h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Having spent most of the Summer fishing in various parts of the country with my sons, I spent much of my time in close proximity to tubs of maggots (which were frequently spilt in the fridge, on the kitchen floor and in the boot of the car) - YUK!!

Fishermen all over the country must use millions of these maggots and I began to wonder how they 'produce' these maggots in such great quantities, what sort of fly they grow into, how long they can last in their maggot form and how old are they when they reach the shops?

Can anyone enlighten me on this?

I remember a story line in the Archers from years ago when Eddie Grundy tried to buy the carcass of Caroline Bone's horse to breed maggots on. I cannot remember what happened. I expect Clarrie put her foot down.

But that has inspired another thread...

Ben

The maggots are farmed, for want of a better word for it! They literally put rotten meat and a few flies into a sealed room and let nature take it's course... Saw a documentary on tv once about it - yuck!

If I remember rightly they're bluebottle larvae. How long they last pretty much depends on the temperature they're kept at, hence the idea of putting the nasty little buggers in the fridge.

i'll drop a line over at Otter's page, he's rather a keen maggot drowner and I'm sure could give you much more info. Have you seen the coarse fishing entry hes' written? http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A655481.

If you can get hold of it, I would suggest reading Graeme Pullens guide to freshwater fishing baits. It has a whole chapter devoted to the farming and production of maggots for the angler.
As to how long you can keep them. In my experience if you put plenty of groundbait dust or sawdust in with the maggots to absorb any fluid produced, and as long as your baitbox lid is nice and tight you can keep them in the bottom of the fridge for at least a week. Ask the tackle shop owner when the maggots were delivered, if they are fresh that day then provided you keep to the above instructions they can be kept for up to three weeks before they turn into casters (pupae). Casters can be frozen and used at a later date, but only freeze them when they are a red colour. This is the point at which they will still sink. If they are a dark brown colour then they will float and are not much good for fishing.
The fly that produces the most consistent maggot is the humble bluebottle which can lay up to 40 eggs a day. When you consider each laying or "blowing" room holds around a quarter of a million flies, then you can appreciate the number of maggots produced in one day.
My answer to the problem of spilt maggots is, never overfill your baitbox and keep the lid on if it is loose with a couple of large elastic bands. I've prolonged the life of a few baitboxes like this.
If you need any more info about baits or coarse fishing in general, please do not hesitate to ask and I will do my best to answer your questions. I have been a keen angler for thirty three years ( I started age seven ) and if my experience can help I would be glad to pass on any tips.
How are your sons getting on with fishing? It might be a good idea to join a local angling club or society. Hope this helps, Otter.

I knew you'd know.

Show off

Thanks Otter, you've answered all my questions. It must be a pretty grim job collecting all the maggots off the meat - and the stench!!

Two of my four sons fish. They fish perch, tench and roach in the local lake. During the summer we went to Wales where they fished bream and carp, one of them went to Ireland where he fished for pike, and when we were in North Yorkshire we all went fishing in the North Sea where we caught cod and whiting and one son also caught mackeral off the end of the pier.

(The maggot spillage problem is not due to the containers they are kept in, but due entirely to my youngest son who doesn't put the lid on properly.)

On the subject of excapee maggots, a tip for using the bait boxes with holes in the lid, don't let them tip over, the nasty little bleeders can wriggle through the holes.

Biggest yuckky practice ever with maggots - putting the in the mouth on a cold day to warm them up and make them wriggle more.

I was lurking, but after that revelation I think I'll stop now!