Years ago, my Uncle Art Smith gave me a project in a gallon glass jar with holes in the lid. Inside were over a thousand bee moth larvae, commonly called wax worms. He gave me instructions on how to keep the colony alive and thriving, but I messed it up. Somehow, moisture got into the mix of oats and honey, and they all died. I often buy and use wax worms in small quantities. However, I have yet to successfully save unused larvae for any length of time.
Finally, after all of these years, I’ve done some research. A big no-no is putting them in the fridge, with perhaps the exception of the butter compartment. You can order wax worms, butter worms, maggots, and other live bait from bait shops. They advise that wax worms last one to two weeks at room temperature. If you can keep them at 60 degrees, they will become dormant and last up to eight weeks. A guy on a YouTube channel claims they will last three months if kept at 52 degrees. Apparently, 50-60 degrees is good. They are ideally kept in a wine cooler, a room with the heat shut off, or a celler. Of course this would differ in warm weather. They must also be stored at low humidity. If you find the bedding moist, leave the lid off to let it dry out. You need to check them daily and remove any that have turned black; they are dead. Also, remove the cocoons of any that are spinning. YouTube has instructions on how to raise wax worms using oats, honey, and egg cartons. You can order them online in 50, 100, 250, 500 or 1,000 quantities. I like to support local bait shops, but most are closed in the fall and winter months.
Last Saturday, I could not turn down an invite to fish Geist Reservoir with James Laswell. Yes, I know the deer rut is in, but I like to fish a little more than I do hunt. Lasswell is a crappie pro, and I’m fascinated by redears. We began the day on opposite ends of the spectrum. At midday, my lead evaporated on crappies when James articulated his skill at dock shooting. The bee moths I had bought three days earlier and refrigerated were mostly dead. These little grubs are a crutch for me. Lasswell never uses them and catches just as many fish.
The old saying, when the wind is out of the east, the fish bite the least, did not hold true. We caught numerous bluegill, crappie, redear, and yellow bass. Lasswell and I have a different knowledge of the lake. Many fish will usually be caught when we combine his crappie spots with my redear holes.I don’t recall fishing on a day when the air and water temperatures were the same, 58 degrees. Because of the colder water, the redear seemed to want a smaller bait. I switched from a plastic grub to a 1/32 oz. hair jig. Under a bobber, I used a special order 1/16th oz. Muey green jig. You can bet I will be in the woods this Saturday for the opening of the Indiana firearms season for deer.
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