Insect larvae like maggots, wax worms, blood worms, grubs, etc., have been largely used as fishing bait for centuries. They’re perfect for fish that typically require a small bait presentation. But even with a small bait, you can sometimes reel in a monster bass, carp, or barbel.
Now, each type of larva has its own specific anatomy. This being said, they sit and move differently when put on a fishing hook. Also, depending on how you hook them, they may live longer in the water, and the fish may not be able to steal them with ease. So, in this post, we’re going to cover what are the best ways to rig some of the most common insect larvae, and what are the best hooks to use for them.
Maggots
Maggots are the larvae of various flies. They’re very easy to come by and most bait shops sell them by the bucket. You can even farm them yourself; the whole process is fairly simple.
Maggots can be rigged in different ways, depending on the fish you’re targeting and the hooks you’re using. The best hooks for rigging maggots are the ones with a short shank, for example, circle hooks, octopus hooks, sickle hooks, or J-hooks.
If you put them directly on the hook, it’s best to use hooks made of a thinner wire. This way, the maggots are easier to rig and will live longer.
There are multiple ways to rig maggots directly on the hook. First of all, if you’re targeting really small fish, using #18 or smaller hooks, you can have either 1-2 rigged through the thicker end (the tail). For slightly larger hooks, you can thread one or two on the shank, and then rig 1-2 more through the tail on the bend. There’s also the “flower” presentation, where you hook 5 or more maggots through their tail. For this presentation, circle or octopus hooks are better.
Maggots can also be hair-rigged. For this, you’ll need a thin sewing needle and some dental floss, sew a bunch together through their thicker ends, tie the floss to the eye of the hook, and secure it with a plastic tube. Or, you can hair-rig your hook with a maggot clip and fill the clip up. If you’re using a hair rig, with or without a clip, you can also tip the “hair” with a piece of corn. Hair rigs like this work best for carp or barbel. Also, the best hooks for this presentation are j-hooks or curved shank hooks.
Wax Worms
Wax worms are the larvae of wax moths belonging to the Pyralidae family. They make excellent bait for crappie, yellow perch, trout, and others, especially for ice fishing.
Unlike maggots, they’re pretty squishy and fragile, so having them both alive and sitting well on the hook is not an easy task. However, for wax worms, the presentation doesn’t matter that much. The juices that they ooze into the water are the main attraction, especially when ice fishing. So, regardless of how you rig them, it’s best to pinch them, or damage one end (the tail, usually).
In order to sit better on the hook, you can rig wax worms through their head, thread approx. two thirds and leave the tail hanging. This works best for a simple split-shot rig. When jigging, you can hook them through the tail and also thread 2/3 of the worm, but leave the head with the front legs hanging off the hook. If rigged this way, the worm shouldn’t require extra damage.
For jigging, you can 1-2 wax worms through their mid-section. This way, when you move the jig, its head and tail will wobble through the water, leading to a more appealing presentation.
For still-fishing, hair rigging also works. You can hair rig 3-4 through their heads, leaving their tails hanging off the hair rig or maggot clip. If rigged this way, you only need to pinch 1-2, leaving the rest intact.
Mealworms
Mealworms are the larvae of various darkling beetles. The ones most often sold in pet shops and bait shops are the larvae of the yellow mealworm beetle. They’re great for perch, crappie, lake trout, carp, barbel, river bream, chub, and more.
Hooking mealworms doesn’t call for anything too special. But since the big ones are typically longer than other larvae, such as maggots, it’s best to use hooks with a longer shank.
The best way to rig a mealworm is to hook it through the head and thread approx. 1/2 of its body on the shank of the hook leaving the rest hanging off the hook. If you’re using smaller mealworms, you can put two on the same hook, in a similar way, threading about half their body, starting with the head.
Bloodworms
To make it clear, we’re talking here about the larvae of the midge fly, not the marine annelids of the Glycera genus, which we’ve already covered here. Many anglers use them in a combination with jokers as loose feed, but they can also be used as hook baits. On the hook, they make an excellent bait especially in winter, for Eurasian fish from the Cyprinidae family like roach, rudd, river bream, nase, and chub.
Bloodworm larvae are pretty slim and rather fragile, so you’ll need thinner wire hooks for them. It’s best to hook them through their head section, leaving most of their bodies hanging in the water. If you’re targeting spooky fish, you can thread one on the shank of the hook, and then hook a few on the bend just through their heads. Filling the whole hook with bloodworms rigged through the head also works pretty well. Also, most anglers use standard J-hooks for these, in a range between #10 and #20.
Grubs
Grubs are the larvae of various beetles, moths, and butterflies. The most common grubs used for fishing are the larvae of June beetles, scarabs, or rain moths. They’re great baits for catfish, but they can also work on trout, as well as other fish.
Grubs are usually large and make rather heavy baits, so you’ll need larger hooks for them. Thus, you can either use bait holder hooks or Aberdeen hooks.
Rigging them is pretty straightforward. You’ll need to hook them through the head, which is the most “durable” section, and thread about 2/3 of the grub, leaving their tail hanging off the hook. If using J-hooks, or hooks with a shorter shank, you can rig them in the same way. However, in this case, you’ll need to thread only about 1/3 of the grub.
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