Maggots turning to casters

[fordy81]

Bought some on Monday and went straight in the fridge. Fished yesterday and the leftovers went straight in the fridge again when I got home. However, today, about 10-15% are casters, and a lot more are turning.

How do I stop them turning so quickly? Although I guess now I've got some 'free' casters to try.

 

[sam vimes]

Even if you keep them in the fridge and don't fish they'll turn eventually. Any increase in temperature will see the process speed up. The best way to slow the process yet still actually go fishing is to take a cool box and ice packs. Keep the bulk of your maggots in the cool box and decant small amounts as you need them.

It's also worth bearing in mind how old the bait was when you bought it. Many shops get maggots delivered just once a week. If you buy the day before the delivery the chances are that you've got maggots that have been in the shop for six days. These will turn much more rapidly than fresher bait.

 

[fordy81]

Ahh ok. In my naivety I assumed refrigeration virtually stopped them turning altogether.

Thanks very much for the reply.

Lets hope the tench, crucians and rudd like casters tomorrow then. lol

 

[S-Kippy]

Depends how fresh they were to start with.Once maggot of a certain age start to go there is no way back. Fridging em and keeping them in a cool box on the bank is the best you can do.

Oops....crossed in the ether.Sam beat me to it.

 

[chefster]

Put them in a freezer bag,put a couple of shakes of krill powder in with them ,suck all the air out and tie the bag up,and pop them in the freezer....Dead reds,a much more effective bait than live ones,use big bunches of up to 10 maggots on a size 14-16 hook,more small fish proof as well......

 

[Peter Jacobs]

If bought truly fresh, on the day they are delivered to the tackle shop, then maggot should last approximately 900 degree hours.

Your average 'fridge is set to about 3 to 5 degrees C so expect them to last around 7 to 8 days or 900/(24x5)

 

[S-Kippy]

If bought truly fresh, on the day they are delivered to the tackle shop, then maggot should last approximately 900 degree hours.

Your average 'fridge is set to about 3 to 5 degrees C so expect them to last around 7 to 8 days or 900/(24x5)

And there is a pub quiz jackpot winning answer if ever I saw one ! I'd love to challenge this purely for the sport but frankly I don't dare !

 

[Peter Jacobs]

And there is a pub quiz jackpot winning answer if ever I saw one ! I'd love to challenge this purely for the sport but frankly I don't dare !

I used to import maggot, pinkie and squatt into Norway as there was no local alternative, so we got very used to keeping them as fresh as possible very quickly especially after the first couple of disasters . . . . . . and the 900 hours figure was the one given to us by 2 different maggot breeders who we used to buy from.

We would import roughly 40 gallons every 2 weeks and would sell them on to local anglers in both Norway and Sweden, so with those sort of quantities (and the cash investment) you learned to look after them pretty quickly.

After a year or so we enlarged the "business" to include tackle as well, with agreements from Milo and most other Italian manufacturers, Drennan, Daiwa and Sensas.

As the saying goes, t'was a nice little earner . . . . . . . .

 

[S-Kippy]

Well that's a giant first for me....I have never before knowingly met a Norwegian squatt importer.There can't be many of those around !

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Well that's a giant first for me....I have never before knowingly met a Norwegian squatt importer.There can't be many of those around !

Believe it or not we had to get an Import Certificate from the ministry of Health before we were allowed to imort at all.

Two of us went down there to apply and the lady asked us what "maggots" actually were . . . . .

My Norwegian business partner replied that they were a sort of a worm but smaller.

The lady shrugged her shoulders and said, but, we have worms here in Norway why not just use them . . . . .

Each tme we went to the cargo section at the airport we had to show the license as well.

Fun times . . . . . .