Which ragworm?

In the Summer, on sea-cliif rocks at Tulaghan strand, Donegal (an exposed sandy beach), I saw small ragworm. They were green, 5-10cm long and 2-3mm wide and fairly common. The habitat was seaweed (wrack) with small mussels.
Does anyone know what they were? -what their ecology is? - and what they can be used as bait for?

they could be maddies , or harbour rag , usually smaller than normal ragworm , used a lot by match fishermen , usually put them on 10 or 15 at a time , supposed to be good for whiting and flats

thats the best place to dig rag is in mussel beds there is one in Dublin and it is loaded with rag but much bigger than what you have expained, ive only really dug rag that small in habours (harbour rag)

also i have heard that some rag turn greenish at a certain time of year

just curious lads... i stopped diggin the mussel beds for fear of damging them? am i bein over cautious?

no not at all, but i think most of the rag in dublin comes from the beds at the wooden bridge except that farmed rag.

Just for your info lads...Rag turn green when they are spawning. They spawn by leaving their burrows and 'free swimming', that's maybe why you found them on the surface. This occurs usually in early spring, however I think it is linked to the moon-faze and water temperature.
In any case don't even think about using them for bait as the 'green ooze' that emerges from them when burst is not only disgusting to us, but apparently toxic to predatory fishes...That's how they can get away with 'Free swimming' when spawning.
I learned long ago to discard the green raggies as they're worse than useless as bait....A t**d would be more appealing to a hungry fish. :wink:

um very very interesting :shock:

Just a few more details - it would have been early summer when I saw the green rag (that fits nicely with the spawning) - and they were just crawling at the surface (that fits nice with the toxic taste comment). Also the mussels/wrack seaweed were on vertical/ledged rock (not the sort of mussel beds you would dig).
Thanks for the replies - really interesting - and spot on.

Rag are spawning at the moment , you still get the odd one thats ok , usually when digging for lug , small whites aswell , a lot of clubs ban the use of them at this time of year because of this

Hi Lads,
Where in Dublin can you dig for rag n lug.
Thanks in advance.

Just something that I have noticed. If you are worried about damaging the mussel beds don't dig them. I find that I get a lot more rag when digging the edges. Not quite in the mussel but the sand/mud within 1 or 2 feet of them

rag become greeny in coulor when spawning !!! which is at the moment thats why if you buy your bait most shops will not have them