Raising Alabama Jumpers – Live Fishing Worms

Alabama jumpers are one of the toughest fishing worms, as they have a tougher outer shell that allows them to stay on the hook better than many other worm varieties. The name itself should give you an idea of ​​the action they exhibit when diving at their local fishing spot.

Alabama springers do well in a warm environment as they originate from tropical and subtropical regions, however they have been known to live on the ground as far north as Chattanooga, Tennessee. They’re fine, but get a bit sluggish once temps hit the mid-fifties inside a compost pile.

Starting out by raising Alabama Jumpers outdoors for yard and garden composting as well as for fishing, you’ll need a compost pile that basically consists of carbon-based products such as shredded newsprint and cardboard or hay. As this decomposes it will generate some heat for your worms to help keep them warm.

Contrary to popular belief, Alabama jumpers do well when fed vegetable scraps, paying attention to heating the entire pile at once. To avoid this, place food scraps in a corner of the pile, under the shredded material or hay, and move clockwise or counterclockwise as you add more material with time, allowing areas to warm up and cool down enough for Alabama jumpers. to survive in.

Breeding Alabama Jumpers to fish indoors in a worm bin is a little different. I have personally had success raising them on two types of bedding materials. Either way, good airflow is required at both the top and bottom of the worm bin.

The first way is to use sawdust and partially decomposed hardwood chips. Stay away from softer woods, pines that can contain turpentine, oak that can be acidic, or woods that give off an odor like cedar. Mix approximately 5% sphagnum peat moss into the material. The bedding material should be about 1.5 feet deep. Add about a half cup of sand for every five gallons of bedding. Again, you can add vegetable scraps the same way you would raise red worms, placing them in one corner at a time and covering them with some damp shredded newspaper or cardboard to prevent odors coming from the worm bin.

The second method requires another type of peat, Michigan Black Peat Moss. Don’t try this with sphagnum peat as it doesn’t work due to the stage of decomposition and the way each retains moisture…

Here you’ll want to fill your worm bin with about a foot of Michigan black peat moss. Do not add food scraps to this system as I will explain in a moment. Black peat usually comes at the correct moisture level and is pre-soaked, so no further working is necessary. You will find that the bedding material compacts within a week or two, something you would be concerned with with most worms, but nothing to worry about when raising Alabama Jumpers. Remember that these worms do well in compacted clay and seem to appreciate compacted bedding material.

Food-wise, leftover vegetables will make this mixture sour too easily. The best food to use is Purina Worm Chow which is fed daily to your worms. The Worm Chow is also a great addition to feed your worms, either in an outside compost pile or by raising them in a worm bin.

Alabama Jumpers can put fairly quickly hatching cocoons in compost piles or worm bins, as long as you maintain an eco-friendly environment for them.