Worm shortage means rising bait costs for fishermen
By Scott Calvert
A shortage of the big, fat worms called nightcrawlers — a popular bait with freshwater anglers in the U.S. — has pushed up prices nationwide and temporarily wiped out some merchants’ stock at the height of the summer fishing season.
The culprit is bad weather in Ontario, the Canadian province where nightcrawlers are handpicked in the wild and shipped south by the millions. First, the long winter delayed picking from March to May. Then a dry May kept the moisture-loving creatures burrowed deep underground.
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This spring’s dearth of Canadian nightcrawlers, the worst in 26 years, according to suppliers, has caused havoc with supply chains, affecting mom-and-pop bait shops and nationwide sellers. Some stores have raised prices, while others have held the line. At the same time, some bait shops say they have noticed little change in supply or price.
DMF Bait Co., a major wholesaler in Waterford, Mich., had to pay its Canadian suppliers double the usual price, said Chief Executive Dan Beaudoin. Even so, the company couldn’t fill all its orders for the first time in its 37-year history. Though the crimp in supply has eased, he said his company is still paying 80% more than usual.
DMF has raised prices on its customers, which include Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) and other national chains, by about 20%.
What next a shortage of shiners.
Bob.
After planting thousands of new apple trees this spring, I feel pretty confident that there’s no shortage of earthworms in NE Indiana. But no, we’re not picking them and shipping them to fishermen; they’re vitally important to the tilth on our farm. So much so, we take care to throw them back into the soil when we turn them up.
Speaking of long winters, though, I wanted to pass along that a lot of farmers around here are predicting an early, long winter with more extremes than last year. There are trees hardening off already (and not due to drought, since we’ve had plenty of rain), shrubs like the “burning bush” (Euonymus alatus) that turn red in the fall already have color on them, certain birds are already migrating, and more.
I’m not convinced yet that it means a ‘worse’ winter, but wanted to throw it out there in case anyone else is seeing signs and can weigh in.
There’s no shortage of shit. We’ve got plenty of that, most of it emanating from the shithole known as Washington, D.C.
The moron in Waterford should look for a Michigan supplier, instead of Canadian.
My grandbaby can find earthworms all over my yard, maybe I should start a business.
Oh wait, I can’t on my property, that would violate city zoning laws.
Try this “anglers,” start composting on your own property, buy 1 tub of crawlers and dump around your compost, then “harvest” your own.
What a concept.
This county is going to fall apart rather quickly when supply lines come down if the ability to find WORMS is dependent on it.