Hagens bait cooler-

 

I use plenty of nightcrawlers. Usually they just go into my cooler, sometimes I will put them in a small bucket of ice water. Recently I bought a Hagens live bait cooler. It’s not cheap at $30, but I thought if it kept the crawlers alive and well it would be worth it. It has worked out very well. It has very good insulation. And it holds quite a few crawlers. I use Buss bedding, any commercial bedding would work fine. What I do is dump the crawlers into a bucket of water first, then transfer them into the cooler. Keeps the boat much cleaner without the worm dirt in the cooler. Another nice thing is sometimes I forget about the crawlers either in the boat or truck, I have yet to lose any if I forget about them over night. Gives me a margin of safety. I just put the whole thing in my basement fridge and its ready for the next time I go out. It holds quite a bit of ice. They say you can just put water in it and freeze it, I have been hesitant doing that, I don’t want the ice to crack it, even though I don’t think it will. And if I did that I would have to remove the worms and bedding before freezing it of course. Too much hassle.