Adolescent rag or maddies?
Mon Jun 17, 2024 11:20 pm
Hi all,
Was digging at a new spot for lug this evening, was getting a decent amount and started to head back. At one point the sand kinda turned to shingle/mud with seaweed, ground which I recognized as ragworm territory. Down went the fork and I ended up digging up a few very small rag, probably 2-3 inches max length. They were all consistently this small, so I only took 3 or 4 of the larger ones.
Would you call these maddies (harbour rag) or just immature ragworm? I normally return undersized worms to the sand, should I have done the same with these? Also found a few white rag which were a similar size, which makes me think it's a nursery area of sorts?
Opinions appreciated! Cheers
Was digging at a new spot for lug this evening, was getting a decent amount and started to head back. At one point the sand kinda turned to shingle/mud with seaweed, ground which I recognized as ragworm territory. Down went the fork and I ended up digging up a few very small rag, probably 2-3 inches max length. They were all consistently this small, so I only took 3 or 4 of the larger ones.
Would you call these maddies (harbour rag) or just immature ragworm? I normally return undersized worms to the sand, should I have done the same with these? Also found a few white rag which were a similar size, which makes me think it's a nursery area of sorts?
Opinions appreciated! Cheers
Re: Adolescent rag or maddies?
Tue Jun 18, 2024 12:41 pm
There is a visible difference between maddies and rag. The maddie has a streak down it's back.
https://britishseafishing.co.uk/harbour ... e_vignette
https://britishseafishing.co.uk/harbour ... e_vignette
Re: Adolescent rag or maddies?
Tue Jun 18, 2024 2:18 pm
donal domeney wrote:There is a visible difference between maddies and rag. The maddie has a streak down it's back.
https://britishseafishing.co.uk/harbour ... e_vignette
Brilliant, thanks Donal! Yes I did notice a streak on these worms. Another thing I just noticed, the article says they don’t last very long at all in newspaper. I found this to be true this morning when going for a session; they looked fairly rough after ~12hrs in fresh newspaper overnight. Still wriggling and colourful but not the same as before.
On the other hand, my local rag normally tough it out for a few days if I change their paper every day.
Cheers!
Re: Adolescent rag or maddies?
Wed Jun 19, 2024 7:57 am
I use sweet tubs. About 6-8mm of sea water and about 20-25 maddies to the tub and store them in a fridge.
Change the water the next day and then every 3-4 days after that. I've had maddies for up to 2 weeks could have been longer but I dig bait every 2 weeks so they would get mixed in with the fresh ones. I've can keep lug for as long, rag/king rag I've had for over 2 months.
If you have the shop bought rag remove the shite their in and store them in the tubs of water. The rag after 2 changes of water will only need to be done once a week.
I still check them every day and remove any suspect ones.
I keep the sea water in 5lt. water bottles the ones you can buy in the supermarket with drinking water.
The tubs I get from my local pound-euro shop or whatever they call then selves these days
The lug in the photo are 16 days old and perfect to go
Change the water the next day and then every 3-4 days after that. I've had maddies for up to 2 weeks could have been longer but I dig bait every 2 weeks so they would get mixed in with the fresh ones. I've can keep lug for as long, rag/king rag I've had for over 2 months.
If you have the shop bought rag remove the shite their in and store them in the tubs of water. The rag after 2 changes of water will only need to be done once a week.
I still check them every day and remove any suspect ones.
I keep the sea water in 5lt. water bottles the ones you can buy in the supermarket with drinking water.
The tubs I get from my local pound-euro shop or whatever they call then selves these days
The lug in the photo are 16 days old and perfect to go
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Re: Adolescent rag or maddies?
Thu Jun 27, 2024 2:26 pm
donal domeney wrote:I use sweet tubs. About 6-8mm of sea water and about 20-25 maddies to the tub and store them in a fridge.
Change the water the next day and then every 3-4 days after that. I've had maddies for up to 2 weeks could have been longer but I dig bait every 2 weeks so they would get mixed in with the fresh ones. I've can keep lug for as long, rag/king rag I've had for over 2 months.
If you have the shop bought rag remove the shite their in and store them in the tubs of water. The rag after 2 changes of water will only need to be done once a week.
I still check them every day and remove any suspect ones.
I keep the sea water in 5lt. water bottles the ones you can buy in the supermarket with drinking water.
The tubs I get from my local pound-euro shop or whatever they call then selves these days
The lug in the photo are 16 days old and perfect to go
Looks like a right job donal! I still live at home in the summer so i think I'd be executed by a firing squad if someone found a tray of maddies in the main fridge
I know you mean a secondary fridge! Would be a worthwhile investment if I could hold them that long!I suppose keeping them in fresh sea water in the shed wouldn't be of much use at all?