Other baits

[Guest Nightwing]

I believe Newt may have posted this topic once before, but since I am waist deep in snow, and it is -15° F. outside and going down fast, I am resigned to talking about fishing, more than doing any! Anyway, I alwayse see just maggots and lobworms mentioned when it comes to naturals over there. It that all you use? Here, the bait store often looks as much like a pet shop as anything, with not only maggots(we call them either spikes or mousies) and 3 types of worms(leafworms, redworms, and Night Crawlers), but also waxorms(a large moth larve), mealworms, super mealworms(giant mealworms, about 3 inches long) corn borers(deadly things, those), gall grubs, leaches, crayfish(truely, the finest big carp bait there is), Hellagramites(look like something out of a science fiction movie.) shrimp(frozen here, I am about 1000 miles from saltwater!), crickets, grasshoppers, frozen and live smelt, bait minnows in several sizes, ranging from an inch(for perh) all the way up to over a foot long(used for pike and musky).

Some of these may be regional, but I bet Newt could compile a similar list after a visit to his local shop.

It seems that you have a much greater variety of "artificial" bait(boilies and such) and flavors, but seem to have gotten away from naturals.

Is this the case, or are naturals just not talked about by proper fisherman? When I am not fly fishing(which is most of the time), I tend to use naturals(usually crayfish). Only tried boilies once, failed to get even a run, but caught almost instantly when I went back to corn and crayfish.

Anyway, just a conversation starter on an arctic cold night.

[Guest Steve Burke]

Hi Nightwing.

 

We're not quite as cold as you: 20F at night, 35F by day, but our lakes are frozen. Not thick enough to walk on, which is rare here. Average here in the south-east for January is 43F by day, 35F at night.

 

The main natural freshwater baits sold in the UK are maggots in several different colours and varieties, casters (chrysalis of the maggot) and four species of worm.

 

It's illegal to use crayfish over here as our native crays are being very bably hit by a fungal infection spread by recently imported signal crays from the States. Even before then I'd never seen them in the shops.

 

I've also never seen live fish on sale in UK tackle shops but have in Germany, where fishing is supposed to be only for food, not sport. (Is this all areas, Mike?). However, lots of varities of deadbaits are available here for predator fishing.

 

Other natural baits are used by relatively few UK anglers, mainly those who fish rivers for chub. My own favourite are slugs, which I find very effective.

 

 

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Wingham Fisheries

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/fisheries/wingham.htm

[Guest Ferret1959]

Blood worm and joker.

 

 

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Dave

[Guest Steve Burke]

I forgot about those Dave - our local tackle shops don't sell them, possibly because they're banned on many waters. I can't see why though.

 

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Wingham Fisheries

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/fisheries/wingham.htm

[Guest Ian Cresswell]

Originally posted by Steve Burke:

I've also never seen live fish on sale in UK tackle shops but have in Germany, where fishing is supposed to be only for food, not sport. (Is this all areas, Mike?).  

 

Wouldn't the live fish thing be a problem in terms of Section 30 SAFFA consent in the UK?

 

Ian.

[Guest Ferret1959]

Originally posted by Steve Burke:

I forgot about those Dave - our local tackle shops don't sell them, possibly because they're banned on many waters.  I can't see why though.

 

 

We don't ban them on our water, can't see any reason why we should. It's only natural food.

 

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Dave

[Guest Steve Burke]

Nor can I Dave. Anyone know of any logical reason for so mamy clubs banning bloodworm?

 

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Wingham Fisheries

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/fisheries/wingham.htm

[Guest Newt]

Nightwing - we don't seem to have maggots for sale under any name.

 

Crickets (sold) and cockroaches (caught) are staples around here too.

 

Any bug that is found near a venue or closely resembles those found there should be great bait items.

 

Don't know if you use them but mice and rats are great too. Bass (and pike) think highly of them. Floating lures made to resemble them are also nice.

 

However, the rest except for leaches (which I have to mail-order) are either in the tackle shop or the pet store where I buy some bait items on occasion.

 

As for the live fish sold for bait, I really can't see why it is such a problem in the UK. As long as the stores stocked only bait fish species that were native to the local lakes/rivers and did like they do here which is hold them in treated water to make sure they weren't going to spread a disease of some sort, and buy them from suppliers who do the same, it should be safe.

 

Nightwing - I do envy you some of the spring/summer/fall fishing you have available up there. This time of year though, I don't envy you a bit. We have recently been having enough days with temps below freezing at night and not too far above during the day that we may begin to see some ice in the margins but it hopefully won't last very long.

[Guest Nightwing]

Newt, maggots(mousies/spikes) are very popular for ice fishing, particularly for sunnies and perch. Maybe that is why you don't see them down your way, not much ice fishing there! Never used mice, but you do on occasion see frogs, tadpols, and Mudpuppies(aquatic slamanders) sold up here. Not often, however. It has been about 20° below zero F. here the last few nights, and we have been pounded by a similar situation than happened in Buffalo-we have recieved about 65" of snow in the last week!

My friend has a cabin in nothern Michigan, near Petoskey, where they have recived over..get this.. 120" of snow, TEN FEET, since Dec. 23.

They have about 5 feet on the ground(it settles under its own weight).

[Guest Newt]

Brrrrr. Better you than me brother. I don't even particularly like to see the stuff on television.

 

We have a NC style howling blizzard going on right now. About 4 inches on the ground and another 4-5 predicted before it stops. Temp now is 25ºF so the stuff is for sure sticking.

 

I know you folks wouldn't even notice this amount of snow or this temp but we just aren't set up for it at all. Schools already all closed for tomorrow and lots of businesses. I expect almost all will be by tomorrow AM.

 

I'm home but the wife doesn't get off for another half hour or so (at 1 AM) and she may decide I need to pick her up since she may well refuse to drive in this mess. Not so much the snow but she doesn't see real well at night to begin with and snow makes it worse. Plus there are the other idiots on the road to worry about.