The Lugworm - Arenicola marina - An Admiral Annelid for Anglers

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Much of a lugworm's life is spent buried arse-up, head-down, swallowing filth and shitting out sand. It's a pretty disgusting looking creature with a very weird mouth, and both male and female sex organs. However, the lugworm enables man to procure the most tasty of meals.

Illustrations by Ashworth, 1912

A Student's Text-book of Zoology: Protozoa to Chaetognatha. By Adam Sedgwick 1898

In order to capture specimens of Arenicola marina, a spade and bucket are required. Below, a man known in West Cork as Garlic Bread Boysie demonstrates his skill in the art of lugworm digging.

The London Quarterly and Holborn Review, Volume 23. 1861

Having procured a bucket of live lugworm specimens, the next stage for the intrepid anglers on the Mizen Peninsula last week was to closely examine the papillae of the proboscis using a stereo microscope impale the poor bastards on hooks and fish with them. The pollock below was my second catch. It was caught with a lugworm. When I dispatched it with the basher, it convulsively regurgitated it's penultimate catch, a sand eel. Two for one, and the larger tasted champion, as did the lager.

A Catalogue of the British Non-Parasitical Worms in the Collection of the British Museum. By George Johnston. 1865

For those with a piscatorial interest, rather than purely in the annelid, here's some more images from my recent angling & mineralogy holiday, staying at Derek & Christine's in Co. Cork with Boysie & Burnsy. Thanks to you all for a great time.

Fosters can with pollock and a wrasse for scale

This guy had one hell of a landing net

Nice cast Burnsy

Cheers Lads

Arsenopyrite crystals and a doubly terminated quartz floater crystal

piscatorial

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Silver crystals growing from the nitrate - Arbre de Diane

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WARNING - Many subjects outlined within this site are extremely dangerous and are provided here for information only. Please don`t experiment with high voltages or chemicals unless you are fully conversant with safe laboratory practices. No liability will be accepted for death, injury or damage arising from experimentation using any information or materials supplied.