beachworms - the technique - want all secrets

[straddie]

matty they are great bait for whiting and jew plus a number of other fish.
Quite different to lugworms from what I have read, hand is the only way I have ever caught beach worms. We have bloodworms here that can be dug with a fork or yabbys(little prawny lobster type critter) that can be dug in a similar method to the one you described.

Yes beachworms can give you a nice little bite if you let em.

[matty1974]

thanks for that straddie.they sound a bit like like what we call ragworm they're mainly found in rocky muddy area's and they are quite a fragile bait only used for float fishing cos a cast from the beach will smash them to bits and they've got nice set of pincers,but what i want to know is how do you find these sandworms how do you know where they are?
Also can you tell me how good a bait this cunjovie is my brother used it when he was over there and didn't catch much.
thanks for your help

[chisel]

Matty,
Any relatively flat surf beach should have them I think. At least any (surf) beach in the lower half of Queensland and northern NSW will.
At low-to-mid tide you wave a 'stink' (usually old fish frames in a bag) in a few inches of water as it recedes off the beach and the worms will stick their heads up.
Sometimes there are millions of big fat suckers and you don't even need a stink to raise them. Like at Fraser Island 3 weeks ago
They're usually 3-6ft long. Some can be as fat as your little finger. Best bait for dart, whiting, bream, tarwhine.

I don't have any fancy technique - patience is the key - a worm will stay around if it is has a bait to suck on and doesn't know your fingers are there.