Has anyone had success using nightcrawlers for steelhead?
I've never really done well with store bought eggs (next hatchery hen I catch - I'm going to try to cure the eggs - I've never done that before), and sand shrimp usually last me about 1 trip before they go bad, so I thought worms may be the ticket. I can keep them in a container in the back of my truck for days during the winter.

Thoughts?

prawns will last you longer
or another shrimp in the shell.

Most types hold dye well, fish whole or just a piece on a jig or under your bait loop.

worms work better for summer runs, though they will probably work for winters, might be worth a shot at hatchery hole settings, where the fish have already "seen it all".

[ 12-05-2001: Message edited by: KORE ]

Try a purple corkie with a night crawler,this was a go to set up on the wilson for my uncle years ago.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

I'm with Kore, I also am a fan of prawns. Spendy bait but often lasts longer than any other bait out there. A small piece of prawn with a corkie is a deadly mix .

FJ...out.

like mentioned earlier they work best for summer runs but they'll still catch winter fish. I use pretty big ones (when I use them). I only use them in heavily fished area's because they aren't my favorite thing to use. White corkies work well or just fished under a float. One major word of caution: don't use them past the 1st of february. Once a few smolts start showing up that's all you'll catch and with any bait the mortality seems to be pretty high.

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll give worms a shot this winter and post my results on this board.

As for prawns, I have been using them here and there. Today I did very will with them on the chums. I'll try them on the winter runs as well and see how that goes. Prawns are nice because they stay on the hook a long time, are clean to work with, have a nice bright white color, and the fish seem to like the texture and flavor.

I bought a big bag of frozen uncooked saltwater prawns and split it into about a dozen small zipplocked baggies for trips.

Has anyone tried curring prawns or shrimp in anything? I've seen cooked shrimp 'cured' in various colors and fished under floats. Looked like it worked well.