A worm picker is a worker who gathers worms. The worms are sold as live fish bait.
Worm-pickers work at night. They travel by trucks to different fields. They wear headlamps.
Each worm picker has two coffee cans strapped to their ankles. One is for worms. The other is filled with sawdust to dry off gooey fingers.
The biggest worms are best.
Worm-picking is very competitive.
In Ontario, worm picking is a $230 million dollar industry.
“It’s like worm wars,” said Chris Pagonis, owner of Pagonis Live Bait.
Adapted from The Star and Guelph Today • Photo: Flickr/Mizzou CAF