Green River Worms

[bfishn]

As a youngster fishing the Grand River in NC Mo., we used to dig green river worms for bait. We called them that because they were light green and you only found them in riverbanks. The Grand cuts thru fertile farming ground and is lined by steep soil banks. If you could find a layer of rotting leaves buried in the bank, there they were. About halfway in size between a red wiggler and a nightcrawler, and covered in a strong-smelling slime that you couldn't wash off your hands for a couple days. The best way to describe the smell here is just to say it wasn't anything you wanted your girlfriend to get a whiff of on you, but when you thought no one was around, you might get caught smelling your fingers...

When you could get them, they were the fish-catchingest bait I've ever found by an order of magnitude. Every kind of fish in the river ate them with gusto. One seldom sat more than a minute, and I don't think I ever had to take one off a hook.

I've searched the web, and only found a few references on a couple catfish forums. I assume they probably have another name. They are somewhat similar in appearance to what are called milk worms, but those lack the extreme slime and smell. Has anyone here ever encountered them?

[Quillback]

Never heard of them, but they sound like fish catchers.

[fishinwrench]

I remember "river worms", sold at the bait shops, 50¢ for about 2 dozen in a oil can. Cheap enough that digging your own wasn't worth it.

And yeah they were some stinkin' SOB's

[Greasy B]

Are those what we called gumbos?

[bfishn]

Could be. The river bottom soil was certainly gumbo.

[Bird Watcher]

Yep. We called Rodeo worms. We used to dig them on the Neosho River. I guess you still could.

[bfishn]

Oh man, even fewer hits for "rodeo worms"... gotta wonder the story behind that one!

Were they good for you too?

[Walleyedmike]

We call them green worms. They are fairly plentiful along the banks of the Missouri River. Good fish bait, and they do have a bad odor.

WM

[Bird Watcher]

Oh man, even fewer hits for "rodeo worms"... gotta wonder the story behind that one!

Were they good for you to?

I always figured it was because if you touched them with a hook they start bucking around like a rank bronc.

They work great. much better than store bought night crawlers or little red worms. Stinky. Can't get the smell off your hands for days.

[BilletHead]

We just called them river worms. Did you all know that if you dig them at night and pulled them out fresh they have a green glow? Maybe this is why you get the name green worms? Also There was a guy who tamped them commercially and sold them for bait at his shop at Schell City. Yes tamped them with a gas powered tamper like you would use to tamp ditches during back fill. We watched them after running the tamper picking them up. We would do it bu just taking a big stick, small log and beat the ground and worms would crawl out,

BilletHead