I want to try something new, instead of boilies/pellets and particles.
Maggots fishing - Any tips ?
- how many should i buy for let's say 24h ?
- store them in container or bag without air ?
- in cold or shade ?
- alive or dead ? Does it really matter ?
- what atractors are You using for them, what flavours are a good combination ?
- pva ? How often should i re-cast ?
Thank you for any advice and tips.
Maggots fishing - Any tips ?
- how many should i buy for let's say 24h ?
- store them in container or bag without air ?
- in cold or shade ?
- alive or dead ? Does it really matter ?
- what atractors are You using for them, what flavours are a good combination ?
- pva ? How often should i re-cast ?
Thank you for any advice and tips.
First of all is there any silver fish?. The answer to that could stop your plans right there. If the answer is yes I seriously wouldn't entertain it. Constantly re baiting, catching nuisance fish. Spodding them out and silvers boiling on the surface eating everything on the drop isn't fun. Even more so when they cost a small fortune. If there are no small fish present your onto a winner. I would say around 4 pints per 24 hours should be enough bulk them out with some boilie crumb. You could add krill meal to them but I wouldn't bother there superb as they are. Fish small bags and a few spombs over the top and feed to your bites. As to live or dead in the summer I think that's spot dependent if it's silt or weed I would be using dead. Lastly if you start having it off keep it quite or before you know it every man and his dog will be on it and use stupid quantities and then it gets banned.
In reply to Post #1
Echo post #2 regards smaller species. You need the right lake to make the most of the wrigglers.
Maggots fishing - Any tips ?
I don't think they offer any benefit in summer, they're not much more effective than a decent boiled bait/pellet imo. Obviously they're great in winter but personally I believe they come into their own very early autumn as any weed starts to die down and natural larders are revealed. If you can find these areas you can have incredible hits on maggots.
You can fish ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING on the rig over maggots imo, it doesn't matter. When they're on them they're on them and you'll catch on anything.
In my experience it's a myth that live ones crawl off or bury themselves in the silt. Chuck a few in the edge and you'll see, they'll still be there come morning (assuming they haven't been eaten).
- how many should i buy for let's say 24h ?
Depends on the water/stock. I personally start with a gallon on a spot even on lower stocked waters. If they really get on it that won't last 5 minutes.
- store them in container or bag without air ?
I just whack them in a bucket with holes in the lid.
- in cold or shade ?
Both. Keep them as cool as possible.
- alive or dead ? Does it really matter ?
Yes, it matters a hell of a lot imo. Dead ones are nowhere near as effective as live ones imo. Nowhere near.
- what atractors are You using for them, what flavours are a good combination ?
Absolutely nothing mate. Imo nothing can compete with the signals given off by the natural processes taking place with live wrigglers.
- pva ? How often should i re-cast ?
Can't really answer this bud, I rarely use PVA. Assuming you're fishing a bag over a bed of them, and you're on fish, just leave it until it goes.
Echo post #2 regards smaller species. You need the right lake to make the most of the wrigglers.
Maggots fishing - Any tips ?
I don't think they offer any benefit in summer, they're not much more effective than a decent boiled bait/pellet imo. Obviously they're great in winter but personally I believe they come into their own very early autumn as any weed starts to die down and natural larders are revealed. If you can find these areas you can have incredible hits on maggots.
You can fish ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING on the rig over maggots imo, it doesn't matter. When they're on them they're on them and you'll catch on anything.
In my experience it's a myth that live ones crawl off or bury themselves in the silt. Chuck a few in the edge and you'll see, they'll still be there come morning (assuming they haven't been eaten).
- how many should i buy for let's say 24h ?
Depends on the water/stock. I personally start with a gallon on a spot even on lower stocked waters. If they really get on it that won't last 5 minutes.
- store them in container or bag without air ?
I just whack them in a bucket with holes in the lid.
- in cold or shade ?
Both. Keep them as cool as possible.
- alive or dead ? Does it really matter ?
Yes, it matters a hell of a lot imo. Dead ones are nowhere near as effective as live ones imo. Nowhere near.
- what atractors are You using for them, what flavours are a good combination ?
Absolutely nothing mate. Imo nothing can compete with the signals given off by the natural processes taking place with live wrigglers.
- pva ? How often should i re-cast ?
Can't really answer this bud, I rarely use PVA. Assuming you're fishing a bag over a bed of them, and you're on fish, just leave it until it goes.
In reply to Post #3
Thank You guys for a lot of good tips.
Yeah, i wanted to test it right now, maybe You're right - maggots are better in colder seasons, boilies/pellets lasts longer and wont be eaten so fast.
About smaller fishes - i think there's no such a place where they don't live so when You want to fish with maggots you must be prapared for them.
Anyway, i will wait few months and test it at the end of year for sure, thank You.
Thank You guys for a lot of good tips.
Yeah, i wanted to test it right now, maybe You're right - maggots are better in colder seasons, boilies/pellets lasts longer and wont be eaten so fast.
About smaller fishes - i think there's no such a place where they don't live so when You want to fish with maggots you must be prapared for them.
Anyway, i will wait few months and test it at the end of year for sure, thank You.
In reply to Post #4
Tbh I find tench/bream are worse then silvers. You can avoid hooking silvers and any activity from them will attract mr carp. But if tench/bream come across your maggots they'll wipe them out and it's a very expensive way to feed them!
Tbh I find tench/bream are worse then silvers. You can avoid hooking silvers and any activity from them will attract mr carp. But if tench/bream come across your maggots they'll wipe them out and it's a very expensive way to feed them!
In reply to Post #4
Done a lot of maggot and caster fishing over the last 6 years, both in warm and cold conditions and had 7 UK 40's in that time doing so along with multiple other 30's.
