freezing crickets

[kevinmays]

got a friend that swears that as long as a cricket still has the larva, gills and shell will still hit them as they do fresh ones. he buys them a 1000 at a time and uses them out of the freezer. anyone ever tried

[gabowman]

Never heard of freezing crickets but know of several that freeze taber worms. I would guess it'd work, but not as good as fresh bait.:o

[Duckbill]

I brought up this topic a while back and got mixed views. Some folks swear that dead crickets work just fine. Others say they need to be wigglin' to be effective.
I feel like if the "bite" is on, they will hit anything. I also have found that smaller bream will hit them dead or alive.
I'm not one to waste anything so I'm prone to freeze the left overs.

[CJ21]

I have never try frozen crickets, I have always use my live.

[T.C.]

i dont know either, but i know they dont have to be wigglin. once you let one soak for a little while they die anyway so a dead cricket sounds good to me. i used to buy frozen shad to catfish and when they thaw out they are alot softer so as long as a cricket doesnt get so soft to where you throw him off the hook after they thaw out i think it should be fine. i would just say dont freeze em and give them a tater or orage and they will live in a shed forever.

[MaggiesMaster]

i dont know either, but i know they dont have to be wigglin. once you let one soak for a little while they die anyway so a dead cricket sounds good to me. i used to buy frozen shad to catfish and when they thaw out they are alot softer so as long as a cricket doesnt get so soft to where you throw him off the hook after they thaw out i think it should be fine. i would just say dont freeze em and give them a tater or orage and they will live in a shed forever.

Even with food and water, I've never had much luck keeping them alive over a week. Bought crickets seem to have a short life span. I've even made a water bottle from a plastic coke bottle that works well, and used cat food for food. They'll live about a week, but that's about it for me. Does anyone have any ideas how to make them last longer?

[Crappieawlogist]

I brought up this topic a while back and got mixed views. Some folks swear that dead crickets work just fine. Others say they need to be wigglin' to be effective.
I feel like if the "bite" is on, they will hit anything. I also have found that smaller bream will hit them dead or alive.
I'm not one to waste anything so I'm prone to freeze the left overs.

I think Duckbill is right...I once ran out of crickets while they were hot on White river...I started tearing of pieces of foil paper from an empty pack of cigarettes...they hit that as good as crickets!

[STUMP HUNTER]

Crickets don't have but a week life span. Seen a show about a cricket farm in Ga. on the show Dirty Jobs and they throw out lots of em when sales are down.
If you find a bream bed and run out of crickets use a floating bug jig around 2' behind a small cork.

[moswampy]

we kept a pile of them alive once for over a month while we whittled away at them. Damp sponges, heat and taters kept them alive.

[JSC]

I found Bannas to be the best for them .. that "nanner scent" helps .. I think .. and it seems to "Blow" them up some ... While I was in the retail bizness I made the mistake of feeding them some "nanners" then all my coustomers wanted some of them "nanner" crickets or "Chirping Bugs" ... 1st time I have ever heard of freezing them .. something else to try.
JSC