THE coloured maggot thread

[chub_on_the_block]

Since when did the red maggot become the number one choice?. It used to be, back in the good old days of course, that Bronze maggot ruled the roost. As a switch up, yellow maggot was also effective. One would shun the cheap-skate white maggot, available at "lower end" tackle shops.

Red maggots were OK for Perch, but that was about it and since they rarely exceed 3oz back in the day there was little point.

Even after the bronze dye Chrysodine-R was found to be carcinogenic and got banned i remeber bronze were still very popular. I always used to get 2-3pts of bronze with a few yellows mixed in.

Does it matter? Whats the best colour to use? Anyone tried blue or green maggots?

 

[The Sogster]

I think you answered your own question, the rise in popularity of the red maggot was certainly in part down to the scare surrounding chrysodine dyes but they also seem to have been talked up more in the papers etc especially as a bream bait with worm or corn combination.

Personally I still prefer bronze on the river but seldom use them on still waters preferring white or red. My only complaint about today's bronze maggots is that they don't seem to retain the colour as well if mixed with other colours.

 

[redfin123]

don,t dismiss the humble white maggot, iv,e been trotting for roach with mixed colours and most of the bigger fish have come to the white maggot. Another favourite of mine is the disco orange colour,its worth trying different colours instead of sticking to just one.

 

[mol]

don,t dismiss the humble white maggot, iv,e been trotting for roach with mixed colours and most of the bigger fish have come to the white maggot. Another favourite of mine is the disco orange colour,its worth trying different colours instead of sticking to just one.

White maggots are certainly my least favourite colour, I tend not to buy them unless I have no choice. Strange thing confidence

I'm a big fan of red and bronze maggot.

 

[chub_on_the_block]

I take into account size and juicyness, in maggots as much as most things, but i dont see the almost fluorescent orange bronze maggots so much these days, nor yellows come to think of it. That Chrysodine was amazing stuff in its day - orange hands, cork rod handle, groundbait bowl..etc.

 

[stikflote]

Now ive been wondering about this, i always buy mixed maggots,but always put a red one on hook ,for the life of me i do not know why i dont just buy red maggots, but i do find find red ones out score the white ones ,
next time i really will only buy some red ones.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Back in the 90's I used to import maggot every two weeks during the season into Norway. Having close links with breeders we tried most of the available colours, blue, green, yellow and purple and the fluoro colours too.

Most of the results (usually there were 5 of us using the 'special' colours) were that ordinary bronze or red maggot would out-fish other colours, even white. We would use them in practice club matches to see if there was an 'edge' but honestly we couldn't prove one.

I tend to use Red maggot for almost everything these days except when Bream fishing or somtimes when the target are Tench then I revert back to Bronze which I used to use for everything.

I am a great believer in flavouring maggot too, and again this was after extensive 'trials' with the team in Norway, typically we used spicy flavours in the colder months and sweet ones in the warmer months - usually flavoured maggot would out-fish natural ones.

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

I stick to red, bronze and white - can't say which does the best though

 

[Red Army]

I mostly use white and red but since I add turmeric to them the white tend to become slightly...bronze.

 

[little oik]

Its red maggot for me ,have tried whites and even tried blue ones once .The red seems to give me more bites .
Doesn't red turn black under water and in low light conditions .Could this mean fish are less spooked going over a darker bait on a dark bottom.(Most of my fishing is on silt and mud )

 

[dangermouse]

I`m not sure how much of it is a confidence thing. A couple of guys I know fish next to each other on the canal, one swears by red maggots the other only uses whites, both of them catch. When I fish the canal I usually fish the peg that the guy who uses whites fishes, I use reds, and I catch.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

That is an intersting point.

We (the match team) did a lot of trials on groundbaits too, only Sensas though as they were our sponsors.

We had a lot of success in the summer time with contrasting groundbaits, that is contrasting to the river/lake bed colour, and then again with a contrasting bait as well, say Red maggot over a light groundbait, or yellow maggot over a black-ish one. Then again, you have to remember we were fishing in very clear water too, so I've no results for darker water venues.

