Big Maggot, is usually produced by the blue bottle which is more commonly known as the blow fly and can show colorations from shades of blue , bright green, bronze and copper with a metallic sheen to it's body, the maggot is hatched from eggs that have been laid upon rotten meat, fish, wildfowl or other dead specimens, in this area the big maggot is usually bred from chicken, turkey and fish although there are some commercial maggot farms that will breed their maggots on other dead carcases like pork, lamb or even beef depending on the type of meat that is readily available at the time and at the right price, the life cycle of a fly is a quick affair with a single blow fly living just a short life and the whole cycle from fly to egg to maggot to pupae lasting only between 10 to 20 days depending on temperatures, as long as the maggot larvae has enough food to grow it will attain it's maximum size within about 3 to 5 days and be ready for use after this period for around 4 to 6 days in top condition whilst the feed sack is still black if kept cool, they may last for longer periods in very low temperatures which will slow down their metabolic rate and reduce the time that they use this feed sack dramatically often lasting in good condition for about six weeks, after this period the maggot will shrink and become tough ready for the pupae stage (caster) if the maggot is kept for the longest period under such conditions the casters will be very small and often become stretched or out of shape due to this metabolic rate being slowed down and the maggot using all of it's natural resources to stay alive for a longer period instead of using it to mutate into a good pupae and a healthy fly once more.

This maggot is the most popular amongst anglers and thousands of gallons per week are sold in the UK throughout the summer months, the most popular colorations are white, red and bronze but other colours may be available to the angler like flouro, blue or green.

The most important thing that an angler can learn is to prepare and care for their bait correctly, tackle shops sell maggots in varying states, some sell them hardly cleaned in sawdust or bran but most will clean them removing any debris or dead maggots and store them at low temperatures in maize meal ready for the angler to use ! or so it would seem, it is very important to clean your maggots before use, if you are using red or bronze maggots try to scrub them off in some sawdust before you finally riddle them and then add fine maize meal after about half an hour as this will remove much of the grease or in the bronze case will remove any access colour so that you don't end up with bronze dyed hands after your days fishing, place them in a fridge at low temperature until you are ready to use them but before you do just check to see if they need another riddle and fresh maize for the day ahead, if you know that you have a very fresh maggot and want to feed them in order to soften the bait especially when Roach fishing then place half a slice of fresh bread soaked in milk into the bait box whilst in the fridge and the maggots should eat some of it and soften, if you open the fridge whilst the bread is in the bait box and the maggots are upended with the fat end showing of its two spots then you know that the maggots are on the feed and you have very fresh bait or bait that has been taken off the feed early whatever the case may be, in the winter months try and take your bait out of the fridge early in order for them to warm up before you take them out into a very cold day as if you don't they may stay in a dormant state throughout, try to keep large amounts of big maggot in shallow trays preferably in a chiller to keep the temperature constant throughout all of the bait, if you wish to flavour the bait it is best to use a liquid flavour as the maggot breaths through its skin and will take the flavour in whilst doing so, it is important that you do this via an atomizer whilst the maggot is in a reasonable temperature before placing them in the fridge leaving them for about half an hour to absorb the flavouring.

Big maggot best used throughout the summer for mid to large sized fish and for bonus fish throughout the winter, it is always advisable to take at least a pint of bait for your days fishing using up to a gallon when fishing a powerful river like the Trent although you can get amazing results spraying maggots in on many still waters throughout the summer. If conditions are hard then try laying down a bed of alternative bait such as Hemp or fine ground bait only adding a small amount of maggot throughout the day and fishing a singular bait on a fine wired hook and light tackle, Floating Maggots, if you want your maggots to float then place a good handful in a bait box with a large hole cut into the lid then pour a little water in so that the maggots think that they are drowning they will try to take on more oxygen and begin to float, brilliant in the summer for surface feeding fish like Roach, Rudd, chub or other surface feeders, you can also kill and use these maggots dead by scalding them with boiling water or placing them in the freezer for a couple of days, a fantastic river bait or for use in silted conditions.

 The Pinkie comes from a different fly The Small Green bottle, it is fed and produced almost the same way as other maggots but is used predominantly for smaller fish due to its size although they tend to keep slightly better than big maggot as they have less grease content and will usually be the last to perish from your bait stock, they can be cleaned and prepared in the same way as their larger counterparts and kept in the fridge at low temperatures but be warned they are masters at escape and the slightest moisture will have them crawling all over the place so provide extra maize to combat this, fishing pinkie and feeding fine sloppy ground bait in the winter will guarantee you some sort of sport even on the hardest of days but if its really cold and you are targeting small fish feed squats or squat with slop and fish a single or double pinkie on a fine wired 22-24 hook with fine tackle.  

The Squat comes from the little house fly (Fannia canicularis , from the Muscidae familly) it is predominantly used for feed rather than to fish on the hook but I know some anglers whom also use them for hook bait, unlike other maggots it is stored in fine dark red sand which must be kept moist so that the maggot does not begin to float or perishes in the summer heat, they may be fed and softened again with bread and milk before use and can be riddled to remove the dead ones but overall these maggots will keep well direct from the tackle shop where they were bought as long as they were fresh, because this bait is very small and light it tends to sit well on a still water, canal or river bed especially if the bed has a large amount of silt on the bottom as these maggots will seldom bury themselves in this silt.

Ideal uses for this bait include small fish holding bait throughout the winter, mass holding bait in large quantities especially for bream throughout the summer, this bait is seldom flavoured and has a distinct aroma when purchased but if you wish to add flavour just atomise small amounts over the bait and leave overnight in the fridge, you are well advised to choose your flavour well as some strong flavours used in quantity has been known to kill these maggots.  Remember if you are going to use this bait in hot conditions then use an ice block under the bait box to keep them cool and always keep them moist with an atomiser and away from direct sunlight.

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on this page Maggots including pinkies and squats

Floating maggots