yellow door 1

On 24/05/2019 at 6:44 PM, Heavy D said:

Hi Doobie, sorry I'm a bit late for the party. I buy the long life gents too, and have found them to be fantastic. I keep them in the fridge set at 4 degrees, and they have lasted for several months. When fishing I'll often leave them out of the esky yet have had no issues with the ones bought from a local tackle shop.

G'day Heavy D - do you know how they make the maggots "Long Life"?

The only major consideration I've had is - heat accelerates the evolution of a maggot to a fly.

So I figured keeping them cool - and only exposing what you think you need in that session to the days warmth - is the best way to keep them as maggots.

But I'm intrigued by your mention of moisture levels and substrate. Could you elaborate on the differences in packaging and substrate bewtween the normal maggots and the "Long Life" versions.

Do you reckon their is some additive they've discovered to inhibit their transformation into flies?

Thanks

Edit - just had a quick google and they reckon removing dead maggots is an important part of the process in keeping them long term -

On 22/05/2019 at 9:47 AM, doobie said:

I think cleaned out maggots are better, but as you say, there is probably argument that maggots with meat still in their stomachs are good as well.

But when putting the meat filled maggot on hooks and their juices come out, I reckon our finger would tend to smell pretty bad pretty quickly.

Anyway, the clean ones still have a good juices for the Gar to suck on - no rudeness intended lol.

p.s/ dropped 3 jewies on sebiles tonight - so the maggots an sleep easy for the next few nights

On 22/05/2019 at 9:47 AM, doobie said:

I think cleaned out maggots are better, but as you say, there is probably argument that maggots with meat still in their stomachs are good as well.

But when putting the meat filled maggot on hooks and their juices come out, I reckon our finger would tend to smell pretty bad pretty quickly.

Anyway, the clean ones still have a good juices for the Gar to suck on - no rudeness intended lol.

Yeah - some of my "steepest learning curves" in fishing, have come from chatting with old Greek fisherman on piers and rock walls.

2 of the most pivotal moments occurred, when I thought my "space age" gear would slaughter the catch rates of the old fella's who had set up before me

But nothing could have been further from the truth......

And thats when I developed a healthy distrust for the tackle industry and articles written by "corporate shills"

They tell you the reason you arent catching, is because you arent using this rod - that reel - this brand of fluorocarbon leader - and "Jumbajatsaring" hooks

When the real reason is........... - you arent using the same baits and techniques as "Costa" and "Thanasis"

On both occasions -  they were using super heavy gear - (one on bream and the other on gars) - both species know for being wary of heavy leaders - but even with the rope they were using - they were slaying me on catch rates per hour.

To stop this story before is turns into a saga - the bait on the end of your hook is 90 times more important than the gear your own - and knowing the distance and depth fish are most comfortable feeding at -  is information no amount of fancy gear can over come.

So when I said that "young stinking maggots, full of meat", might be the ultimate bait - it reminded me of these pivotal moments, where the tackle industry has told me fresh clean maggots are the only ones that will be eaten - but maybe thats because "Maggot sellers" cant consistently provide those juicy young fellas  - so they tell everyone the young big ones dont catch fish,

But when I think about it - in the spots I fish maggots in - none of them have wasted away in a fridge feeding on bran for 30 days - they were born on the carcasses of dead pigeons, seagulls, old bait, dead sting rays and rats.

And when they crawled off the carcass, looking for a spot to turn into flys - they either fell off the rock wall - fell off the bridge - fell off the dead possum wedged in a tree ...... but they did it ll with gut full of rancid meat

The ones that hit the water would have stunk of all sorts of filth - the ones that have spent 30 days in the fridge, surrounded by bran, would have an unfamiliar odour that imight be ignored for 10 mins before being eaten.

But I need to stress this point - something that smells slightly weird -  will be ignored in the presence of something a fish is used to - it might get eaten later, but it will be the last things to get eaten.

This knowledge stems from many years of keeping goldfish - the first time they saw a piece of corn or maggots - they completely ignored them.

But after a week of feeding them, they will fight each other to the death to get one - so if you dont have time to muck around under a bridge known for its pigeons.

