Thread: The A-B-C's of Maggot Fishing

Thanks for the info. They sure are some tiny beasties. I am definitely going to try them out, so I guess I better start with ordering 500 or so. I bought some very light wire Japanese size 3 (#14) eyeless hooks. I am struggling with snelling leaders, but I think they will work real well. Super light and more or less self hooking.

Originally Posted by Cartman

I bought some very light wire Japanese size 3 (#14) eyeless hooks. I am struggling with snelling leaders, but I think they will work real well.

I have some of the eyeless hooks (called "spade end" hooks), but I don't use them. I'm just too lazy to snell them. :D To make it easier on yourself, I would suggest getting a Drennan or a Matchman hook tyer. Here's a demo of the Matchman:

YouTube - The Matchman Hook Tyer.wmv


And here are written instructions for both:

http://www.maggotdrowning.com/hooktyers.htm

Wow, that's a great tool. I am actually getting the hang of this, maybe making one good out of four or five tries. The hook the guy in the video was tying looked to be around a size 24 or so. Holy cow. That's some maggot hook there!

Originally Posted by deathb4disco

It’s important to use light line and small hooks. I normally use 4# line with a 2-3# leader. I use #14 or #16 dry fly hooks. I realize that is much smaller than most people use, but it does make a difference. For the floats, I use English wagglers. Thill wagglers and Drennan wagglers are good substitutes and are readily available here in the US.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Dear DbfD, Using such small hooks, do you find you have to retie often because the fish swallows the hook?

Originally Posted by Cartman

Using such small hooks, do you find you have to retie often because the fish swallows the hook?

I very rarely have a fish swallow the hook -- maybe one or two out of a hundred.

"Swallowing the hook" is all about bite detection. It really doesn't have much to do with the size of the hook. Fish swallow the hook because people give them time to swallow the hook. Most people use floats that are not sensitive at all. They show the aggressive bites but not the light ones. A waggler set with just the tip showing will show the lightest of bites.

"Swallowing the hook" is really an American problem. The Europeans use much better floats than we do (and much smaller hooks), and the problem is almost unknown over there.

Also, there's a tool called a "disgorger" that is very helpful for removing hooks. Here's a video on how to use it.



WackerBaits.com carries them.

When you receive the maggots how do you get the sawdust off of them to switch to Corn Meal?

Way up north here in Wisconsin, I spend more time ice fishing than I do open water fishine :-) Maggots are my #1 livebait. Great for gills, crappie, and perch especially. One thing I haven't heard mentioned here yet is how to hook them so they stay alive longer. You want to hook them in the butt - the two little dots on one end, that's the 'butt end' Gently squeeze the maggot (also called a 'spike') , then barely hook them through the skin on the butt end. If the liquid that comes out is clear, you are all good. If it's cloudy, the maggot will die more quickly (still catch fish for you though....)

Vados is a great place to get them from - expensive, but good. Also check out the 'eurolarvae' - basically colored maggots. Red is AWESOME for panfish...