[crazyplums]

thought that i'd take some of my salted lug with me as a back up today (short of bait and £££'s), got it out the fridge, opened the first wrap of ten, the tail end was a little flexible, but the head half was so brittle it snapped, all the worms were like this, i opened the wraps that were themselves wrapped, thinking these might have faired better, but no, they're all brittle too,

is there a way to slightly rehydrate them in any way ? of have i just lost 80 worm ?

 

[Guest]

thought that i'd take some of my salted lug with me as a back up today (short of bait and £££'s), got it out the fridge, opened the first wrap of ten, the tail end was a little flexible, but the head half was so brittle it snapped, all the worms were like this, i opened the wraps that were themselves wrapped, thinking these might have faired better, but no, they're all brittle too,

is there a way to slightly rehydrate them in any way ? of have i just lost 80 worm ?

You could try letting the air get to them, that might let some moisture back into them. Alternatively you could unwrap them, lay them all in a container and place a bit of damp kitchen towel in with them.
The worms that I salted before xmas last year are still ok, but I didn't put them in the fridge or wrap them.
After salting, I shook off excess salt and placed them in a sealed plastic container and just left them in my workshop on a shelf.

Maybe someone else has a better idea?

Malcolm.

 

[Bob C]

Hugh,
how long did you leave them in the salt? I think 3 days is long enough and longer than that can make them too hard. I used some yesterday that had been paper wrapped in the fridge for months and they were fine. Granted, i was only using for Flatties where i only needed inch long bits, but they went on the small hooks fine. The Rod out with fresh Rag & Lug had no bites. The one with Salted lug caught all fish!!!
When i got home i Salted down all the fresh lug that i had in my Fridge.

thought that i'd take some of my salted lug with me as a back up today (short of bait and £££'s), got it out the fridge, opened the first wrap of ten, the tail end was a little flexible, but the head half was so brittle it snapped, all the worms were like this, i opened the wraps that were themselves wrapped, thinking these might have faired better, but no, they're all brittle too,

is there a way to slightly rehydrate them in any way ? of have i just lost 80 worm ?

 

[diamond dave]

I made the same mistake & lost 200 worms after leaving them in salt for a few months :lmao:

 

[crazyplums]

lol diamond dave ! these were huge worms, and ony spent about 3-4 days in the salt, the first ones were used a couple of months ago, and were like liquorice, fine, but these are just completely mummified now ! i'll try the wet paper towel thing, cheers.

 

[DoubleShotDamo]

3-4 days in the salt?!!! Too long. Dump them in salt, make sure they are covered. Take them out, wrap them. Should be fine. Try putting them in the freezer in a sealed bag.

 

[smiley73]

same here...
tried salting some rag, blacks and lug. all like glass after a 5 day salt :g:

i salt them overnight now, then dust off and into the freezer in packs of 10's. works for me

 

[EoinMag]

I salt mine for up to a week, no bother, just have to keep an eye on them.

 

[peezar-tiste]

I salted down about 5 batches Oct/Nov last year, but never used yet. I put them in salt for about 3/4 days then riddle them in a coarse fishing maggot riddle to get the salt off them. I then put them in food bags, and lower slowly into a bucket of water to expel the air, seal the bag and place in fridge.
Had a look this morning and they were all soft enough to hook up without breaking. I took one worm from each batch and dropped them in a bait box with some normal tap water to see if they would rehydrate. They did after about 15 mins but very slimy and slippy. I wouldn't rehydrate before use, but put them on the hook as they are, and let them rehydrate in the sea. I think they will cast better when dry.

 

[Codhead Bob]

Sometimes if you salt them too quickly after digging they go very crumbly.Best let them stand in newspaper in the fridge for 24 hours so that they expell most of the sand.

 

[Poughill Reef?]

I salt mine for 24 hours whilst letting the excess moisture drain. I dust off as much excess salt as I can and freeze them separately in newspaper. They have the texture of liquorice/ shoe laces.

I fished 2 rods in the same place, 1 fresh lug/squid and the 2nd salted lug/squid. Amazingly enough I found that the salted got more bites than fresh and I was more confident casting them. I found that they were good for making a larger baits by filling the squid with the dried lug and elasticating the end tight and using the wires from a gripper weight to pierce the whole package. I reckoned the scent release was good for maybe 30 mins plus rather than the 15-20 with fresh.
Just my opinion mind you.
I also found them good for binding to the outside of a squid cigar and was good for getting bites where all the other fish baits were failing.
I'm going to save the run off juices with the current batch and concentrate it using a rotary evaporator at work and see if I can use a needle and syringe to inject into squid baits for when times get hard.

Anyone tried this????

 

[Fisher_Nick]

leave them in the sun the same thing happens.

need a bit of moisture in them. enough to bend them onto the hook.

 

[rockhopper1]

Tried salting.Prefer to gut and roll in up newspaper im sure i wouldnt want that much salt on me dinner.

 

[4Fox Hake]

I'm going to save the run off juices with the current batch and concentrate it using a rotary evaporator at work and see if I can use a needle and syringe to inject into squid baits for when times get hard.

Anyone tried this????

Would have but, try as I might, I just can't seem to lay hands on a rotary evaporator. Dunno what the world's coming to. :uhuh:

I've tried salting lug and not had much luck. Then again, I left them for either a week or 10 days before dusting & freezing. Looks like I was overdoing it, so I'll be trying your quick-salt method before winter comes.

Mine went crumbly, but the few that I could hook caught very well. I think the reason they might even outfish fresh is that their cell membranes are damaged when ice crystals form (thaw a frozen strawberry - same thing), so when they hit the sea they rehydrate fast and release a lot more juice straightaway.

Or maybe you just got lucky ...

 

[Poughill Reef?]

Would have but, try as I might, I just can't seem to lay hands on a rotary evaporator. Dunno what the world's coming to. :uhuh:

Maybe you could leave the juices in a jar and place it in a sunny place??? :yucky:

Mine went crumbly...

Unlucky dude! :blink:

.....they rehydrate fast and release a lot more juice straightaway.

Definately I reckon. Because they shrink down I end up using several at a time so multiple worm flavours are release upon rehydration. And although they lose some of the juice when salting they stay as a neatly package/ presented bait and I don't worry about the risk of exploding worms on a distance cast (if it's required)

Or maybe you just got lucky ...

Errr... thats another story for another time and place.

 

[Ravelling Tangler]

Would have but, try as I might, I just can't seem to lay hands on a rotary evaporator. Dunno what the world's coming to. :uhuh:

.
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....

But you can pour them into a shallow dish or tin and put it in a fan oven on lowest possible (temperature) setting for a couple of hours.

Only one awkward side-effect:- you may find yourself living alone. . . . . . and it won't be in your own house ! :yucky:

 

[nog]

i salt them for 3 days, keep thgem in the fridge for a month then bin them, i never catch fa on salted worms, rather use a bit of macky or squid from Morrisons.

 

[mattman]

The last lot i done were in salt about 3 days took them out wrapped them in newspaper put them in the shed found the about 3 months later used them and they seemed ok yting liked them any way lol

 

[cupboardlad]

i've used em once , ran out of fresh and the bloke next to me gave me some to try , and i carryed on catching with no decline in my catch rate , so from that experience i say it works, it was like puting a piece of leather on the hook but the fish loved it
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
cuberd

 

[crazyplums]

i have considered putting them loose in the bottom of a plastic tub, with a few drops of lugworm oil to slightly rehydrate them, i'll let you know how i get on when i get around to it !