A Whole Other Can of Worms

Jackson, Wis. - Time was, procuring a ponderous string of trout, catfish or sunfish involved little more than a willow stick with hook, line, sinker, and a coffee tin filled with lively critters-angleworms, nightcrawlers or even crickets. Fish gobbled 'em up like candy. Life was easy, until the bait fried and died. Along came Styrofoam, which offered a hint of insulation, but when you accidently stepped on the container - Vegas odds of 2 to 1 of it happening - the flimsy walls collapsed and lid cracked like a peanut shell. And even before, water had likely seeped in and created an icky stew of unusable bait. Guess fishing from the bank wasn't so peaceful and romantic after all…

Ever since reading Bill Binkelman's classic Nightcrawler Secrets, Frabill Pro Staff and legendary guide Tom Neustrom has been serious about worm care. "To fish with inferior livebait is like bow-hunting with twigs," Neustrom quipped. "Don't waste my time. But going into battle with the kind of nightcrawlers that jump out of your hand gives me a superior fish-catching weapon.

"I store large quantities of super-crawlers in my Frabill Habitat system. Then, before heading out in the morning, I'll grab a couple Crawler Cans. Fill one side with ice, the other side with two or three dozen crawlers. They stay extra cool and watertight inside these insulated containers. And they're sweet for storing leeches, too."

Sporting dual, top and top and bottom bait compartments, each sealed with a watertight quarter-turn lid, the Crawler Can cools and can store two different types of baits within a single can; crawlers in one side and leeches in the other; ice on one side, worms in the other; even micro baits such as waxworms and maggots can hitch a ride. Insulated with an extra-thick foam liner and tough watertight screw-lids, this handy little container offers intensive-care-unit level bait storage in a nearly indestructible package. It even dons a convenient carrying handle, which might remind you of bringing a fish-catching-lunch-box to a day of "work" on the water. Neustrom: "Just as Lund® knows boats and Rapala® is synonymous with lures, Frabill rules livebait care - every angler serious about bait knows that. Me? I like happy bait, and the new Crawler Can makes for some pretty cheerful worms, crawlers and leeches. You can almost see the tiny little smiles on their faces."