troutbum21
Years ago I used an old wooden milk crate that was heavily lined with newspaper (bottom and sides) and filled with compost and topsoil.  I kept the box in a cool, shaded area with an old window screen for the lid. This simple set up served me well and had I not gotten into fly fishing I would still be using it today.
I traded a spinning rod set up with some worms, shot, swivel and #8/10/12 size Eagle Claw hooks for pricey rods, reels and thousands of $ in fly tying equipment/materials.  I wonder if the trout appreciate my efforts or even care.  LOL 
 
 
 
Although I've fly fished since I was a kid, I used  spinning and bait casting gear until about 30 years ago.  Occasionally, still will and can.  The start of the push was  moving nearer to the Battenkill. I did well with nightcrawlers at night and Rapalas when the water was up, but I started noticing the great fly guys that frequented the river then,  pulling in dozens during hatches. I paid some attention, asked some questions  and learned a bunch. Several of those fellas ashes when into the river. Sometimes flies will absolutely rule, other times the bait guys clean your clock. All in all, it's a fun ride being a fisherman.  It's all in the attitude. I 've had some locals in Tennessee  and NC that were fishing "crick minners" give me some of their favorite, kind of secret spots because I said howdy and stopped to chat. They saw me as a fellow fishermen, not some Yankee A-hole with a fly pole. If the trout don't appreciate your skills, Gerry, some of your fellow fishers, do. You'd do OK anywhere with any kind of gear. The money factor in fly fishing  is by choice and exercising our freedom to do so,  not because we think we're better than other people. And to the boastful  fly fisher who thinks he's spent a bunch- how much do you think it costs for a good offshore boat and tackle?  Answer:   More  than a truckload of Sage fly rods. Guess the guys with boats are all snobs.
 
Heat was always my worms undoing. I finally kept them in a root cellar, then an old refrigerator. Never had another problem. They thrive in cool soil. I used composted soil   and peat moss .

post edited by fichy - 2015/06/04 12:00:20

Don't get me wrong, every dollar invested on fly fishing and the pursuit thereof was well spent.  I just hope when my days are done that my wife doesn't throw decades of work in the dumpster.  I've enjoyed building my own rods, tying my own flies including tweaking patterns made famous by others.  It is definitely a labor of love that I would gladly do over.  I'm thankful that my uncle Pete and my compare Joe (sponsor for confirmation) took the time to take me fishing every Memorial Day weekend up on the Beaverkill and Willowemoc.  I cut my eye teeth on those streams by watching and learning from two great fishermen with different styles.  Pete, a mason by trade with hands like steel, was a wormer and worked a hole hours on end but always produced fish.  On the other hand, Joe was a spin fishermen using little Mepps or Colorado type lures.  He worked the faster water with equal success.  Both are gone  but I could never begin to repay them.  The fly bug didn't hit until I was in my early twenties and it was truly by experimentation that resulted in a new found avenue.  After taking the skunk one morning fishing a spinner rig I decided to experiment.  I had some wet flies in my vest and decided to rework a stretch of water I had just fished.  I cast some line out as best I could from my spinning tackle and stripped the fly through likely holding areas.  In less than a half hour I had brought five fish to net.  The rest is history.  Fishing with night crawlers may have started my journey but I'm thankful it didn't end there. 

It's supposed to be a beautiful night, clear as a bell.  Good luck on the goggle eyes.

A lot of folks don't realize how rough inland seas like Oneida can get, especially with the west to east fetch and the width of > 2 miles.  Glad to hear you got in.  I was on the big Lake Ontario once about 5 miles out in my friend's 18 foot StarCraft.  It went from glass calm to heavy seas in about 20 minutes. We went down into a trough, and I could see water over head in every direction.  I reached for a life jacket, as he was asking me if I was all right.  I said I was fine, just a  former boy scout, but about a minute later he started picking up the lines.  We crawled back in at very slow speed, riding the swells and steering in the troughs.  I was never happier to see the Genesee! 

Great news Clint !! Your now a worm farmer too, lol