Maggot is... Maggots: breeding, storage

Maggot

- blowfly larva. The length of the larva is 4-12 mm. [1] In the wild, it feeds on stale meat and other products, provided that the fermentation process has already passed. In laboratory conditions, they can also be grown on sweet paste (a solution of starch and sugar). Under favorable conditions, they spend 10-15 days in the form of a larva, after which they turn into a fly. Under unfavorable conditions, they plunge into a state of anabiosis, in which they are able to withstand frosts down to −30 °C. At subzero temperatures they can live up to 3 years without turning into flies.

Usage [ edit | edit code ]

Fishing [edit | edit code]

It is one of the most popular types of bait. Both in winter and in summer.

Feeding insect [edit | edit code]

Maggot is also used as food for aquarium fish, exotic pets and birds.

Medicine [edit | edit code]

In medicine, maggot is used in some clinics as a cheap, effective and safe way to clean wounds from dead tissue and suppuration. The maggot is placed on the wound and left for a while, causing the maggot to eat all the dead tissue, leaving the wound clean. This method is used in more than 1,500 medical centers in Europe and the USA. [2]

Problems [edit | edit code]

Like ticks and fleas, maggots can pose a danger to domestic animals (especially sheep) and humans. They are the causative agents of diseases called myiases. One of the ways to biologically control the number of maggots is to attract small beetles to exterminate them.

Maggot today is one of the most popular baits for catching peaceful and small predatory fish. Low cost, long hook retention, and year-round use have made the bait a favorite in the world of natural baits. Let's talk about him.

Photo of maggot for fishing

Note!

• 
  Hemp seeds - tips on using and preparing seeds for fishing (120 photos)

• Bloodworms for fishing - secrets and tricks on how to properly obtain, store and attach for catching various types of fish (125 photos + video)

• Dung worm - methods of extraction and secrets of catching. How to properly prepare and breed at home (100 photos and videos)

Read here Fly fishing - a description of the technique and secrets of fishing with a spinning rod and fishing rod (130 photos + video)

Help the project, share on social networks

0

How to get maggots for fishing in summer and winter

You can play tricks for a long time with a variety of baits and attachments, but in most cases, most often, fishermen use only three types of bait in their practice: bloodworms, worms and maggots. With worms, everything is relatively clear, since since childhood, each of us has dug the ground and found worms there, but how to get maggots - here we can talk a little.

Maggot is an almost universal bait for fishing, which can be used to catch quite successfully; in addition, due to the relative rigidity of the maggot itself, there is no need to change it often. That is, in some cases, one maggot can successfully catch several fish before replacing it.

Needless to say, maggot is recognized by fishermen all over the world, which means that a modern fisherman must have information about where and how to get maggot. It is clear that the easiest way is to purchase it at a fishing store or market, which is what many do. But, if you are going fishing for several days, the purchased supplies may not be enough, since if stored improperly or overheated, the maggot pupates and changes its properties. By the way, when buying maggots in a store, pay attention to its mobility. If it is lethargic and inactive, and the seller did not take it out of the refrigerator (i.e., from a warm place), then the maggot should soon pupate. In addition, if the maggot does not have a dark dot visible, it means it will soon turn into a pupa, so be careful.

If you can’t buy maggots in a store, don’t despair. Getting it, or rather, growing it yourself, is not difficult, and at one time you can get a fairly decent amount of maggots. Let's look at several methods for extracting maggots in summer and winter.

Types of maggots for fishing

Maggots differ in size, color and belonging to different types of flies. For bait, the so-called kick is most often used - a larva up to 1 cm long. This is a very mobile type of maggots with zero buoyancy. Pinka lasts the longest and does not pupate as quickly as other types of larvae.

Pinka is often colored yellow, orange and red. A particularly good option with a red kick. If you use a kick with negative buoyancy, then it can be added to feeder feeders with food and to bait balls for float fishing. Pinka can be stored for six months.

