Worm Fiddling

skill that has been lost in much of the United States but
is still alive in parts of northern Alabama. The art is
“worm fiddling,” and it’s practiced nowadays by residents
of the mountainous region of Blount County .. . like
William (Bubba) Childers, who first learned how to fiddle
for worms on fishin’ expeditions with his granddaddy.

In just ten minutes, says Bubba, you can gather a whole
bucketful of fiddle worms . . . with no more equipment than
a rusty handsaw that’s missing a few teeth and an old pail.
It’s best to go worming in the spring, advises our master
bait-catcher, but you can actually capture the
crawlers any time of the year as long as the ground isn’t
frozen.

Finding a Place to Fiddle

A crucial factor in finding a good site to “play up” the
critters is the amount of moisture in the soil. Fiddle
worms like damp earth, so in dry weather they move down
into the lowlands in search of water. After a rain,
however, you might look for your bait on the side of a
hill. (Bubba reports that he once roused 300 worms in less
than 15 minutes by fiddling at a point just above an
underground stream!)

When you’ve located an area of wet ground, look for the
small, round casings that the worms discharge as they work
through the soil. Such excretions are usually found among
decaying leaves at the base of a young tree … which is
handy, as an available sapling is absolutely essential to
the “fiddlin’ ” technique. (The area around a beech tree is
often especially productive because, as the Alabama
“musician” explains, “For some reason fiddle worms love to
munch on rotting beech leaves.”)

The sapling you choose should be about three inches in
diameter, which–in most tree species–is large
enough to have produced an extensive root system. To make
your “fiddlin’ stage”, just saw down the tree . . . leaving
about 12 to 18 inches of stump above the ground. (Needless
to say, such an operation should only be performed in your
own woodlot!)

Here Come the Worms!

Now — using a dull saw — “fiddle” away … by
simply dragging the cutting tool back ‘n’ forth across the
top of the stump. The vibrations travel through the tree’s
root network, sending tremors into the earth . . . and the
worms are literally jolted to the surface! If the ground is
damp you’ll start seeing wigglers in two to five minutes,
but if the soil lacks moisture it’ll take a bit
longer. You should fiddle in one place for at least ten
minutes before giving up and changing sites . . . just keep
a-sawin’ and usually the crawlers will appear, sometimes as
far as 25-30 feet away from the stump. Fiddle worms average
between 12 and 15 inches in length, but some may reach as
much as two feet long . . . so you can’t miss them as they
turn up in the soil.

After the worms begin to surface, collect them in a
five-gallon bucket. Your pail should have a drainage hole
in the bottom (so excess water won’t drown the bait), and
should be filled with woods dirt. Fiddle worms love the
decayed leaves in forest soil, and they’ll survive in their
bucket home for at least a month. (You should, however,
keep them watered . . . and don’t forget to throw a little
cornmeal or chicken feed on them every week or two.)

Let’s Try Another Way

If you can’t find a worn-out saw, there are other methods
of fiddling for bait. The “McCullough
Technique” — which requires using a chain
saw — demands much less effort than does “hand fiddlin’
,” and usually results in full buckets. Simply crank up the
engine and — with the chain removed or
disengaged — hold the instrument against the ground while it runs. The vibrations will
bring up the worms, just as the “tune” of the handsaw
does.

Another method (the “Cave Man Technique”) also requires an
18-inch-high tree stump. But instead of sawing on the
trunk, “Neanderthal wormers” simply pound on the wood
with a large rock. This technique is a simple one, but it
does involve a lot more elbow grease than the other
methods. (“If I were goin’ to do that much work to get
fiddle worms, I believe I’d just go out and buy ’em,”
laughs Bubba.)

Selling the Leftovers

Whatever system you employ, you’ll probably harvest lots
more worms than you need . . . and you can make a handsome
profit by marketing your surplus at local fish camps and
tackle shops. Fiddies–which make excellent bait for
catfish, bass, bream, and trout–are especially
valuable because of their length: One worm, broken apart,
will easily adorn several hooks, and the pieces are tough
enough to stay securely in place.

To package the bait for sale, you’ll need either a number
of 16-ounce styrofoam cups (put about 25 worms in each one)
or — for large orders — 12″-square boxes (which
should hold 500 to 1,000 wigglers apiece). You can collect
either kind of packaging yourself, or order it in bulk from
container suppliers.

At seven cents per worm, one cup of the crawlers should
sell for about $1.75. And, since you can usually gather
300-400 worms in just two or three hours’ work, that’s a
possible income of about $10 an hour . . . which isn’t bad
for a “mountain fiddler!”

The Family That Fiddles Together…

An afternoon’s worming expedition can be not only
profitable, but also just plain fun for the entire family .
. . it’s sort of like an old-fashioned Easter egg hunt, as
the young’uns eagerly collect the crawlers.

But Bubba reminds us that some precautions should be taken
whenever you set off in search of fiddle worms. Before you
leave, clothe everybody against insect bites . . . and, of
course, keep a sharp eye out for poison oak and ivy while
you’re in the woods.

And one more thing: Make sure that everyone on the outing
is supplied with his or her own pail, because when the
wiggling critters begin to pop up in all different
directions around the tree stump, you don’t want to be
caught with only one bucket among you!