Dead maggots

[RMNDIL]

...BUT not even I would use them on a river as there's no point. Dead maggots are for stillwaters.....

And yet I would NEVER go to the Thames in summer/Autumn without them. For feed & hookbait.

Different anglers, different venues, different experiences.

 

[tigger]

Perhaps where you fish but not on the Thames. Deads are a great bait. Have been for 20 years. Catch everything and many times (summer more than winter) better than live maggots. There are many uses but the fact that the Thames has a trillion bleak is a factor. Sure if you can get a live maggot to the fish they will eat it but getting through bleak is a nightmare. Deads help a lot. Plus you are trying to catch 150 - 200 roach/skimmers on the deck and there is no hanging around waiting. If you're trying to winkle out an odd fish or two it's a different ball game. Same as if you're trying to catch bigger and avoid smaller etc. Your feed will be different also etc. Feeder or float they work in many circumstances. But not all. It's just another type of bait to use.

Not for me, i'll stick to live maggots

 

[mikench]

I like a thread like this even as an observer in the main. it readily diverges from the theme but then comes back. People express polar opposite views held firmly and express them thus. It's amusing really when the subject isn't politics, football, a particular rod but dead maggots!? You couldn't make it up. It's a good job fish like them dead or alive as I find them loathsome.??

 

[tigger]

Certain fish will be more inclined to eat dead maggots purely because of the way they often feed. As a couple of examples, tench and bream. Get them feeding heads down on a baited area and they suck in mothfulls of particles and spit out what they want, so are not visually picking out a particular item to eat.
Again, deads will be more readily taken on venues that are stuffed with fish competing for food.
I can remember coming back from a seriously hectic spanish holiday with my m8's and decided to go fish an old clay pit to try and loose my throbbing head ache. I started catching a perch a chuck, all smallish fish. I got that fed up with catching them it was making my head worse!... so I left the same maggots on until there was just a bit of skin, and they still kept taking it! I finnished up winding in and laying back for a kip. Those fish were all tiddlers, big eyes, little bodies, and obviously starving hungry.

 

[108831]

But the Thames(and other rivers)dont respond like your own,barbel and chub scoff dead maggots,because to be fair they eat most thing chucked at them...

 

[RMNDIL]

Certain fish will be more inclined to eat dead maggots purely because of the way they often feed. As a couple of examples, tench and bream. Get them feeding heads down on a baited area and they suck in mothfulls of particles and spit out what they want, so are not visually picking out a particular item to eat.

The roach on the Thames (as well as dace and small chub and even perch) do that all of the time. Depends how you have fed and with what but they will gorge themselves silly it seems in summer if you feed hard balls of gbait absolutely packed with deads. Many times, mostly, it's better than using caster. The roach take dead maggot on the drop through the water as well if you are loose feeding (just pinging a few) live or dead and they have plenty of time to inspect the bait. But it's just another bait and another method which has it's day when needed. Maybe the Thames has too many fish ?!

 

[rayner]

I do not now use dead maggots unless I buy frozen. I prefer to leave maggots for a couple of days bagged with the air squished out, then on the bankside place them in water to prevent them from coming back from their dormant state. It makes for a plump maggot in a dormant condition exactly the same as a fully fresh maggot.
By the way, I see nothing wrong with dead maggots, the fish where I fish go mad for them, they soon lose their plump state the longer they are dead.
I have found that my new way of keeping them dormant leaves them looking in a better condition than dead.

 

[INearlyCaughtOne]

In the shop I buy bait from, they have dead maggots in the fridge; they are in vacuum-sealed bags. I am often tempted to buy a bag and mix them in-ground bait, but then again, they would not wriggle, so some of the attraction would be lost to the fish...

 

[rayner]

Fish are not the smartest creature, dead maggots are plenty effective enough. they would probably shy away from dead skins but dead maggots are a good hook bait as well as feed.
Fish can be very wary at times, I seriously can not believe a fish can tell if a maggot is alive or dead. I do believe fish can tell if a bait of any kind is in a poor condition, including maggots.

 

[108831]

I think they can Gary,but they eat anything edible,its the different usage options for deads that make them a must have for many types of fishing,same as lives for trotting,fast water fishing...

 

[rayner]

I agree live maggots are far better for different applications like waggler if only because they fire from a catapult better. I suspect like you say are better for trotting if live maggots sink in a different way to deads I've never thought about. They may well do.
When I was fishing the Trent live maggot were the norm, I can't remember when the deads revolution started. Certainly, after I had to stop fishing running water. On commercials, they are accepted by fish everywhere because just about everyone feeds them.
I used to feed them in Ireland when loading ground bait with dead maggots and when fishing reservoirs for bream.

 

[S-Kippy]

Well....I tried preparing my deads this time by fridging them ( air free) and then keeping them in water on the bank. Much better than my last lot though still not really to my liking.....or the fishes today !

 

[tigger]

Well....I tried preparing my deads this time by fridging them ( air free) and then keeping them in water on the bank. Much better than my last lot though still not really to my liking.....or the fishes today !

You should have tried lives if the deads weren't working?

 

[Keith M]

You should have tried lives if the deads weren't working?

Even if the fish are not feeling hungry they can still often be tempted to grab at a live maggot that’s wriggling temptingly in front of their noses; more out of pure instinct than anything else; whereas a maggot that’s lying dormant on the bottom is quite likely to be ignored when they are not actively feeding

Keith

 

[tigger]

Even if the fish are not feeling hungry they can still often be tempted to grab at a live maggot that’s wriggling temptingly in front of their noses; more out of pure instinct than anything else; whereas a maggot that’s lying dormant on the bottom is quite likely to be ignored when they are not actively feeding

Keith

Exactly right Keith ?.

Thats why I often give the reel handle a turn every now and again wether i'm float fishing or legering. Movement very often induces a bite.

 

[rayner]

I know how effective dead maggots are and have every confidence in using them. Don't for one minute think I have lost faith in live maggots I use as many lives as deads. There is no better maggot for me when fishing in the margin.
I would not ever discount an angler using lives and not liking deads, angling would be pretty boring if we all fished in the same way.
I was dubious when deads were first mentioned to me I soon changed my mind after seeing results.

 

[108831]

Exactly right Gary,I think the aspect of a wriggling maggot pays far less to the success of them,more there seems more weight,density etc,giving a better splash/sink rate,plus they catapult better,I think that if casters kept better they would outfish maggot in most normal river conditions for better fish,but they don't,so aren't as convenient and they don't wriggle,imo the best bait for barbel bar none if small fish aren't a nuisance,maggot have the same issue....

 

[peytr]

back to the subject of how to get dead maggots: I never cared much about it because I only do it when there are left overs. I keep maggots for up to a week in summer (in the fridge that is) and freeze them after that. This way there's always something for grabbing.

Now I did it in a sealed bag and did it in a big container where there's lots of space for drying out. Especially with the latter method the maggots are not looking and feeling very attractive. A bit discolored and soft. However the fish don't seem to mind too much. I cannot force myself to the ritual killing some people seem to have found a new religion in. But then again: before the craze about deads there already where people who found time to wash and dry their maggots, even giving receipes for what to rinse them in.

Otoh: I have recently started to riddle my ground bait (well, sometimes) so who knows what I'll do with maggots in years to come....

 

[hooferinsane]

Well first go yesterday with the leftover maggots. Three seperate sealable bags used. Will take a few next week, but probably groundbait additives.

 

[108831]

Dead maggot is a great way of stopping wastage,but,for the biggest,best quality deads fresh maggot is best...