How to Make a Nightcrawler Shocker

Earthworms are a common fishing bait.

Nightcrawlers have long been a favorite fish bait of many anglers. Commercial bait providers commonly use electricity forced into damp soil to drive earthworms to the surface for collection. If you are looking to reduce the cost of bait or just want to try gathering your own, you can make a simple nightcrawler ground shocking device of your own. This device can be made using materials located around the house or purchased at a local hardware store, and you could be collecting nightcrawlers for fishing bait within a couple of hours.

Things You'll Need

• Rubber gloves
• 12-volt car battery
• Jumper cables
• 2 grounding rods, 6 foot

Instructions

1. Wet the soil of the area being used for collection. Cover an area of about 6 feet.

2. Set the grounding rods about 6 feet apart and push them into the wet soil. Wear rubber gloves when setting up, using and tearing down the shocker as a safety precaution.

3. Place a loose car battery near the collection area. Connect the jumper cables to the car battery. Clamp the red cable to the positive terminal. Attach the black cable to the negative terminal.

4. Connect the free ends of the jumper cables on the grounding rods. Clamp the red end to one rod and the black end to the other rod. This will create an electrical circuit and drive a current through the ground between both rods.

5. Wait for the nightcrawlers to surface and collect them.

6. Detach the jumper cables from the battery. Disconnect the positive side first, then the negative side. Then disconnect the jumper cables from the grounding rods.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear rubber gloves when operating the nightcrawler shocker.

• Keep children and pets away from the collection area.

References

• Sports 1234: Anybody Know How to Make a Worm Shocker for Catching Night Crawlers?
• Expience Project: How Do You Catch Earthworms?