What is wasp grub and wasp cake?

Yes, I thought that everyone knew what wasp grubs and cake were too, but it seems there are at least some anglers who are not sure exactly what they are, and the odd one who hasn’t got a clue! One angler who I met while out fishing said he thought a wasp grub was a worm flavoured with something he’d seen in a bottle in the tackle shop! Yes, there are flavours that are supposed to smell like wasp grub, and ‘supposed’ is the operative word, for man-made wasp grub flavour and the real thing are poles apart.


Chub love wasp grub and wasp cake
There are different species of wasp (Hymenoptera) most of which are solitary, but the one we anglers are interested in is categorised as a social wasp. These live in colonies of up to several thousand members and are divided into three castes: egg-laying queens, workers (sexually undeveloped females) and drones (males). It is the females (as always!) that have the sting in the tail for which they are famous. They build paper-like nests consisting of from one to several combs (layers) in a papery sheath. Wasp grubs are the larvae of the wasp which are laid in the individual cells in the honeycomb (cake). The grubs can be anything from about 15mm to 20mm long and 4mm to 5mm thick. Wasps make their nest in cavities in walls and trees, but more usually they use a hole in the ground, most often in the sandy soil of a hedgerow.

Wasp grub and cake have a unique smell. It is a pleasing smell even to us mortals; not exactly honey-like, but more of a musty, semi-sweet, pungent, waxy aroma. It is no wonder it has not yet been imitated by a bait flavour company. But no matter how pleasing the smell is to us it is far more pleasing to fish, especially chub. On the right day they can’t get enough of it. Wasp grub and cake is the nearest thing there is to an irresistible bait. It stops short of being magical in that there are days when it is ignored with the same disdain as any other bait. But on the right day, on that day when the chub really want it, they queue up for it like starving men in a soup kitchen.

The best example I can think of to describe how addictive wasp grub and cake can be was the time I was asked by Angling Times to catch chub for the camera on my local river Dane. In a 2.5ft deep swim, from low, clear water, with a reporter and photographer wandering the bank behind me, I took over 70lb of chub to about 3lb on float and leger in three hours. As I threw in the special wasp cake groundbait the chub were battling with each other to snatch it from the surface before it could sink. My hookbaits were taken just as quickly.


Wasp’s nest
Wasp bait is a real killer bait, and it is probably just as well that it is not easily available. Apart from chub wasp bait will take many species of fish. I remember that wasp bait was an especially good catcher of brown trout for me and my pals when we used to fish the upper reaches of the Dane at night during school holidays, and I’ve also hooked the odd barbel when fishing the bait on the Severn, the Dane and the Wye. It does, however, appear that it is the chub, in particular, that is addictively attracted to it. And contrary to some opinion, wasp bait is an all year round bait, working just as well in winter as it does in summer – on the right day.

Where do I get some from?The most asked questions are, ‘How do I get hold of some?’ And, ‘Can I buy it?’ As for the former, yes, you can get hold of some if you have the right contacts, or are willing to track down and take the nests yourself. And the answer to the latter is that a few tackle shops sell wasp bait occasionally, but it is an uncertain business and one where demand by far exceeds supply.

I get hold of my wasp bait in two ways. The easiest way, and the one I rely on most, is to cadge it off a pal of mine, who is a pal of the local Pest Control Officer, who is called out to remove wasps nests from locations where the wasps are causing a nuisance. Failing that I ask friends and relatives to look out for wasps nests, and then take them myself.

How to Take a Wasps Nest

Before you attempt this operation be sure you have the confidence to do it; that you are not allergic to wasp stings, and be very wary that you will be using toxic gases that must be handled at all times with yours and others health and safety very much in mind. You will need a mole smoke, which can be obtained from most garden centres, a torch, a bank stick, a lighter or box of matches, a spade, a pair of garden gloves, and a bin liner.


Break the cake into a groundbait bowl and then squeeze it to a mush
Ignore all nests except those that are found in ground that can be easily dug up to expose the nest. Most often this will be in the sandy soil of a hedgerow. Go to the nest in the late evening, just after darkness has fallen, when all the wasps will have returned for the night. The idea is to kill them all while they’re in the nest. There is no point in trying to kill them at any other time when wasps will constantly be returning to, and departing from, the nest.

Tape the mole smoke to the bank stick, light it, and then wait for it to reach full burn. Now plunge it into the nest entrance. Wait for it to stop smoking, and make sure none of the surrounding vegetation sets alight. Once you are sure that everything is safe; that the mole smoke is burnt out and nothing else is alight, leave it for the night and return the following morning armed with your spade, gloves and bin liner. For extra safety take a spray can of wasp killer to kill the odd one that escaped the smoke, and to finish off those that have enough life to seek revenge. A good idea also is to take a spray can of sting relief for those that get past the smoke and the spray (very rare, but you may as well play it safe).

With your gloves on pull the mole smoke out of the nest entrance and wait a few minutes to see if any wasps fly out. If the smoke has done its job properly there shouldn’t be any, but give any odd ones a squirt with the wasp killer spray. Now dig out the nest, being careful not to damage it with the spade. Drop the lot into the bin liner and seal the neck with tape. Now spade the soil back into the hole you’ve made and leave everywhere nice and tidy.