 

[little oik]

Peter

Will have to try to check it a bit more this year. Most of the Tench lakes I fish are dark murky bog lakes ,sometimes thick pea soupers , I on occasions change between baits due to the nuisance fish (small rudd and roach)They seem to home in on red for some reason well as the Tench.
My Tench fishing sessions I generally take Caster ,Yellow corn,Strawberry corn,Red maggot ,Worm and Bread. Although the fish tend to switch on to different baits on different days it seems predominately the darker ones .This is also more in evidence when fishing any of the Lakes and Rivers on the Shannon system as we are plagued with Zebra Mussels . My groundbaits are ranging from medium to dark though.

Hopefully we will get a summer this year and the Tench will be on it The frogs were out and about this week spawning (month earlier than last year ) Due to the weather last year I didn't get out as much as I wanted . So hoping to get out a lot more this year .I will try to get a comparison chart going.

Now where's my Anorak and slippers

 

[dangermouse]

That is an intersting point.

We (the match team) did a lot of trials on groundbaits too, only Sensas though as they were our sponsors.

We had a lot of success in the summer time with contrasting groundbaits, that is contrasting to the river/lake bed colour, and then again with a contrasting bait as well, say Red maggot over a light groundbait, or yellow maggot over a black-ish one. Then again, you have to remember we were fishing in very clear water too, so I've no results for darker water venues.

I`ve never considered choosing a groundbait to contrast with the lake bed, certainly worth considering. Choosing a contrasting bait makes a lot of sense though. If you think about it that`s what you`re usually doing when you fish the method, a different coloured and usually larger hook bait over your groundbait/pellets.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

I`ve never considered choosing a groundbait to contrast with the lake bed

Neither had we until one of the team members went for a practice session and found he had packed the wrong groundbait. Regardless he fished a very good session which he reported at the next team meeting and so we gave it a good long trial.

It certainly did work for us on most of the lakes and quite a few of the rivers that we regularly fished too.
A couple of the (then) England Team who came out for an invited visit discussed this with us as well noting they had used the technique on some International venues as well, again with good results.

 

[mol]

Its red maggot for me ,have tried whites and even tried blue ones once .The red seems to give me more bites .
Doesn't red turn black under water and in low light conditions .Could this mean fish are less spooked going over a darker bait on a dark bottom.(Most of my fishing is on silt and mud )

Red is the first colour to be removed from the spectrum underwater, it appears to change to a brown colour but it only happens fairly deep, something like 20M.

I wonder if red maggots appear to be a good colour because it mimics the colour of bloodworm.

 

[Keith M]

Anyone tried blue or green maggots?

I used to be able to buy green maggots from a tackleshop near me which caught me plenty of fish but I don't think they sold as well as Bronze or Red so were dropped from their range.

White ones have always been less effective for me and generally if I use them I only seem to catch tidlers with them.

I have more confidence using the Red or Bronze maggots.

I usually have more confidence using flouro coloured Pinkies.

When I studied sensitrometry on a photographic course when I was a lot younger we were taught that (in the humans visual spectrum); Red appears more of a blackish/brown colour when viewed through a blue filter;
which I am sure can still stand out from the bottom but is probably less of an obtrusive colour to the fish than a bright white; although the fishes visual spectrum may differ from the humans.
But of course I am no expert.

 

[waggy]

Would this conversation be taking place if we were talking about casters?
It's red for me as a rule - as Mol says, the aquatic larvae of many other flies are red mainly so it makes sense. BUT, there have been odd days when white or bronze have done the trick when reds wouldn't.
Could it be that in some waters or on some days when fish are concentrating on whatever natural food is most freely available, they will go for the nearest matching maggot.

 

[maceo]

White maggots for me. Erm...because that's what I've always used!

I do sometimes take some reds as well, but I never seem to catch much with them. Confidence thing I suppose as others have mentioned.

Whites seem to me to be more visible in the water and to wriggle more than the reds.

 

[chub_on_the_block]

Could it be that in some waters or on some days when fish are concentrating on whatever natural food is most freely available, they will go for the nearest matching maggot.

Probably, but apart from large bloodworm midge larvae that are red most other aquatic grub/larvae of a similar size to maggots are whitish, creamy or brown coloured.

---------- Post added at 18:04 ---------- Previous post was at 18:01 ----------

Whites seem to me to be more visible in the water and to wriggle more than the reds.

For visibility i too agree that white, yellow or orange-bronze could be best. Used to use yellows a lot in a turbid lake with murky green water to good effect for bags of crucians.