Live nightcrawlers are one of the most commonly used baits for freshwater fishing. Although almost every angler has fished cut sections of nightcrawlers or earthworms for catching panfish, these large worms can be fished in a variety of other ways.

Nightcrawlers can be rigged with the same basic Texas rig that is popular for fishing plastic worms. An offset shank hook is run thru the first 1/2 inch of the worm body, then back out and then the hook is hidden in the worm's mid point. These rigs can be sight casted or drifted to wary fish that will otherwise refuse to bite.

Spinner rigs are another setup for fishing live nightcrawlers. These feature a small propeller, beads and a pair of trailing hooks. The rig allows nightcrawlers to be casted and worked above rocks, along stream beds or near other structure.

Carolina rigs are popular for fishing live nightcrawlers. These rigs incorporate an egg sinker above the swivel, which allows anglers to fish deep areas. Carolina rigs are excellent for slowly working worms along channel edges or other deep structure.

One of the newer innovations that hit the freshwater fishing industry by storm has been the "wacky rig". This odd looking rig consists of a Senko or other plastic worm, simply hooked or rigged crosswise on a worm hook. The original wacky rig can be implemented on live nightcrawlers.

This method of fishing live bait allows anglers an opportunity to cast a simple, but deadly presentation to all but the pickiest of fish. These rigs can be casted into structure and left to sink slowly or retrieved in a series of slow sweeping motions. In addition to catching largemouth bass, wacky rigged nightcrawlers catch smallmouth, rock bass, crappie, rainbow trout, brown trout, several types of catfish and other freshwater species.

In a few cases, nightcrawlers offer a better presentation if freshly dispatched. A tablespoon of kosher salt added to will euthanize nightcrawlers within a few minutes.

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