The live night crawler is probably the most popular and readily available fishing bait on the planet and yet many anglers aren't aware of the most effective and efficient way to use these wriggly creatures when they are fishing. Are you one of these anglers? If you attempt to "thread" a live night crawler onto a single fishing hook or try to hook the worm over and over again (creating what I like to call a "worm ball"), then yes you would in fact be one of these anglers.
Not to worry though, after reading this quick article you will have a much better understanding about fishing with night crawlers and how to do so in the most efficient and effective way possible, which means that you will catch more fish. This isn't to say that fish aren't caught using the methods outlined above, it simply that I have found that when night crawlers are used properly, they are much more effective than when they aren't.
Walleye fishermen are a group of anglers who really know about fishing with night crawlers and how to do so in an efficient and effective manner, by utilizing something known as a "crawler harness". These "harnesses" are simply two to four single fishing hooks that are tied back to back and often have a flasher of some sort added to the rig above the hooks to attract fish. This way a live night crawler can be added to the fishing hooks so that the worm is presented exactly as it would appear naturally. Baited "crawler harnesses" are often slowly back trolled to entice feeding walleye and work extremely well.
For fishermen who are reserved to wading in a river or stream or confined to the shore or a dock in some way, these "harnesses" aren't nearly as conducive to fishing. In these cases you have to turn to a set of gang hooks anytime that you are fishing with live night crawlers. A set of gang hooks is just a pair of fishing hooks that have been tied back to back (with no flashers) that produce the same result of aforementioned "worm harnesses". Your live worm is presented to the fish you are fishing for in an outstretched and natural manner, which means that the night crawler will be more effective.
It makes no difference whether you are fishing under a float, on the bottom, or "drift fishing" in a river or stream, gang hooks are the way to go anytime that you are fishing with these worms without the help of a boat. Seeing as how that the hooks that are used on a set of gang hooks are so small, many times it is a good idea to pinch the night crawler in half before rigging it up. This makes for a much more manageable length of worm for the fish that you are attempting to catch and often results in more bites.
Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing a website focused on river and stream fishing with a focus on fishing for trout. He has more than 25 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and has spent much of that time fishing in small rivers and streams.
Extremely Effective Live Worm Rigs - http://www.jrwfishing.com/baitrigs.asp
Article Source: @Trevor_Kugler