michigan wigglers

[icecold mike]

  saw some michigan wigglers swimming in the tank at gandermountain  ,their some nasty looking little buggers.
          anyone use them for icefishing  bait ? are they any  good?
 
how do you hook them to keep them alive and swimming? and do they bite when you pick them up?

[frostbite]

I believe the critters you are talking about are mayfly nymphs. We use them for perch on mud flats and they often out-produce waxies or spikes(but not always). Heres the rub, they are a pain to transport as you get them in a little styro cup, you either break the cup or they freeze solid half way into the trip. To hook them on you let them sit upright on your finger and run the hook from tail to head so that the point comes out just behind their "body section" or the section of thier body that is right behind the head. hook them shallow and they live for a fair amount of time, in most cases they swim so hard you can see it on your rodtip.

[frostbite]

oh and I've never been bitten by one, but that's not to say they don't bite.....lol

[Lobes]

They are a very good bait, but like Frostbite says they are kind of a pain to deal with on ice. Once you're settled in for fishing though they are worth the trouble. Real good for perch & gills.

[CrappieGuy]

Great bait, looks ugly but perch love them. As said before they are mayfly larve.  Here in Wisconsin they passed some stupid law that makes harvesting them very difficult so you don't see them very often.  If you do see them they want an arm and a leg for them.  Used to be you got a small container full for a $1.00 now they want a $1.00 for 10 of them.  Apparently the DNR has decided that the harvesting of mayflys from the beds of the rivers causes water quality problems.  Gee this has been going on for as long as I know of and that's 50 years and I'm sure it went on long before that, now all of a sudden it's hurting the streams?  Some judge got talked into believing this hogwash and now we suffer. 

[mich-fish]

  Love using wigglers.. I always take a container with me, instead of those flimsy ones you get at the bait shop.. Any butter container or steal one of the wife's tupperwares.. I normally hook them just behind the head and then back thru, tail usually keeps moving for extra action.. Sadly they rip pretty easy so i big hit missed and you need a new one...

[FullTmeDad]

Genus/Species:  Hexagenia limbata
Common Names: Wigglers
Sources: Wild harvested from the mud of rivers and lakes.
Availability: Generally all year. Sometimes in short supply from May to August.

We use mayfly larvae (wigglers) all the time for perch. They usually run a dollar or so a dozen. I have always hooked them through the collar and right down into the tail. I have a small plastic container to carry them and I can keep whatever's left over alive for a week or more by putting them in a plastic tray and keeping the water no more than a 1/2 inch deep.  Use just enough water to cover them and change the water every other day.
FTD

[fishinworms]

awesome for perch.....we use them whenever we can get them.