James RickardMealworms
May 14th 2012 01:52
Hard as it is to believe, there's a State sponsored lake around here that prohibits the use of live minnows. That helps explain the popularity of mealworms in these parts.
According to Wikipedia, Mealworms are the larval form of the mealworm beetle, a species of darkling beetle. You can get a good idea of what the beetle looks like from the picture at the right. I've seen PLENTY of these things around but never knew what they were until I ran across the picture.
Mealworms are usually used as food for reptiles, fish, and birds, and are easily obtained from pet supply stores and, of course, bait shops. The worms themselves are usually a light brown, segmented, and about an inch or 2.5 cm. long.
Mealworms are usually used as food for reptiles, fish, and birds, and are easily obtained from pet supply stores and, of course, bait shops. The worms themselves are usually a light brown, segmented, and about an inch or 2.5 cm. long.
Raising mealworms is pretty simple. Like many insects, they go through four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. More than one person puts up with this life cycle and simply throws some mealworms in a bucket with oatmeal and lets the worms do their thing. Commercial growers of mealworms often incorporate a hormone in the feeding process that keeps the mealworm in the larval form and prevents them from evolving into the beetle stage of development. For that reason, you can keep them in your refrigerator for months. Just remember to let them out occasionally to warm up and feed. Luckily, the food you can feed them, apple and potato slices, also provides necessary liquids.
Hooking a mealworm is pretty much similar to putting any worm on a hook. The only drawback to mealworms is their small size which will require a small hook. 10 or 12 is probably the largest you want to go if you plan on using mealworms. Another thing to think about is breaking up the mealworm if you use small hooks. Granted, something like this goes with the territory but, some people have a low gross threshold.
Hooking a mealworm is pretty much similar to putting any worm on a hook. The only drawback to mealworms is their small size which will require a small hook. 10 or 12 is probably the largest you want to go if you plan on using mealworms. Another thing to think about is breaking up the mealworm if you use small hooks. Granted, something like this goes with the territory but, some people have a low gross threshold.
Small hooks/small bait--so, waddya gonna catch? You're probably going to get panfish or trout but it's not unheard of to latch onto a bass or something similar..
Yum--Yum--Breakfast of Champions!
Some guys like to use a larger hook, say 6 or 4 and keep adding mealworms until they almost have a mealworm "glob" on their hook. I don't subscribe to this practice because if fish are big enough to bite on hooks that big, there are better baits to use.
As previously stated, hooking a mealworm is a lot like hooking any worm. I like hooking the worm below the head and thread the hook through the body, covering all of the little hook I'm using. Another method is to pop the hook point through at some point and leave a little worm to squiggle around and, hopefully, attract the fish's attention.
FOR THE RECORD: It was pretty hard to write this and spell "beetle" with two E's instead of "Beatle!"
As previously stated, hooking a mealworm is a lot like hooking any worm. I like hooking the worm below the head and thread the hook through the body, covering all of the little hook I'm using. Another method is to pop the hook point through at some point and leave a little worm to squiggle around and, hopefully, attract the fish's attention.
FOR THE RECORD: It was pretty hard to write this and spell "beetle" with two E's instead of "Beatle!"
| 19 |
| Vote |
Add Comments
Read More
