Breeding your own maggots

[Sparkesy2]

At lunchtime I quite often go for a walk along the Yarra and I often talk to this old Italian guy who fishes along the banks. He always uses maggots.

My father gave me a book called "Complete Book of Fishing" published 1988. I was going through it last night and I came across an article on breeding your own maggots.

If anyone is game to try this good luck!
Quality maggots may be obtained from chicken carcasses. Put these in a container - a large biscuit tin is ideal - make sure the lid fits perfectly. Make a 2-3in diameter hold in the top and leave the tin outdoors. After a couple of days the chicken flesh will be blown, with clusters of eggs visible. Wrap the blown chicken carcass in old newspaper and replace it in the tin. The eggs will hatch a few days later and the gubs will begin to feed on the nutritious meat. To help the maggots grow fat, add soft brown sugar or even cream.
Keep the chicken wrapped in the paper, watching at intervals to see how the maggots are growing. When they stop feeding, place the maggots in bran for 24 hours. Next, tip onto a sieve and allow the bran and maggots to separate. Now add clean bran, plus more sugar, which will ensure that they remain soft until needed.

[Sparkesy1]

Now I know what that was that we had for dinner the other night - thought the taste was unusual.

Now ducking for cover !!!

[Marc]

Have only ever used maggots for garfish. Never heard of them being used for anything else. Thanks for sharing the info Nat .... but I think I'll stick to the frozen kind of maggots personally :)

[ozdevil]

Natalie Great Post on how to breed maggots or much friendllier term called gents...

Maggots are a great bait as well as a top berley as well.. Some people back in the early days before it became illegal would get a roo carcass or something similar and hang in it of tree over there desired fishing spot ... the carcass would become fly blown and then maggots are formed...then after a couple of days the maggots would drop in the water and start attracting the fish. this is when you would fish your desired location.

they say this method was just as good as using aniseed

I do not encourage anyone to try the above method as it is illegal to do that...

maggots are a very good bait for trout,garfish and tommy ruffs..

maggots are best used alive

If anyone is going to try Natalies breeding maggots method you have to store them correctly...

to store maggots correctly is simple and easy but can cuase friction with girlfriend or wife becuase all you need to do is store them in the fridge..

The reason you place them in the fridge is becuase maggots do not like cold enviroments and they will be sent dormant. just keep them in the fridge until you are ready to use them out on the water....

Also it is a good idea to have an esky with ice so that you can store your maggots while out on the water or just on the bank...Specially in hot weather as we do not want to see our maggots turn in to pesky flies

maggots= good bait and berley for both fresh and saltwater

cheers
OZ

[wallz]

Gents are great bait for Gar,Tommies and even Mullet and Salmon Trout,like Oz side they must be used alive not frozen.The best way to keep them is in the fridge in a container at this tempreture the basicly hibinate or stop moving then soon as you take them out the fridge they spring to life again.I reckon they will keep like this for about 3 weeks.
I tried using a few methods obtained from the internet to breed my own once but it was a smelly,time consuming job and i could never get as many or get them as fat as the ones you buy in the shop,for a couple of bucks you get quite a few from the tackleshops and what ever is left over goes in the fridge for next time.

[lash]

my late father in law used to breed his own fish bred gents god it stunk really check witkh your local council and i dont think your neighbours will be to happy about it i feel sick just thinking about those visits to his house and he would show me how they were going he also had a rat problem after a while all the best lash

[bulldog]

Could be my mate having a lend of me but he tells me that
when maggots (gents) are used in the colder climes of the world the anglers warm them up and get them riggling by placing them in their mouth.

[Sparkesy2]

YUCK!!!!!!!!!!! VOMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(
The maggots would be full of bacteria.

:gone without the maggots!

[bulldog]

Yeah! I agree not for this little black duck. imagine if someone gave you a tap on the back at the wrong moment. GULP

[wallz]

Yuk,i couldnt think of anything worse than havin a mouth full of gents.