Bait vs. Lure Debate Enters Fourth Decade Between Two Men Who Fish the Same Dock

The small-craft dock on the south shore of Lake Waccamaw continues to serve as the neutral ground for what is believed to be the longest-running bait versus lure argument in American recreational fishing, now entering its 31st consecutive year between two men who fish from adjacent spots every Saturday. Fred 'Worm Man' Castwell, 71, a lifelong live bait advocate, and Harold 'Hardware' Crank, 69, a committed artificial lure purist, have occupied the same two dock positions since 1993, when a disagreement about nightcrawlers versus Rapalas escalated into what both men describe as 'a difference of philosophy.' 'Live bait catches fish,' Castwell said, threading a nightcrawler onto a circle hook with the practiced ease of a man who has done this approximately 48,000 times. 'It's been catching fish since before humans had boats. You can't improve on a worm. A worm is perfect. God made it for a hook.' Crank, casting a chrome Kastmaster from four feet away, responded without looking up. 'A lure catches the fish that wants to be caught. Bait catches everything, including turtles, catfish, and your own thumb. There is no skill in dunking a worm. A child can dunk a worm.' 'A child can also crank a lure,' Castwell replied. 'Not well,' said Crank. Witnesses report this exchange occurs, with minor variations, every Saturday. The dock's other regulars have long since stopped intervening, with one describing the argument as 'background noise, like the lake.' Both men's annual catch records, maintained independently in nearly identical notebooks, reveal comparable totals within a statistical margin of error — a fact that neither acknowledges and both dismiss as 'not the point.' They car-pool to the dock. They have since 1993.