If you ask area anglers what’s more frustrating while out on the river, some might say backed-up boat ramps, low water levels, and hoot owl restrictions, or even hot and smoky conditions. But lately many are singing the same sad tune of – where are all the worms?

Worm coolers have been running empty all around Mineral County, from downstairs at Ace, to the Town Pump in Superior, all the way down to the grocery store in St. Regis. Fishermen who’ve been lucky to snag a pack of worms have to bide their time and split their wigglers in half to conserve their bait. 

Good thing Westin Kurpius, of Superior, has gotten into the bait business. At just 5 years old, he started his dirt-laden endeavor this spring, called Westin’s Worms. 

His mom, Andrea Kurpius, shared, “He and my husband began collecting worms out of our yard at night, and he created some worm habitats out of totes, and then it just went from there. We ordered containers and labels and then have sold them at the farmers market, to friends and family just by word of mouth and Facebook posts.”

This past weekend he delivered his first big order to Darlow’s Ace Hardware, and he might supply some at Two Rivers Gas Station in St. Regis in the future. 

Kurpius explained the worm breeding process. 

“We used dirt and shredded newspaper or cardboard and kept it moist. We feed them coffee grounds, and some produce scraps like lettuce or banana peels,” he said. 

To make their worm bins, they collected the squirm specimens from their yard and put them in the totes. They reproduce while living in there. 

Kurpius noted, “The bad thing is in our research about worms, we found out nightcrawlers are actually kind of slow reproducers compared to some other types of worms. So almost all the worms in our bins have been ones we picked out of the yard.” 

In the right conditions, it takes about 45 days for the worms to double their population.

At Westin’s Pre-K graduation, when asked what he wanted to be when he grows up, he replied, "I wanna be a worm seller and make a lot of money.” 

His Mom laughed, “At this point, he just likes adding the money to his savings jar.”

Westin always takes orders locally. 

“So far, we have only made it to one farmers market because we are usually camping for fishing on the weekends ourselves,” she said.

Look for his blue tub downstairs at Ace during the remainder of the summer, and he might sell in other locations in the weeks to come. Best of luck to those looking to bait and cast a line this season, summers slipping by fast, and the worms keep flying off the shelves.