Medium-sized larvae up to 15 mm are also actively used by fishermen. They have a tougher skin and hold the hook very well. This maggot sinks, so you can safely add it to bait. In general, before adding it to food, you should always check whether maggots sink or not. If it doesn’t sink, then, naturally, it’s not suitable for bait. As for the duration of their storage, they can last about 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

The fattest and largest maggots reach a length of 25 mm. They are suitable for fishing large bream, carp, crucian carp, and silver bream. If we put 3 of these larvae on a hook, we will get a voluminous and appetizing bait of this type:

However, such maggots have a significant drawback. They pupate quickly, within 1-2 weeks. When fishing, they must be kept in a cool place. If you leave a box with such maggots in the sun, then before the end of fishing they will turn into flies.

Where to get, or how to get, maggots for fishing in the summer

Unhygienic and hazardous mining method

It is no secret that some fishermen collect maggots from dead animals. Probably, this method has the right to exist, but the risk of infection is very high

Maggot from an egg

I do this. I take 1-2 chicken eggs, carefully remove the shell from the top, put the eggs outside in the shade for about 1-2 days, in places where there are flies. After this, I move the eggs indoors (for example, a garage) and wait for the process. After 1-2 days, maggots will make themselves known. All you have to do is wait until they reach the size you need, move them into a container with clean sawdust and place them in the refrigerator for storage (I don’t freeze maggots, although this is possible). When you obtain maggots in this way, it turns out clean, white, and plump. It's nice to hold it in your hands.

Methods for breeding maggots

To grow maggots, it is enough to make a three-level incubator. Important details:

• sawdust must be dry;
• the container is a food container or plastic bottle;
• Before packaging, the larvae are wiped and washed.

Maggots are fed with fish offal, meat, boiled eggs or cottage cheese.

On the egg

A hole is made in the upper part of the rotten egg, into which several crumpled pieces of a dry napkin are placed.

After the larvae hatch, the egg is transferred to an incubator. Due to its strong aroma, this method is good for growing in garages and is not suitable for apartments.

On rice flour

Adding a layer of rice flour to the bottom of the incubator is the best method for storing larvae. Once every 3-4 days the layer of flour is replaced with a new one. This additive has a positive effect on the color and hardness of maggots.

To achieve maximum offspring, keep the temperature at 0°C.

On chicken manure

Chicken droppings are collected on a net in a thin layer, and a tray is placed under it. The size of the cells should be sufficient for maggots to get through the holes.

Fly larvae in humus

The tray is covered with sawdust; you can add rice flour or semolina. The humidity level on pallets with manure and sawdust should be about 80%, critical points - 70% and 85%.

Tips and tricks on how to get hold of maggots in winter

1. The surest way to stay with maggots in winter is to prepare them in the warm season and then freeze them. I already talked about how maggots are bred, a little higher. In the warm season, it is enough to place dishes with meat waste outside in an open container, and in a few hours they will be infested with fly eggs, and after 12-48 hours the first larvae will appear. All you have to do is put them in sawdust, sand, flour, grow them to the desired state and freeze them in the refrigerator. When defrosted, the maggot comes to life. In this way, maggots can be stored for a whole season.

2. If there is a livestock farm nearby, then there are flies there. Try talking to the service staff; perhaps your diplomatic skills will be enough to find a common language with people who will help you in your “difficult” matter.

3. Slaughterhouses, meat processing plants, etc. In such places, flies are present all year round. It is enough to follow point 2, and you will have maggots

4. Sometimes, in the basements of houses, a rather favorable atmosphere is maintained, which is quite enough for the existence of flies all year round. In some cases, you can leave your “blanks” in the basement for a while, in the hope that everything will work out. But there are several difficulties here: cats, rats, mice, which can successfully use all your meat for other purposes, so you will have to think about where to place the dishes.

It is easy to conclude that the most acceptable and technically simplest way to obtain maggots in winter is the method under point 1. Don’t be too lazy to devote several days to this matter in the summer so that you can enjoy excellent fishing and an excellent catch throughout the winter and spring. I repeat, for city residents such a problem simply does not exist; maggots can be bought in cities at any time of the year.

It turns out that everything is not as complicated and scary as it seems at first glance. It is noteworthy that you can breed maggots yourself, and prepare them for future use, so that during short winter days you can completely devote yourself to your favorite activity - winter fishing.

