Maggots at the Pudd 4/29

[Cartman]

I put my first line in at 11:20. I left at 2:40. I caught 31 fish, 29 readear, one little baby bass, and one black crappie (I have a watch the keeps track of my catches or I would surely have lost count). Most were small, but quite a few were not. I fished with a cane pole using 2# line and small spade-end hooks. The spade-end hooks are very fine, so fine they can't have an eye. They work great with the maggots. The readear loved the maggots. I had a line with red worms that didn't get a bite, and I later changed it to wax worms, but still nothing. With the maggots I usually got hit as soon as I put the line in, and if not, just a little twich was all it took to get a bite. I am totally sold on maggots for pan fish, and they're free and easy to grow.

[Fish Dog]

I thought he was going to complain about the cops or the poachers at Pudd again...

Where do you get the maggots? Do you grow your own?

[Ifishtoolittle]

I thought he was going to complain about the cops or the poachers at Pudd again...

Where do you get the maggots? Do you grow your own?

You throw a piece of meat on the floor wait 2-4 days and there's your maggots. :ROFL:

[fishmounter]

Cartman- What do you use as feed to grow your maggots? I've heard some use over-ripe canteloupes, rather than smelly decaying meat.

[Cartman]

Cartman- What do you use as feed to grow your maggots? I've heard some use over-ripe canteloupes, rather than smelly decaying meat.

I saw that article about the cantelopes, and I was much encouraged that I wouldn't have to deal with smelly stuff, but it didn't work for me. It doesn't seem to matter what kind of meat, but it does seem that meat is a requirement. If you work with small batches the smell is not too bad, and you don't have to deal with much yucky stuff. The first batch I made by quartering a squash and using those slices as sorta plates for a couple of anchovies I had in the freezer. I was trying to use as little smelly stuff as possible at the same time encouraging them to eat the squash (like the cantelope in that article). They devoured the anchovies down to the bones and didn't eat the squash. This time I have a small redear that was gut hooked and a small piece of cod I had left over from making tempura. I hung them in a plastic bowl so no cats could get them. I let the flies get to them for a few days, and then I put the lid of the bowl on (with lots and lots of small holes drilled in the top). After a few days I had lots of maggots. I read on another fishing board that it's a good idea to keep them in corn meal so I spooned them out and put them in corn meal in a shallow zip lock container with holes in the lid. I've also read it is important not to let them dry out so I put a piece of damp paper towel in with them and kept them in the coldest part of the fridge to keep them from pupating. (supposedly the pupaes are also good bait) They look dead when you take them out, but once they warm up they wiggle real well. I read on a UK fishing board, where they use maggots a lot for bait, that you can actually freeze them and most will come back to life. Over there, however, they fish with whole buckets of maggots, literally. In addition to using them on a very fine hook, they chum handfuls of them to attact the fish. My very small scale operation does not allow for that.

Here is a link, however, that shows how to grow them in quantity if you have a big enough space. I live very close to my neighbors so I have to keep the yucky smell factor under control.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeLpSxWMpIE

[Natural Lefty]

I often fillet panfish and bury the remains in the yard for fertilizer. Well, once I accidentally dug where I had buried some Bluegill remains about a week before, and there were a bunch of maggots there. I picked some out and used them for bait, and they worked well, but not particularly better than worms for me. Anyway, it's still pretty yucky but maybe not as yucky as Cartman's technique, and you can use fish you catch for maggot bait.

Cartman, those maggots sound terrific at Puddingstone, anyway. Good idea. Thanks for sharing your technique.

[Oban]

That is a lot of Red ear! I haven't seen any...
Way to slay them out there.

[fishmounter]

I once was going to try using wasp larvas for Bluegill bait. I knocked down a large nest and took out a couple of the large white larva and fed them to my Oscar in my aquarium. Guess what? They killed my Oscar! I guess the small amount of venom that the larva had in them for their stingers was enough to kill my fish. So I never wanted to use them as bait after that incident.

[Cartman]

Bummer about your Oscar.

[Cartman]

I think most of us know about Thill bobbers/floats if we don't own a few. Mick Thill is the guy behind Thill floats. He is an Olympic fishing coach. Yeah, really. Here is an article about a guy who went fishing with him and how he used maggots (euro-larva).

http://www.finefishing.com/1freshfish/aaspecies/panfish/light.htm

[troutking]

i could never deal with maggots..those things are nasty looking

[smokehound]

I once was going to try using wasp larvas for Bluegill bait. I knocked down a large nest and took out a couple of the large white larva and fed them to my Oscar in my aquarium. Guess what? They killed my Oscar! I guess the small amount of venom that the larva had in them for their stingers was enough to kill my fish. So I never wanted to use them as bait after that incident.It's not the venom, it was the wasp larvae chewing a hole on your oscar's gut. They have powerful jaws, designed to chew flesh. HOWEVER, it could have been because paper-wasps often feed their larvae toxic caterpillars.

Venom itself is destroyed by air exposure, and stomach acid. As long as your mouth has no cuts, the venom of rattlesnakes and other vipers is harmless when ingested.

It's the same with other venomous creatures, as well. (unless you have an allergy to bee stings)

[fish-o-haulic]

I saw that article about the cantelopes, and I was much encouraged that I wouldn't have to deal with smelly stuff, but it didn't work for me. It doesn't seem to matter what kind of meat, but it does seem that meat is a requirement. If you work with small batches the smell is not too bad, and you don't have to deal with much yucky stuff. The first batch I made by quartering a squash and using those slices as sorta plates for a couple of anchovies I had in the freezer. I was trying to use as little smelly stuff as possible at the same time encouraging them to eat the squash (like the cantelope in that article). They devoured the anchovies down to the bones and didn't eat the squash. This time I have a small redear that was gut hooked and a small piece of cod I had left over from making tempura. I hung them in a plastic bowl so no cats could get them. I let the flies get to them for a few days, and then I put the lid of the bowl on (with lots and lots of small holes drilled in the top). After a few days I had lots of maggots. I read on another fishing board that it's a good idea to keep them in corn meal so I spooned them out and put them in corn meal in a shallow zip lock container with holes in the lid. I've also read it is important not to let them dry out so I put a piece of damp paper towel in with them and kept them in the coldest part of the fridge to keep them from pupating. (supposedly the pupaes are also good bait) They look dead when you take them out, but once they warm up they wiggle real well. I read on a UK fishing board, where they use maggots a lot for bait, that you can actually freeze them and most will come back to life. Over there, however, they fish with whole buckets of maggots, literally. In addition to using them on a very fine hook, they chum handfuls of them to attact the fish. My very small scale operation does not allow for that.
Here is a link, however, that shows how to grow them in quantity if you have a big enough space. I live very close to my neighbors so I have to keep the yucky smell factor under control.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeLpSxWMpIE

my grandpa raises bait in his backyard earthworms mainly, we used to have minnows different bugs and everything. now mainly hes just has earthworms mealworms and and different worms he came across working in his garden.


I often fillet panfish and bury the remains in the yard for fertilizer. Well, once I accidentally dug where I had buried some Bluegill remains about a week before, and there were a bunch of maggots there. I picked some out and used them for bait, and they worked well, but not particularly better than worms for me. Anyway, it's still pretty yucky but maybe not as yucky as Cartman's technique, and you can use fish you catch for maggot bait.
Cartman, those maggots sound terrific at Puddingstone, anyway. Good idea. Thanks for sharing your technique.

Because my grandparents live on about an half acre to a acre they have a garden, and they would use the fish remains for fertilizer. that and dead leaves.