Maggots - dead or alive?

[The Flying Tench]

I can still remember when they first started talking about dead maggots in the angling press, and it seemed logical to use them for loose feed, at least, so they didn't wriggle away into the silt. I think I tried them once. But it was a problem killing them as I didn't have an available freezer, and I didn't particularly like handling them. So I came to the conclusion that you  got the same advantages (and disadvantages) with casters and forgot all about them. Then I didn't hear  any more about them for quite a while, but recently I've heard about them a number of times from different people, so here goes. Three questions:

1. Hook bait. Am I right guessing they are comparable with casters, not quite as many bites as with live maggots, slightly bigger fish, and not quite as much bother from bleak etc?

2. Groundbait and loose feed - comparable with casters?

3. Storage and killing them. Do you just put a box of maggots in the freezer or ice box, or is it best to put them in a freezer bag? And once you've defrosted them can you freeze them again?

[Tigger]

For many years, since being a kid at infant school i've kept aquarium fish and over my lifetime i've kept all kinds from coral reef fish to our coarse fish.

I also went fishing from a very early age (got my first perch when 5yrs) and so I often had magggots.  I would feed my fish with the white untreated maggs and they would readily eat wriggling live ones.  The maggots they didn't eat straight away would just roll around helplessley on the bottom, and could not crawl anywhere!  They would sort of roll about helplessley and if there was a hollow/scrape on the deck they would just roll into it until they died or were eaten.  Once they died the fish simply weren't interested in them!

The maggots cannot burrow into the substrate as people believe.  They push down and simply push themselves away.  The only time they can get into or under something is if they can get purchase and sort of sprize their way into or under it.  Obviously, they will sink into silt.

When trotting, I check my maggots regularly to see how they look.  Once they stretch out and resemble limp fingers they are removed and replaced with wriggly ones.  Often, the freshly hooked maggs induces an instant bite.

The only time I would use dead maggots would be if I had absolutly nothing else to use, imo they are not a good bait.

I think people use them to half decent effect on commercial waters where the fish are forever hungry and competing for any food available....poor sods!

I have found maggots that have been inn and out of the fridge a few times and so got hardened off at bit are better than the super fresh ones, especially in the colder months as they stay alive that bit longer on the hook.  Fresh ones just stretch out after a trott or maybe two in cold water.

So John, I would stick to live maggs if I was you bud .

 

[Blackbird]

Agreed, even the birds don't like deads. John why not get yourself a dedicated fridge freezer? I have a small one in the larder that houses all my lives,meat and hemp. You mentioned you don't like handling them, but maggots are clean dudes in themselves, and of course through the ages have been used medically. A good tip is to add a few to water for the hook, they will swell up and provide the edge.

 

[The Flying Tench]

11 hours ago, Blackbird said:

Agreed, even the birds don't like deads. John why not get yourself a dedicated fridge freezer? I have a small one in the larder that houses all my lives,meat and hemp. You mentioned you don't like handling them, but maggots are clean dudes in themselves, and of course through the ages have been used medically. A good tip is to add a few to water for the hook, they will swell up and provide the edge.

 

Thanks both of you. Blackbird, nowadays I do have a bait fridge with a small freezing compartment in the garage. I'm perfectly happy handling live maggots.  It was the dead ones that didn't appeal, though I'm sure I'd get used to them if necessity dictated.

[BoldBear]

In my opinion dead’s may be fine for Bream and Tench and Carp when they are stirring up or burying their heads in thick silt and unable to see the bottom or maggots amongst the silt very clearly; especially when they’ve become accustomed to finding more dead maggots than live maggots; such as on a lot of the heavily stocked commercial fisheries where the fish are very often fighting each other to get at an anglers bait; however in my experience they’re virtually useless on the more natural waters where the fish are not as dependent on anglers baits to survive; as is often the case with a lot of heavily stocked commercials.

How many times have you been float fishing and catching regularly and your bites have almost ceased either after a missed bite or because your maggot has just stopped moving?, but as soon as you put a fresh live maggot on then the bites suddenly return?

This is a very common occurance and always has been in my experience. Given the choice I would choose to use fresh maggots that are alive and wriggling over dead maggots every time.

Even in the depths of a cold winter when the fish are just lying torpid and aren’t really looking for food; they can still often be tempted to take a bait that’s wriggling right in front of them; more out of instinct than anything else; whereas dead maggots will often just sit there on the bottom being totally ignored in these circumstances.

Keith

Edited December 4, 2021 by BoldBear

[Martin56]

Yep' I agree that live maggots are best on the rivers, canals & natural still waters, but Deads do come into their own on commercials when mugging Carp off the top, also down the edge say an hour or so before the end of a Match - They seem to know when It's Tea time & safe to come & get em' when we are almost ready to pack up.

Dead or Alive - It's all welcome protein for the puddle pigs!!

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by Martin56

[Peterjg]

I must admit that I've found the above posts really interesting.  Most of the waters I fish are very lightly fished, the fish don't seem to recognise pellets etc as food.  On these waters the best baits (for roach) are bread, dendras and maggots.  I use dead maggots occasionally because of their convenience and because they remain visible on the bottom (despite what others say). On these quiet waters the roach regard them as a natural bait and take them readily.  However; they definitely work better when flavoured.  Overall though my favourite bait is bread.

[The Flying Tench]

Tigger, your aquarium experiments are interesting. Did you try casters by any chance?

[Tigger]

 

To be honest John, I can't remember.

Caster can be a excellent bait, but, in the right circumstances.  Maggot will be taken almost anytime by one species of fish or another.  I like to put both on the hook as a cocktail, same as I do with sweetcorn.

[chesters1]

Never had much luck with dead or multi hooked maggots i must admit i prefer bread so maggots rarely used .If they stopped wiggling they were changed !

Do fish see dead maggots as natural food ? Or do they learn they are food because they commonly come across them by people using dead ones and pick them up?

Fish do learn! bread or boilies are not natural so i presume smell comes into it before sight but in commercials food must be rare so fish will grab anything before someone else does so deads have this advantage . its rare to get a bite on maggots in the river i fish but bread is grabbed with relish! maggots are small my bit of bread is big so sight of more importance.