Breed your maggots on pigeon meat - and the only thing better than pigeon meat  - is pigeon meat that came from pigeons that lived on that bridge

A live pulsating mussel from 20km away is less effective from the one growing at your feet

10 hours ago, doobie said:

Great update mate and they are looking pretty good still.

And a good point too - change over the Bran every so often (haven't done that myself - but makes sense).

Have you got out to use any yet ?

Yeah I'm sure there are blokes who reckon dirty stinking young maggots, with their stomachs full of meat, are the ultimate bait.

And I wouldnt take much convincing to believe that.

But you cant argue with the effectiveness of clean maggots in bran either.

So - as I only have one fridge - a clean maggot is my chosen path

Thanks Doobie

Nah not yet -  after a few dud sessions with lures , I usually recharge my batteries with a livie session - but I've still got a couple of dud lure sessions up my sleeve before I hit the livies again

Just tested how long the batteries last on full power - "After a 90 min constant battery test on full power - it seriously weakened the beam to the point where it sucks

after 3 hours you could still tie knots with it but not much else.

after 4 hours you'd have to squint to tie knots

1 hour ago, Cal said:

Hi yellow door, there are 2 different types of beams some lighs are throwers and some are flooders.What you want is a thrower , it is the way the reflector is designed, a thrower has a deep recessed cone that is designed to punch a high intensity pinpoint beam a long way, with an intense hot spot.Whereas a flooder has a shallow cone that floods a wider area brightly but not as far and direct.Many manufactures give you an option in what sort of light you are after,  anything over  5000k is  whitish blue or cool white as its known,whereas2700 3000k is your :warm: colour , a more yellowish natural light. judging by what you are saying ideal for you would be a 2700 to 3000 k thrower or adjustable beam.

Yeah the reason I prefer a "focus-able" beam is - there is no single  "factory setting" that can match all the different scenarios I come up against in an evening.

With the way I use torches........ a torch that cant focus, is similar to camera that cant focus.

18 minutes ago, Scissors said:

 

My old man is a head torch aficionado, problem is his hearing isn't what it used to be, fishing at night you try and talk to him and next second he shines the bloody torch in your face, drives me insane. 

Yeah  - in the wrong hands - even a spoon becomes a deadly weapon

I'm reluctant to share this Vid, as my camera sucks in low light - but there might be something in it.

White light tends to illuminate the hell out of an area - but yellow light gives a truer representation of the colours you would see in day light - and for what its worth - I find when I'm spot lighting fish - they are much more likely to spook on a white light than a yellow light

Yeah I bought the "knock off" version of the Night Core and trialed it for a while - (mainly just to see if it was going to work with the way I searched rivers at night) -

The version I bought was super bright and worked off 4 x 18650's but it didnt have a focus-able beam. The spread of light was too wide for what I was trying to achieve - lights with much lower lumens could focus in on my target in a more effective way

I can attest to how hot these things get - but without a focus-able beam, I was always wishing it had one.

Because when you want to isolate one particular object in your field of vision - a focus-able beam is indispensable - I need a light that can put a "tight spot" on an underwater object that might be a meter plus Jewie or a white garbage bag.

When the light is spread too evenly over a large area - it can make your eye focus on details you dont want it to. Thats why I love a "tight spot"

But I understand my requirements are fairly unique to spotting fish in the dark - but thats is the sole governing criteria that my lights have to meet, before any other criteria is taken into consideration.

Then comes battery life - then comes durability - then comes comfort... etc

I want to be able to focus all available lumens onto a particular spot no bigger than 1 meter, to make sure my eyes arent playing tricks on me.

So while a light could be far superior in 100 different ways - if it doesnt meet the one particular way I want it to perform - it becomes a dud light.

p.s. the weight is without 4 x 18650;s in it - I wouldnt even want to get punched in the face with an empty one




 

5 minutes ago, doobie said:

Thankfully I'll have a hand torch then

Yeah head torches arent for everyone - I used to do alot of river exploration at night.