Add brown groundbait to stiffen
When you get back home put your gloves on again and take the nest out of the bag. You need the gloves at this stage for there may be some half dead wasps that can still sting. Get rid of these and then split the nest into the different layers of cake, placing the best layers (those which are full of whole white and grey grubs) into one or more margarine tubs or biscuit tins (Tupperware containers if you’re posh) and the worst (those with no grubs or fully developed wasps) into other tubs. The good stuff is for hook baits and the rough stuff is for making groundbait. Any that you don’t need immediately should be stored in the freezer.

Making Wasp Cake Groundbait

Being as wasp bait is not too easy to come by it is wise to make it go as far as possible, but not so far the unique smell of it is degenerated to the point where it becomes ineffective. The idea then is to mix the rough wasp cake with as much other material as we can get away with, and the best ‘other material’ I’ve found is pulped brown bread.

Take equal amounts of wasp cake and sliced brown bread (visually equal, nothing fancy) and place the bread in a bowl, covering it with water. Leave to soak for at least 10 minutes. While it’s soaking, pulverise the cake to a pulp and crush any odd grubs to liquid, using a wooden spoon or your fingers.


And feed a small ball every trot down
Squeeze the bread between your fingers until it reaches an almost liquefied state, run off the excess water, and then squeeze out as much water as you can. Thoroughly mix the bread and wasp bait together, and then stiffen with fine brown groundbait to the right consistency, which is solid enough to reach the bottom of the river when thrown in.

Float Fishing

A standard match rod set-up is fine, except that it needs to be stepped up slightly. I use a 13ft match rod, closed face or centre pin reel loaded with 3lb line, a 2.5lb hook length to a 12 hook for Dane-sized chub which go to about 3lb or so. For bigger chub go a pound or two heavier. The float can be a waggler or a double-rubber float such as a Stick, Avon or Chubber, but most often it should be the double-rubber type for the simple reason that wasp bait will not stand up to casting, and therefore has to be used at short range. You will be using just the grubs for float fishing, and a 12 hook is necessary because of the difficulty in keeping wasp grub on the hook, and the line is heavier so that the 12 hook can be planted without fear of breaking off. Choose a float, whatever type you use, that will take a shot or two more than you would normally use in a particular swim. That way the tackle can be swung out and the line mended with less effort during the trot down the swim, and therefore with less chance of throwing the bait off the hook. Bulk shot the float with whatever the float takes at about two thirds the depth, and then a dropper shot about 6 inches from the hook.


Wasp grubs
Feed the head of the swim with three or four golf ball-size pieces of groundbait straight away, then have a few trots down. More often than not, on a good day, the chub will be onto the bait instantly and it isn’t unusual to catch a fish first trot down. Now feed the swim as you would when caster fishing; little and often, a tiny piece every trot down.

The 12 hook should be a fine wire type, for the grubs are extremely fragile and almost liquefy the moment the hook penetrates them. Some will stand up to being hooked better than others, so what you do is keep hooking a grub on until there is sufficient on the hook to present to the fish. Sometimes three good ones will do the trick, other times it will take six poor ones.

On very good days the chub can be worked up to a feeding frenzy and will take the groundbait and hookbait before it has had chance to sink much. If this happens slide the shot and float right down and trot the bait down really shallow. It may look ridiculous, but it works, and that’s all that matters. And keep the feed going in, a small piece every trot down.

Legering

Your usual quivertip rod are all you need. The reel can be loaded with 5lb line to a 4lb hook length, but this can be 6lb/5lb where bigger chub are expected. For legering you will be using grubs whilst still in the nest material (cake) as hookbait. There is nothing stopping you using neat grub as for float fishing (or vice-versa) but I like to fish for better quality chub when legering wasp bait, and a big chunk of cake can usually sort them out. The end rig can be as simple as a single SSG direct on the line, or a link leger that offers quick changes of leger weight. The hook can be as big as a 2, but shouldn’t be any smaller than a 6, for the cake is just as difficult to keep on the hook as is the neat grub. Hook it on as you would a big crust; into the open side of the comb, through, and then back into the closed, papery white side.

Again, you won’t be casting very far, for the cake won’t take it. I try to choose a swim where all I have to do is lower the bait into a spot under my own bank from behind cover, and then move upstream, away from the swim, by several yards. Failing that, I choose a swim where all I have to do is swing the bait in, pendulum fashion, from my fishing position.

Squeeze the groundbait into a more compact, dense ball for legering, so that it drops rapidly to the bottom and feeds where your hookbait lies. Alternatively, use a bait-dropper to release a piece on the bottom, or an open-ended swimfeeder. I should point out, however, that on the best days the chub attack bait-droppers and swimfeeders when they are mad on feed and you end up striking and missing a lot of fish, or foul hooking a few. Better to feed by hand whenever you can.

Bites are usually strong and confident, but not always. Sometimes the chub feed so confidently on wasp bait they suck it in and don’t move off too far. This calls for some experimenting on the day, to get the timing of the strike just right.

Don’t expect miracles from wasp bait, but on the right day you may think it really is a miraculous bait!

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