pannie secret bait

[Gordie]

Well its not really a secret but Its probably the most under used bait in the winter time is the Goldenrod.

Alot of work for this little bug/worm but there are some days thats all they want and you will out fish people everytime.

You can find these bugs just about anywhere but there is a certain time of year to harvest and thaat is in the fall before the first snow comes cause once the snow comes the birds rely on these little bugs as a food source.

I got lucky today as I found a nice patch of G/rods amd noticed that the birds had not decimated them due to the real lack of snow this year is my guess.

I didnt take any pics where I picked them but I did take a few as I cut them open.

I learned this from my dad and grandpa and we would pick these after a morning of squirrel or duck hunting we use to pick gunnie sacks full and in the evening we would cut them open.

After cutting them all open we put them in either cream of wheat or corn meal and in a old asprin bottle then we would store them in the freezer until it was time to go ice fishing.

These little bugs are very hardy once warmed up and no they dont die when you freeze them.

Just something I thought I would pass along.

Good Luck Fishing

[6arrows]

AWESOME info thank you. dou you just cut the bulb in half or is there a certain way so you dont cut the bug also

[Flaco651]

Been a long time since I've used some goldenrod grubs! I'll have to keep my eyes peeled.

[BartmanMN]

I learned that from Jack Baker last year at a Naifc event. He said they have a natural anti freeze in them and you can keep them in the freezer for an extremely long time.

[OnAFly]

I might have to give that a try. I'm getting tired of having either frozen, dead euros or a puck filled with flies ready to hatch. Cool tip.

[Gordie]

AWESOME info thank you. dou you just cut the bulb in half or is there a certain way so you dont cut the bug also

I cut down like I'm going to cut in half but just before it gets half way I give the knife a little twist and the bulb kinda breaks in half.

Sometimes you half to look close for the bug as it might be bourghed in one of the halves but you can cut that half in half or try and pick it out.

Not every bulb will have a bug in it so dont be discouraged if you dont find that many at first. You have to pic alot in order to get alot.

I found that cutting the bulb the long ways or stem to stem was better after I had done a few and this was after the pics I took the bugs seemed to be closer to the sides of the bulbs on most of them.

I think this was due to the weather also they feed on the inside of the bulb I belive and thats why they move around it.

The bulbs in the second pic show what the birds do so if you see this dont pic them or dont waste your time cutting these open. when you start picking them you can get carried away so I just pick and weed thru as I cut

[delmuts]

In my area, there are two guys that are as secretive about golden rod patches as they are about mushrooms!

When i was hunting, they would ask me if i had seen any new places!

[mainbutter]

I'll contribute my own similar tip

When we dig the garden every spring, we always come across a few fat 2-3'' grubs, and rather than just toss 'em in the woods, I use them for bait, and they go FAST. I actually like using them a few inches under a bobber, and working them fast in areas for bass, because the panfish will DESTSROY them! I had a 12.5'' crappie pound one last late spring.

Cast it under a dock, wait 4 seconds for an explosion from a LMB. Bring it in fast to avoid the panfish because they just love this grub too much.

[bassfshin24]

My uncle told me about this when i was in grade school but i never have tried it.

[Sherpa]

I totally forgot about these. I remember my dad showing me this trick when I was a kid. Thanks for reminding me.

[Gordie]

I'll contribute my own similar tip

When we dig the garden every spring, we always come across a few fat 2-3'' grubs, and rather than just toss 'em in the woods, I use them for bait, and they go FAST. I actually like using them a few inches under a bobber, and working them fast in areas for bass, because the panfish will DESTSROY them! I had a 12.5'' crappie pound one last late spring.

Cast it under a dock, wait 4 seconds for an explosion from a LMB. Bring it in fast to avoid the panfish because they just love this grub too much.

yeppers I do this as well and I love finding those big ugly white grubworms means its time to fish bull sunnies

[Hookmaster]

That's what we used before Eurolarva. We always carried a grocery bag in the game pouch of our pheasant vests in case we found the mother lode. One of my college biology profs used these grubs as an example of some animals having natural antifreeze (glycerol) so they can survive the winter.

[Beast26]

I use grasshoppers all the time in the fall. Work better than either Euro's or Waxies on most days.

[Gordie]

This is a ice fishing bait mostly but I have used them for fall time fishing and catching creek chubs if I have them

[Scott M]

I used to dig those grubs out of a manure patch at my grandparent's house. They are June beetle larvae. They worked awesome for panfish.

I remember catching some of those blue damselflies on a slow day panfishing with my grandparents. We were graphing tons of fish but they wouldn't bite on our waxworms or corn. I lowered down a damselfly and they were bite off in seconds.

The Goldenrod gall grubs are a nice touch, but too much work for my lazy butt!

[BTL]

That is a really cool tip on the goldenrod bugs. Thanks!

[Borch]

It's been years but I used them all the time growing up. They are plentiful and very effective.

[BLACKJACK]

I used to dig those grubs out of a manure patch at my grandparent's house. They are June beetle larvae. They worked awesome for panfish.

You got it, those are June beetle grubs. We used to dig them when we were kids, also in manure piles, and use them to catch bullheads. Worked great!!

[IceHawk]

Oh memories!