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King Rag is killer bait for most species of UK fish, most tackle shops sell King Rag by the quarter. King Rag is a marine Ragworm member of the Polychaete family. It is found in a greenish or reddish colour and has a set of pincers called Chitinous jaws that could open a tin of beans! The average worm length is between 6 and 9″ long. Much larger worms to 18″ are not uncommon, and specimens to 24″ can be found in North Wales and occasionally elsewhere. Along the sides of the rag worm’s body are locomotory feet that look very similar to a centipedes that aid its swimming ability.They are also used to circulate water to retain fresh supply of saltwater, and to bring food to the worm via the water drawn into its burrow.
King rag favour an almost estuarine environment with a near passing source of well diluted freshwater mixed with tidal saltwater such as estuary mouths and along the near seaward banks of major ones. Worms seek out areas of mud and sandy silt lying over and amongst broken rocky ground and are sometimes found near mussel beds too.
Collecting King Ragworm is a messy business and very hard work which is why a lot of anglers buy their bait. However digging your own bait is a part of fishing in my eyes and having a go at collecting your own can be very rewarding.
Tools I recommend are a bucket or tub for collection and a strong fork, with a good handle as wet silt and mud weighs a ton.
Look for a small, circular hole up to 1.5cm in diameter in the mud’s surface that suddenly floods and overflows with water by its self or when you place pressure near the hole with your foot. This is the worm burrowing deeper into its lair!
Start digging as deep as you can and quickly right over the hole, then slowly widen the digging circle with each fork full around the hole until you discover the worm. Check through the overturned piles a you go. Rag tend to live from about mid tide zone to below the lowest spring tide water line. Due to areas that are heavily dug it makes sense to try to work the ground that uncovers infrequently only on the bigger tides where the worm beds have been least disturbed.
Weather plays a role in digging the worm as cold frosty weather puts the worms deeper into their burrow making it harder work for you, night time can be a good time to collect, as the worms are far more active at this time and nearer the surface.
Correct storage starts at the digging stage. As you dig, separate to use first or discard any damaged worms from the whole ones. Their blood is toxic and will quickly kill off the intact worms.
Dry sand collected from the area and placed in a plastic container such as a Rag and Tub with air holes in the lid is good. For longer term storage, place your worms in their tub with Vermiculite chips from a builder’s supplier in a bait fridge around 40 Degrees Fahrenheit make sure they don’t dry out, spray with collected seawater as they need it. They should keep for about a week or so like this. You can also wrap the worms in several sheets of newspaper and then into the fridge, but you’ll need to change the paper daily.
All you have to do now is fish!
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