Don't neglect using them in the Spring and summer, they can be devastating, particularly if your lake has big caddis hatches, your just matching that to some degree. I kind of treat it like fly fishing, particularly on harder waters, you often get spells where they get on the naturals (spring on the caddis, autumn late summer and winter more onto the bloodworm beds) and if that is the case, it's a good bet it'll pick your rate up if you can come close to matching it. As has been said above it's about choosing the water to use them on and then how many to use. If there is small fish or tench and bream I'd go in slightly heavier, anything up to a gallon a night dependant on stock, if your lucky and there are no nuisance species I found one of the most effective ways is using small bags and single hookbaits. Less is more sometimes.
One bit of advice I got off a very good specialist angler was to always feed them with something that'll work well with the rig your using, ie a boilie, or corn etc. Feed them with whole boilies in various sizes, and crumb gives you a better chance of using a hookbait that'll make your rig work better. They are obviously very light when used alone, can be prone to tangles, a simple bottom bait rig with 5 or 6 tied to the back of the hair and used as a boilie stop almost, worked best for me personally. At least that way if they do get sucked off by silver fish your still fishing albeit with a boilie but better than nothing..
I don't buy into much with adding liquid to them, they are good enough as it is, they can be used as a carrier with liquid and powders to some degree but why mess about when they are good enough already?
Also, one last point. When baiting, have them in a separate bucket to the rest of your mix when if your not using them alone, spomb them separately, makes a much less messy affair and you'll get less escapees.
Done a lot of maggot and caster fishing over the last 6 years, both in warm and cold conditions and had 7 UK 40's in that time doing so along with multiple other 30's.
Don't neglect using them in the Spring and summer, they can be devastating, particularly if your lake has big caddis hatches, your just matching that to some degree. I kind of treat it like fly fishing, particularly on harder waters, you often get spells where they get on the naturals (spring on the caddis, autumn late summer and winter more onto the bloodworm beds) and if that is the case, it's a good bet it'll pick your rate up if you can come close to matching it. As has been said above it's about choosing the water to use them on and then how many to use. If there is small fish or tench and bream I'd go in slightly heavier, anything up to a gallon a night dependant on stock, if your lucky and there are no nuisance species I found one of the most effective ways is using small bags and single hookbaits. Less is more sometimes.
One bit of advice I got off a very good specialist angler was to always feed them with something that'll work well with the rig your using, ie a boilie, or corn etc. Feed them with whole boilies in various sizes, and crumb gives you a better chance of using a hookbait that'll make your rig work better. They are obviously very light when used alone, can be prone to tangles, a simple bottom bait rig with 5 or 6 tied to the back of the hair and used as a boilie stop almost, worked best for me personally. At least that way if they do get sucked off by silver fish your still fishing albeit with a boilie but better than nothing..
I don't buy into much with adding liquid to them, they are good enough as it is, they can be used as a carrier with liquid and powders to some degree but why mess about when they are good enough already?
Also, one last point. When baiting, have them in a separate bucket to the rest of your mix when if your not using them alone, spomb them separately, makes a much less messy affair and you'll get less escapees.
In reply to Post #6
In reply to Post #7
Fake corn medusa rig . Over spoded seeds mixed heavily with red robin ground bait powder mixed in .
Fake corn medusa rig . Over spoded seeds mixed heavily with red robin ground bait powder mixed in .
With regard to escapees, keep them DRY. Watching someone trying to deal with pints of damp maggots can be very amusing. Been there, never again.
In reply to Post #7
Some excellent posts and points here.
I agree they can be a brilliant bait on the right water (basically any water that doesn't have a small fish problem). Probably the best winter bait bar none.
I have caught a lot of fish using a short (4" to 6") flourocarbon hooklink using a size 4 or 6 hook tied knotless knot fashion with a loop on the end of the hair, I then thread 20 or 30 maggots onto 2lb line using a small needle (not a baiting needle, they're too thick and put the needle through the thicker end of the maggot, then they're free to wriggles without being squished). Then knot this little lot to form a bundle of maggots, tie this to the hair, which is stiff enough to prevent any tangles and hey presto you're good to go. If you want to pop up or balance the rig then I use little maggot sized pieces of foam, also put on the 2lb line with the maggots.
Hook this to a small PVA bag of maggots and a few spods out and you're good to go.
In the summer take a freezer bloack and put the maggot container on top of that, stops them sweating up.
p.s. try not to let a gallon of maggots excape in the boot of the car, you might think you've got them all but trust me every time you turn the heater on for the next 3 months you'll hatch a new batch of flies.
Some excellent posts and points here.
I agree they can be a brilliant bait on the right water (basically any water that doesn't have a small fish problem). Probably the best winter bait bar none.
I have caught a lot of fish using a short (4" to 6") flourocarbon hooklink using a size 4 or 6 hook tied knotless knot fashion with a loop on the end of the hair, I then thread 20 or 30 maggots onto 2lb line using a small needle (not a baiting needle, they're too thick and put the needle through the thicker end of the maggot, then they're free to wriggles without being squished). Then knot this little lot to form a bundle of maggots, tie this to the hair, which is stiff enough to prevent any tangles and hey presto you're good to go. If you want to pop up or balance the rig then I use little maggot sized pieces of foam, also put on the 2lb line with the maggots.
Hook this to a small PVA bag of maggots and a few spods out and you're good to go.
In the summer take a freezer bloack and put the maggot container on top of that, stops them sweating up.
p.s. try not to let a gallon of maggots excape in the boot of the car, you might think you've got them all but trust me every time you turn the heater on for the next 3 months you'll hatch a new batch of flies.