. Acidic means low pH, not high. A pH of 7 is neutral; acid is a pH less than 7, and alkaline is a pH greater than 7.

About 70% of my soft plastics are coffee scented. More of a human odor blocker than a attractant. From my experience coffee Grounds mixed with soil are good bug and mold prevention. Also Aids in digestive health for the worms.
That's funny my grandpa had the same type of deal.
He had a compost pit that he would put all his grass clippings and old vegetables. He would turn that $hit everyday until it was the richest soil you ever saw. The worms and vegetables that dirt would produce look like they were on steroids.

yes, correct, i dont know why i put high PH, i meant to put high Acidity.. coffee grounds and coffee are fairly acidic, and using grounds in the garden around berries and certain shrubs increases the acidity for those type of plants... increase it on the wrong plants, and they, will stunt, or die...

it can also increase soil temperature ( both plants, and worm buckets), because its also high in nitrogen, which worms do like, but, too much, and you will kill the worms....

obviously plastics are moot...

if anyone needs grounds, you can go to Starbucks and ask them, its where i have gotten mine when needed....

When I was a lad I remember I put a heavy dose of used 10w-30 in my pa's worm bed. Made for some fun dirt to play with. He was pissed! No more worms to present to the trout so, can't say that they were put off by any added scent.....