How to paint a maggot

You can often find red larvae on sale, which are even more attractive to fish. But changing the color of the bait is quite easy on your own.

Method No. 1. An interesting feature of the maggot is the color saturation of the food that the larva feeds on. It is enough to add food coloring to the curd mass (maggot’s favorite food) so that the bait changes its color.

Method No. 2. It’s even easier to color the maggot directly with food coloring.

Method No. 3. If you have bloodworms, you just need to mix two types of larvae. The maggot will eat the bloodworm and turn a rich red color.

Maggot is one of the most versatile and popular baits for a variety of fish. In other words, they can be called fly larvae. They are white with a cream tint. The maggot is mobile and can crawl into small cracks and holes. The habitat of the larvae is fish waste, garbage dumps and rotting meat pits. According to sanitary standards, even collecting them is contraindicated. The fly lays eggs on the remains of decomposing meat, from which larvae, called maggots, subsequently appear. With good nutrition in warm weather, the larvae can reach up to 1.5 centimeters in length in just 5 days. The maggots, photos of which are posted below, clearly confirm this fact.

Size and shape of larvae

With their size and shape, maggot flies are visually similar to caterpillars and resemble one of the most common types of aquatic larvae - the caddisfly. Based on this, it is not surprising that the inhabitants of reservoirs easily and quickly detect them, capture them, flatten them with their teeth and swallow them.

Stores mainly sell blowfly maggots. They are comparatively larger in size than other larvae. An adult blowfly maggot can reach a length of up to 15 millimeters. All amateur fishermen need to know this fact when choosing bait, because there is a possibility that the store may offer larvae of different sizes, and this is bad from a storage point of view. Most likely, this is the result of mixing maggots of different ages. Juveniles reach a length of about 4 millimeters. They are much more tenacious than mature larvae, so they can be stored much longer. In addition to their size, young individuals have a distinctive feature - a dark spot. It shines through the front shell. Old larvae, which should turn into pupae any day now, do not have it.

Life cycle of flies and emergence of larvae

The lifespan of a house fly depends on conditions, but in any case the course of the insect's life cycle does not change.

The insect begins to show the first signs of activity simultaneously with the onset of heat.

As the temperature rises, they begin to leave their wintering grounds, emerging from sleep. During the day they search for food, but sleep at night.

The development cycle of an insect begins with the egg stage.

They are formed in the abdomen of the female after mating. If conditions are favorable, maggots leave the egg shell a day after laying. If we talk about what fly larvae look like, they are white worms.

Some flies are viviparous. In this case, first instar larvae appear. The development of the fly larva goes through three stages.

There is no molting for them either - the worms simply grow, reaching a length of 15 mm. It takes them about ten days to do this.

The female lays a massive clutch that can contain up to 200 eggs.

The larvae's diet consists of decaying organic matter.

Therefore, the female insect most often lays eggs in places such as:

1. feces;
2. slops;
3. purulent masses;
4. rotting vegetable waste;
5. spoiled meat;
6. corpses.

Once the larva reaches a certain size, it enters the pupation stage.

To do this, it is buried in the soil, where it lies completely motionless.

Visually, it has an oval shape and dark colors. The duration of the stage is no more than three days.

Then an adult insect emerges to the surface, ready to mate. And the development cycle repeats.

Using maggots as fishing bait

Maggot is a bait that is very resistant to external influences and has a fairly strong shell. In this regard, after attaching it, it is necessary to keep the hook tip open together with the barb. Otherwise, the fish bite may be empty. When fishing with larvae, there is the problem of “sucking out” the entrails. This situation occurs when the fisherman’s reaction to a bite is weak. Once thrown into the water, a maggot on a hook often returns with an empty skin and no entrails. Perhaps the fisherman does not make the hook in a timely manner, so the fish has time to suck out the most delicious insides of the larva and spit out its skin.

Undoubtedly, the advantage is the strength of the shell, as well as the fact that one bait can be used several times in active biting conditions to catch several fish.

Fishing with maggots

Maggot

- the most profitable
bait
. After all, it retains its taste and pleasant appearance longer than others. Therefore, it is not uncommon for a fisherman to catch up to ten fish using just two larvae.

