vermiculite
LOL,its been used for years,float my arse.the best thing for them,and always put them in new sea water before you start fishing,hardens them up.
here's a post from philtherod (who used to be a bait dealer and so knows about keeping bait)
notice he says
wet the vermiculite with seawater first - in fact soak it . . . . and (though he doesn't say that) rinse it
http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45776&page=2&highlight=vermiculite
I've said this before...DON'T USE DRY MICAFIL FOR STORING RAGWORMS...THEY EAT THE DAMN STUFF, IT STICKS IN THEIR INTESTINAL TRACT, THEY TRY TO MOVE IT BY SWALLOWING, BUT AS THEY ARE NOT IN LIQUID, WHICH IS INCOMPRESSIBLE, THE SWALLOWED AIR FORMS BUBBLES IN THE GUT DUE TO THE BLOCKAGE, WHICH IS WHY THE WORMS FIZZ AND BREAK WHEN TRYING TO PUT THE WORM ON THE HOOK. THE STUFF IS A BY-PRODUCT OF SMELTING METAL, AND CONTAINS SMALL QUANTITIES OF ACID ANHYDRIDES, WHICH ARE BASICALLY ACIDS WITH THE WATER TAKEN AWAY. ADD WATER FROM WET WORMS, THE PARENT ACID IS REGENERATED, AND BURNS THE WORMS SKIN. THAT IS THE CAUSE OF THE LESIONS OFTEN SEEN ON THESE WORMS.
ASK YOURSELF THIS: you are sitting in your fave restaurant, and have ordered a Chateaubriand fillet steak, it arrives at the table, when the chef comes out of the kitchen and over to you, saying "the final garnish", and scatters vermiculite and peat over your meal. What would you say? What does the fish think in the same situation? Remember their sense of smell is millions of times more sensitive than ours.
When I dealt in bait, the rag from Southend were sent to me in micafil which had been thoroughly soaked in seawater in a sack, and lightly squeezed to leave it just wet. The worms were superb, and could be stored after rinsing in trays of cold seawater for weeks. Try it with dry stored worms, and they will float, showing they have been swallowing air, and will be dead in a short time.