A push bike was the chosen method of transportation - finding concentrations of predator attracting bait was the mission  - I tried hand held torches but riding and hand held torches dont mix - so thats why I got so interested in head torches.

The biggest draw back of head torches is their lack of power (unless you want to carry a large battery pack and burn your forehead due to the heat produced from powerful lights - but there biggest advantage is I can comfortably use them hands free.

So its all about compromise - head torches often dont have the power I want - but they often have the power and stamina I need

3 minutes ago, Scissors said:

Fish with a head torch near me, trust me i want to kill you. 

Haha - trust me, I understand your pain.

I would have to be the most considerate head torch user known to man.

I always ask for permission from fellow anglers before turning it on and I'm extremely mindful of where the beam is pointing.

The guys I fish with are veteran head torch users, so the "rookie errors", alot of people make, do not occur in my circle.

I have introduced alot of people to the joys of head torches but after a few years I started giving safety briefings before handing them out.

For instance - If I was going camping with a new crew I'd always buy some cheapies from bunnings. (Mainly so they would stop asking to borrow mine)

Watching a newb use one for the first time, is a night mare.

Direct blasts to your eyes - Shining them over the water at inopportune times and "over use" are the major crimes.

But on the head of a considerate gentleman - A head torch is a weapon that has greatly increased my catches - my head torch has been responsible for unlocking angling secrets that would never have been discovered otherwise. - this fish would not have been caught if I hadn't "Head Torched" the area the night before

1 hour ago, yellow door 1 said:

I dont expect the ebay one to last too long but I was just too curious about the 13,000 lumens they offered - and for $20 I am no longer wondering

(p.s. I dont think its quite 13.000 lumens)

 

 

Just got some feed back from a bloke whose been using a similar unit for 5 years without problem

I must have been too rough with mine and dislodged the wiring by pulling to hard on the light to get it out of a bag - (the soldering job on the wiring was dodgy though) so If you look after these lights - they could be a real option.

not saying there arent better lights out there - just saying these might be a legitimate option based on intended use

Yeah I use my head torch to spot fish at night so they need to be super bright, with a single handed focus-able beam. My main gripe with the Led Lenser I bought is it doesnt focus all the way down to a really tight spot like the old ones used to.

I've bought these cheap lights before and I've experienced the problems you mentioned. Thats why I splurged on the Led Lenser.

I dont expect the ebay one to last too long but I was just too curious about the 13,000 lumens they offered - and for $20 I am no longer wondering

(p.s. I dont think its quite 13.000 lumens)

 

2 hours ago, doobie said:

A good comparison YD1 and naturally we tend to think the more expensive the item is the better it is - but results can show different.

For $20 on sale you can't complain with that.

 

Yeah the build quality,longevity and battery life are yet to be tested - but as far as brightness goes - those cheap Leds can put out some serious light

Crocs have got to be one of the most versatile shoes in the business

Actually - heres his mates video which talks alot more about the pond set up

On 06/05/2019 at 4:53 PM, doobie said:

Curiosity got the better of me
 

Yeah part of me is worried that the holes are too big - but I'm hoping with a vigorous sifting style, the maggots will be too busy bouncing around to be able to find their way down the holes.

I had every intention of going to the 2 dollar shop to look for baskets - but I've had a severe case of the sniffles - so it was easier to let my fingers do the walking

I'll let you know how the 3mm holes go

The holes, in my improvised mesh sieve for separating maggots from bran, were too small. (2mm max)

So I googled Maggots sieves/riddle and they were a bit expensive. Cheapest I found on ebay was about $36 if you include postage charges. So I googled popular mesh sizes. Seems 3mm is about right.

The purpose built ones are made from wire, which I imagine is more efficient (first photo) - but this plastic garden sieve will be better than what I had.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Plastic-Garden-Sieve-Riddle-Green-For-Composy-Soil-Stone-Mesh-Tool-Gardening/401413014489?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D6b8745d0557f4abaaf1a597c4b748582%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D163594536186%26itm%3D401413014489&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3Ade2f77f2-727a-11e9-b257-74dbd1802e2b|parentrq%3A9d82ef4116a0a9cc71d86d43ffe44104|iid%3A1