Live insects?

[Snape]

Has anyone tried and had success using live insects as a surface bait.
I once bought some crickets from a reptile food suppliers but had no takers.

[Davyr]

I've tried using various beetles found at the waterside with an equal lack of success. Come to think of it, I've never seen an insect struggling on the surface engulfed by a fish, unless it's been a mayfly or one of the smaller members of the ephemeridae family.

[GloucesterOldSpot]

I've had dace, chub and trout on live mayflies dapped on the surface, and chub on craneflies. I've also had roach on alder flies fished under a float, same as you would a maggot or caster. The fish don't seem to query why an adult alder should be six feet below the surface.

Confession time: when I first discovered fishing, I read enthusiastically everything I could find on the subject. My first source of information was my father's encyclopaedia, which had five pages devoted to the business of angling. It gave a brief mention to fly fishing, but in my ignorance I misconstrued the concept and thought it involved using flies as bait - real flies. I spent a frustrating afternoon and evening in the garden trying to catch enough to use as bait the next day, and ended up with a sum total of one. I retained it in a jar, but discovered the next day that it was dead.

[Tony1964]

My father has caught chub on freelined slugs. Not insects I know but not really sure what they are :think:

[Weyfarer]

Molluscs!

[Tony1964]

Molluscs!

I thought they might be but I was a little unsure as they don't have a shell. I will have to google definition of mollusc. Thanks Weyfarer!

[Tony1964]

Just out of interest.

mollusc US, mollusk [ˈmɒləsk]
n
(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) any invertebrate of the phylum Mollusca, having a soft unsegmented body and often a shell, secreted by a fold of skin (the mantle). The group includes the gastropods (snails, slugs, etc.), bivalves (clams, mussels, etc.), and cephalopods (cuttlefish, octopuses, etc.)
[via New Latin from Latin molluscus, from mollis soft]

[Snape]

My father has caught chub on freelined slugs. Not insects I know but not really sure what they are :think:

Freelining black slugs for chub is one of my favourite methods. I even caught a jack pike on a slug during the retrieve.

[Nobby]

Artn't cinnebar moth caterpillars poisonous?

Yes, I thought so....a study by the late, great Miriam...


http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v2 ... 747a0.html


Do you know it was Miriam who persuaded Prince Charles to plant flower meadows at Highgrove and at one time she was the only person allowed to cultivate cannabis for her study into how caterpillars stored poisons within their bodies.

It was she that developed the first commercial mixed seed meadow and cornfield blends of wild flowers. For that alone she should be honoured.

[Michael]

The last three to four summers I`ve tried insects with varying results. I found using smaller live insects, such as the black cricket, I had some success. The problem I found was that due to their limited weight, I had to crawl slowly into position and drop/flip the cricket into the swim. I was only observing the quiver tip, which just protruded over the edge of the bank.
When I was able to obtain some, one might call shop soiled large Locust, things changed for the better. Being they were around 3 to 3½ inches long, a good weight and a size 4-6 hook held firm without pulling out, I was able to cast, flick the locust into the swim from some considerable range. Surprisingly they floated and/or the surface tension held, and the ensuing commotion of the locust struggling on the surface, caused the larger chub to investigate. My advice is, the bigger the insect, the better the chances.
The only other excursion I`ve had into what might be called unusual insect related baits would be wax worms, also good for chub/roach and meal worms, which most species were attracted to.