Stores usually sell oblong-shaped maggots; one end of the larva is pointed and the other is rounded. Maggot is great for catching both predatory perch and peaceful fish - roach, bream, silver bream and other carp fish. Another advantage of maggot is that it is not very favored by the ruff, which often annoys fishermen.

Ruff, of course, does not refuse maggots, but does not rush at this bait as impudently as at his favorite bloodworm. In addition, the maggot stays quite firmly on the hook and you can catch several fish with 1-2 larvae, while the bloodworm usually “gets lost” with each bite of the insatiable ruff.

Maggot, as a bait, is optimal for small hooks. Can be attached to the hook either separately, 1-3 pieces, or together with bloodworms. This type of attachment - bloodworm + maggot - is usually called a “sandwich”.

Tips for catching maggots

• When biting is active, several larvae are pierced with a thin hook at once, which are planted with the rear part.
• Do not overdo it with the amount of maggots in the bait! Otherwise, the fish will lose interest and won’t bite. For 1 kg you should take only 50-100 ml of maggots.
• To attract more fish, maggots can be tinted with food coloring to produce rich yellow and red tones.
• The number of maggots on the hook varies depending on your goals. If you “hunt” for large fish, then you can take a whole handful of maggots. Wriggling, they are sure to attract the attention of a predator. For roach and bleak, use 1-2 maggots. Otherwise, the fish does not notice them.
• Sometimes, to impart buoyancy, the maggot is pumped with air using a syringe before attaching it to the hook.
• When catching large fish (for example, bream or carp), it is worth putting several maggots on the hook at once (2-3 inflated larvae are enough to lift the hook from the bottom).
• In this case, the leash may cause doubt in the fish, so it can be loaded with a tiny piece of lead.

maggot photo

A bunch is an effective way to plant larvae

There is another effective way to plant larvae, which is called a “bundle”. This will require a larger hook. Maggots are attached to it using the same method as described above, that is, several larvae are strung along the edge of the flesh at once. Correct placement will ensure the mobility of all maggots that are located on the hook. Thus, the bunch becomes an attractive bait for fish.

The disadvantage of this option is the following point. When fishing is carried out with a fishing rod and reel, when the equipment is reeled in for a long time, the leash becomes twisted, due to the fact that the bait acts as a propeller.

When catching small fish, there are situations when you can catch several fish with one gnawed bait. In this case, in order not to waste time replacing the bait, maggots can be planted by making a puncture in the body with a hook directly in the center, along an imaginary axis.

Fishermen often camouflage large hooks. They pierce a couple of larvae along the axis and slide them onto the hook and shank. The outermost larva is caught by the edge of the head. Then the hook tip is released a little.

How to plant maggots correctly

Another advantage of maggot is that it sticks perfectly to the hook - this is not the case for fish, it’s easy to pick it off and not fall into the hands of the fisherman.

There are different ways to attach a larva to a hook. We won’t describe them; it’s best to show them visually, which is much more interesting and understandable.

It is best to pierce the larva, just like bloodworms, just below the head. Since with such a nozzle on the hook, the bait, hanging down, rarely remains in a calm state.

And yet, a maggot, properly placed on a hook, holds on so firmly that with one larva you can catch not a single fish, and not even two, but much more. OK it's all over Now. Thank you. No tail, no scales.

Why do fish bite on maggots?

It should be understood that maggots are not a permanent inhabitant of water bodies, so some fish probably do not perceive them as a source of food. In such cases, it is necessary to accustom the fish to bait by using maggots as bait. This trick increases catches significantly.

Maggot is a soft bait of natural origin, therefore it is a real delicacy for fish, but the inhabitants of the rivers are very careful and picky in their choice of food, because fishermen constantly visit them. There is one trick: if you paint the larvae brown, they cease to arouse suspicion, and the fish rushes to feast on such an attractive bait.

It is important to know that maggots are attractive to fish only in warm weather. On cold autumn and spring nights and days with such bait, a sharp decrease in catch can be noted. At this time of year, the best option would be to replace maggots with other baits. For example, babka, bloodworm, shitika and others.

