Bird and animal food as bait

[steve2]

Has anyone tried live Meal Worms or Waxworms for bait I came across them when shopping for bird seed.
I used used other bird food for but never tried these.

 

[silvers]

Are the waxworms live or dead?
I was given a tub of live ones 25 years ago and won a match at Barford lakes (nr. Norwich) with those on the hook over maggot feed.
Suspect that they'd make a good hookbait for greedy chub too!

 

[rayner]

I remember wax worms, it must be over 20 years ago, may be 25. Caught a few carp on holiday with them but nothing spectacular.

 

[no-one in particular]

I have tried the dried meal-worms sold as bird food. Basically they are very difficult to hook, they just break, just dried hollow skin cases really and very fragile but you might do better with a very small fine wire hook than I did. They also float so no good as ground bait unless you mix them in with something maybe or ground them up but I determined they were pretty useless in the end. I caught nothing not even a bite, I managed to anchor a few on the bottom pop up like. I doubt they have much smell and no wriggle factor so better baits available. However, it was just one experiment so give them a go if you want, you may work out how to use them better than I did.

 

[rich66]

I’ve tried waxworms a couple of times I think they’d be a good bait for chub at the right time of year. They look a bit like wasp grubs to me.
From memory I’ve had a couple of perch on still waters from them. But never really fished any length of time with them.
They are easy to keep fresh for a week or so
I buy them for our bearded dragon a little bit of lettuce leaf left in the top of the substrate keeps them going. They cost me about 2.50 for 25

 

[lambert1]

Mark Erdwin did a video on them, Wax worms that is.
YouTube
He has also been using some bait from Pallatrax that uses meal worm, silk worm and earth worm, with some success I believe. Being Pallatrax though I would imagine it aint cheap!

 

[laguna]

I can't say I've ever used waxworms but I have used something similar namely; cultured silkworms which I bred myself. Yes fish loved them and are possibly - due to their 'whiteness' - every bit as good as the darker coloured mealworms.
Saying that, I think the jury is still out because I have spent the last year fishing local waters using 'black maggots', which are actually mature larval grubs of the soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) - in combination with a bed of black seeds.

They're a lot easier to rear than dendro's or mealworms imo because they will eat anything, and when they are ready to pupate will crawl up a ramp and drop themselves into bucket.

 

[markcw]

I have tried the dried meal-worms sold as bird food. Basically they are very difficult to hook, they just break, just dried hollow skin cases really and very fragile but you might do better with a very small fine wire hook than I did. They also float so no good as ground bait unless you mix them in with something maybe or ground them up but I determined they were pretty useless in the end. I caught nothing not even a bite, I managed to anchor a few on the bottom pop up like. I doubt they have much smell and no wriggle factor so better baits available. However, it was just one experiment so give them a go if you want, you may work out how to use them better than I did.

Try soaking them in water for a while, they will rehydrate and be hookable, I have used both live wax worms and mealworms on the hook with good results on the Bridgewater canal at Warrington. Another bait I have used on commercials is a tin of beef broth, it is either drip fed from a pole cup on far bank or some poured in down the margins and use either a piece of luncheon meat or pepperoni over the top as bait. Caught plenty of margin carp doing this Another is sweetcorn soup, Use as attractor and fish corn over the top.