The humble earthworm
One of the more enduring national forest images I’ve carried in my mind for years is of a Grandpa teaching his granddaughter to fish. The pond small and not very clear but there on the bank was grandpa, wearing coveralls, kneeling next to a little girl with pigtails and dirty sneakers. Their heads were close together, all attention focused on baiting a hook with a squirming worm. I don’t know if they caught any fish that day but they must have taken home something better than dinner.
I remember as a kid, digging up worms to use fishing and than dump any leftover worms in the water or woods before heading home. Never did I give it a second thought until reading about the destruction of duff around the lakes in places like Minnesota that I might be causing ecological upheaval in the duff.
What’s duff? Basically, duff is that soft thick plush carpet of decomposing organic material you walk on getting to one of the bzillion lakes scattered across Minnesota landscape. Duff is nature’s munch, returning nutrients to the soil, providing shelter of birds and other little creatures, protection for plant root systems, and helping to reduce erosion.
So what’s the connection between duff and fishing bait? Aren’t worms good for soil? Isn’t that what everyone who has tried to grow vegetable garden learns? True but what is good for your yard may not be such a good thing for a forest environment.
One reason anglers fishing in the lakes of Minnesota bring their earthworm bait from home is because there aren’t any such critters native to the lake area. So here comes your friendly fishing person to spend a day trying land the “big one.” Maybe they do, maybe they don’t, but for sure, any leftover bait isn’t brought home. It’s probably dumped right there at the lake.
These worms now have everything they need to get big and fat and produce lots little baby worms who in turn spend their lives munching away at organic material all around them, causing serious problems to the area’s ecology.
Who knew? I didn’t know. Never give it a moment’s thought, or considered the consequences. But now we have a great excuse to stay an hour long, “But Honey, we can’t leave yet. I still have some bait left.” I like that
I would say don’t put this at the top of your list of things to worry about.