If, however, fishing takes place in cold water, then it is best to use small larvae, small hooks and light floats. Accordingly, such recommendations are only suitable for catching small fish. This trick will help to significantly increase the number of bites.

Storage methods

Fresh maggots have delicate skin; if you pierce them, the insides will simply flow out. Therefore, you need to purchase it a couple of days before fishing to give it time to brew.

It is best to store larvae in the refrigerator. The temperature should be positive, close to zero. Maggots, photos of which you can see in the article, with this method of storage become motionless and fall into torpor. Their life processes slow down. In this state they can be stored for up to two months.

Conservation

Preparation for preservation involves drying the larvae. For this, many fishermen use flour, but, as practice shows, this method is not suitable for long-term storage, since the flour quickly begins to mold. The best option is to add small sawdust from deciduous wood, which is odorless. After this, the maggots must be cooled, and then, separating them from the sawdust, place them in a container and close it tightly. This must be done in order to close access to air. The container with the larvae is eventually placed in the refrigerator.

Another preservation option is to add bread crumbs to the maggot box. From them it will acquire a yellowish color, and the skin will become stronger.

Preparing for fishing

Before fishing, the larvae should be returned to room temperature. The maggot for fishing should again become mobile. Based on this, it must be taken into account that the high mobility of larvae and a large number of them in one container can harm them when transported over long distances. At the moment of high activity of the larvae, friction arises between them, which leads to the death of a certain number of specimens. To avoid this, the larvae are cooled before the trip, then carefully placed in a thermally insulating container, which you can make yourself from any foam box or buy a special case with foam inserts, for example.

However, it should be remembered that it is important not to overheat or freeze the larvae, otherwise they may quickly die.

Upon arrival at the fishing site, immediately before starting fishing, it is useful to keep the maggots in a jar, into which you first need to add a drop of anise oil. Fill the jar halfway with larvae and fill approximately the same volume with sawdust. It is best to store the larvae throughout the entire fishing trip in this very jar. It is necessary to make holes in its lid for air. If maggots are in the jar for a long time, its contents should be carefully sorted and dead specimens should be removed from it.

There is no need to throw away pupated larvae. They can be useful for bait in the summer.

Storage

If maggots for fishing are stored at room temperature, the larvae will pupate and turn into flies after a week.

If the temperature is maintained at zero, the nozzle can be stored for two months. There should be enough space in the container for the larvae to live. Otherwise, they will stretch out and die.

The following factors are no less important:

• Covering the larvae from lighting.
• Storage on sawdust, which helps the larvae get rid of excess moisture.
• Deprivation of air flow. Otherwise, pupation will occur even in the refrigerator.
• To feed, you need to place a container with maggots in the room for forty minutes. Then add finely chopped vegetables, broth, yolk or cottage cheese. Sometimes anglers prefer to color the larvae if the fish bite better on a certain color. The larvae will change color depending on what they are fed with. Yolk will turn yellow, carrots will turn orange, greens will turn green, beets will turn red.

Young larvae are considered the most tenacious. They can be distinguished by a dark spot near the head. The Red Pink variety is one centimeter long and can be stored in the cold for more than six months.

The best place in the refrigerator to store containers with maggots is the egg compartment. This is where the storage temperature is considered ideal.

Maggot at home. Growing methods

Fly eggs can be obtained in two ways:

1. The summer option is obtained from the substrate, that is, from fresh fish. You just need to leave the fish in the sun for a few hours. The substrate, aged in this way, with the released fly eggs, should be placed in a jar with sawdust and placed in a cool, dry place. After about seven days, maggots will appear. They will completely leave the substrate and move into the sawdust. The remains of the substrate should be thrown away unnecessarily, the remaining larvae should be sown and placed in fresh sawdust. Unpleasant odors associated with cultivation will disappear within 3 days.
2. A winter option is growing in gauze nets. Cover the flies with a gauze net and feed them under the net. There they will definitely lay eggs, from which white worms with hard skin will subsequently emerge. The main disadvantage is the laboriousness of catching the flies themselves and maintaining the appropriate temperature for their normal functioning. On average, flies begin to lay eggs from 3 to 6 days from the start of feeding. The substrate is prepared in the same way as in summer, only they use another heat source rather than the sun.

