hand dealers for cheap fridges
The first is keeping them fresh so they won’t turn into casters, and subsequently blue-bottles, especially in hot weather. In hot summer weather this can happen in a day or two. The best answer to this is to keep them in the fridge. If this can’t be negotiated with the woman of the house, then the only option is to buy yourself a bait fridge. The ideal size for most people would be the small table top fridge. I have one of these, and the added advantage of having your own fridge is that you can keep it as cold as you like. The colder it is, the longer it will keep your maggots from turning. I have some maggots in my bait fridge which I bought in mid-august (writing this 4 weeks later), and they still haven’t turned. Check second-hand dealers for cheap fridges – they often keep tatty fridges which are in good working order specifically for anglers. Failing that, check the second hand columns in your local paper.The other problem you will come across is that of maggots sweating, producing ammonia, which smells awful. keeping them in a fridge won’t prevent this if they are not stored properly. I don’t remember this being a problem years ago, as the maggots I bought came in copious quantities of saw-dust, bran or maize meal. They are now often sold either with a minimum of these substances, or none at all. I found maize meal quite difficult to obtain (except in the tackle shops, at a silly price) so now use flour. This works very well. It also helps if you keep the maggots spread thinly in the container – either use one with a wide diameter base, or use several containers. Maggots kept in a narrow container where they all sit on top of one another will sweat quite badly.
Alan Tomkins