Mature maggots should be kept at temperatures close to freezing to slow down their pupation process. The most suitable and reliable place for them is the refrigerator. Room temperature has a beneficial effect on the development of larvae, so within three days they become pupae. To obtain larger specimens of larvae, it is necessary to add fresh substrate in the middle of their development, which should be without fly eggs.

Breeding maggots at home is dangerous to human health, so you must follow strict rules, which include personal hygiene and care in handling them. If you do not follow the prescribed rules, you can expose yourself to the risk of contracting various diseases.

What could be an alternative?

An alternative to breeding maggots at home are bloodworms, fish larvae and beetles (May, medicine man). A direct analogue of the classic maggot for fishing is the burdock moth (care and breeding are carried out in a similar way).

Bloodworm breeding

Bloodworms reach a length of 20 mm, but the larvae are smaller - up to 12 mm. Red specimens are good for fishing and are visible at long distances. In summer, the bait proves itself when catching large carp and other predatory fish.

Bloodworm breeding is carried out in heated rooms with constant air circulation. A container covered with a fine mesh acts as an incubator. As with maggots, sawdust with rice flour or semolina is used to cover the bottom.

It is necessary to maintain the following conditions in the incubator:

• humidity – from 70% to 80%;
• temperature – from +18 to +40°C.

The capacity of the incubator can be a large bucket. Temperatures below +18 °C lead to slow growth of larvae and make their further storage difficult.

Red bloodworms are good for fishing

They search for masonry in winter or autumn; in the summer season it will not be possible to find them. The reference point for the distribution of eggs is areas with deposits of organic substances. The clutches are found on lakes and rivers, mainly in silt.

Breeding carp larvae

Growing carp larvae is recommended for experienced fishermen. The technological process is more complicated than breeding maggots or bloodworms at home.

Larvae are caught from spawning reservoirs with a net. Sometimes larva catchers are also used. Catching is recommended to be carried out on the 5th or 8th day after the eggs are released. Fishing on other days may negatively affect the stability of the larvae for transportation and storage.

It is recommended to keep and feed carp larvae at home in trays. They are given small zooplankton 6 times a day. Full growth will take 8 to 10 days.

The method is not suitable for those living in the city, since food for breeding will have to be caught in adjacent bodies of water.

Carp larvae

Temperature conditions in the aquarium range from +24 to +26 °C. Lower or higher rates can lengthen the development period and even kill the entire young brood.

Breeding chafer larvae

It is recommended not to remove May beetles - it is better to collect already grown larvae. This is due to feeding problems - in order for the beetles to actively reproduce, they need to be fed with live plants. They do not eat collected leaves from trees.

It is convenient to store the offspring of the cockchafer - a box with ventilation holes is enough for this. The container is filled with grass or leaves. It is advisable to collect on the day of fishing or 2-3 days before it. The larvae live on trees; the optimal season is poplar flowering (the larvae live in cones located on the branches and trunk).

Before baiting the hook, it is recommended to squeeze out the dark-colored sediment, which will make the bait more attractive to fish.

Flavoring and coloring

A process such as maggot breeding involves aromatization and coloring procedures. Young individuals of white worms are better amenable to such actions, which should be carried out by feeding them with special food. This is due to the fact that young larvae are more willing to eat it.

Maggot is difficult to dye at home, and this procedure does not always lead to the desired results. Therefore, it is safer and easier to purchase already painted bait in the store.

To impart a scent to the bait, it is necessary to feed the larvae with flavoring agents. This procedure is carried out immediately before fishing.

A maggot is the larva of a large fly. And an indispensable element in fishing. Today, more and more amateur fishermen prefer to fish with such a popular bait as maggot. This is due to the fact that it is easy to put on the hook, on which it holds perfectly. This bait has an attractive smell, and sometimes it is the only bait that the fish does not ignore, like all the others, but, on the contrary, is always happy about it. Maggots, unlike other baits, are easy to store for a long time. In addition, you can also fish with it at any time of the year.