Like a recipe I found this method consistent when breeding gents, known here in South Australia, a very successful bait for garfish, tommies or herring and many other species as well.
8 or so live gents on a size 7 limerick hook will catch multiple fish before rebating therefore a rapid way to catch your quota.
In SA there is a blow fly called a greenback. They produce good size gents. A smelly process and for the faint hearted a process to avoid, so buy them instead.
To reduce the smell place fish and only fish, in a small bucket. Heads are ideal, the least gut the better. Crunch up some news paper to cover the heads and hang in a shady spot on a hot day or out in the sun on a cool day.
Keep off the ground away from ants. Accumulate enough eggs, can't spell larvae to cover a 10 cent piece and you will have plenty to start breeding.
If you can't get enough, swat a few greenbacks and with tweezers squeeze.. You know what I mean!
You have controlled the quality of the end product.
Have bran, from fodder stores on hand, an old pillow case, Australian size news papers, ball of string and a pair of scissors.
Lay out the first layer of paper on a bench. Tip heads with blow and add more to pile, I find about 12 or 15 heads enough or fillet frames without gut another option.
Wrap tightly into a parcel at least 6 thicknesses of paper, tie up with string.
Place some bran in the cotton pillow case and place parcel inside. Tie the neck very tightly to stop ants and hang inside your toolshed close to the ceiling where it is hottest.
Bury if you don't like this but needs to be in very dry sandy soil impossible to get wet though.
In the shed in about 4 days you will hear the gents working their way out of the layers of paper and into the bran cleaning themselves while you wait. Say on the fifth day snip off the corner of the pillowcase and run the gents into a bucket. Should have plenty so avoiding the unwrapping and a smell some can't handle. Yes the smell is strong but now you can dispose quickly and your neighbours generally unaware.
When the gents appear clean place in Nescafe jars three quarters full and plenty of bran between the individual gents to prevent them touching too many around them. They can die when in the fridge as they sweat also when fishing keep shaded and before returning to fridge air them a little. They can last for weeks if refrigerated, not too cold and with your wife's permission kept In the door,,,, thank you darling!
Hope you find this interesting, a great bait especially in our gulfs as gents are a natural feed for mullet and garfish in particular as the fermenting sea grass on the waters edge at high tide, flies have laid their larvae and the process follows.
Graham
Delta18 said
11:01 PM Mar 24, 2014
When fishing a SA Jetty years one evening an Italian woman was catching heaps more Tommies & Gar than anyone else.
I knew she was using Gents as most of us were but she consistently out fished us all.
I had to find out why, I picked a time when the others had wandered off a bit & asked her bluntly..."how do you do it?"
She muttered something I couldn't understand so I asked her again..."How do you catch so much more than the rest of us?"
She looked at me strangely, held her hand to her mouth, spat in it & said..."You have to keep your Gents warm!"
-- Edited by Delta18 on Monday 24th of March 2014 11:03:06 PM
Technomad said
06:14 AM Mar 25, 2014
They are very clean once purged but I draw the line, not prepared to go that far. I have seen old timers baiting up with gents held in their lips.
Another thing they used to use was a tobacco tin with a strap on it to strap to the rail. This also allowed the wind to reduce the bran a bit.
Interesting,
Graham.
-- Edited by Technomad on Tuesday 25th of March 2014 06:16:10 AM
bill12 said
05:32 PM Mar 25, 2014
I sent some time in England , and they sell maggots(don,t call them gents) in pint containers in different colours for an English pound. Didn,t put them in my mouth , though. Bill
Technomad said
05:51 PM Mar 25, 2014
Hi Bill12,
apparently in England as you say are coloured, and they put food colour in flour to pass through them.
I have read that the gents that are reared off bruised potatoes are the whitest, and the experience here has proven fish flesh rather than red meat produces the best results, probably the fish odour. I once used Euro Carp, never again.
Graham.
Baz421 said
08:15 PM Mar 25, 2014
When I was a kid I had a 1/2 old rainwater tank and we would throw kitchen scraps into it for eventual compost, BUT I found if I added a couple of dead rabbits and covered with cardboard/paper I had almost instant gents in seething masses,,, just scrape into a jar, they were as clean as a whistle.
Mum wasn't too keen on this process though.
Kaid said
11:10 PM Mar 25, 2014
Twas the title that got me. I had to read the whole thing.
Was wondering what parts of the GENTS (men)
Were used for bait. Sorry boys lol
dorian said
04:32 AM Mar 26, 2014
Kaid wrote:
Twas the title that got me. I had to read the whole thing. Was wondering what parts of the GENTS (men) Were used for bait. Sorry boys lol
I like to think it was my personality that attracted them, but it was probably my wallet. They say that there are plenty of fish in the sea, but I seem to get the ones that John West rejected. You know, the Chinook salmon with the coarse flesh.
Rip and Rosie said
01:01 PM Mar 26, 2014
Kaid wrote:
Twas the title that got me. I had to read the whole thing. Was wondering what parts of the GENTS (men) Were used for bait. Sorry boys lol
I'm still laughing, especially about the Italian woman warming them in her mouth.
MaryJane said
06:27 PM Mar 26, 2014
Rip and Rosie wrote:
Kaid wrote:
Twas the title that got me. I had to read the whole thing. Was wondering what parts of the GENTS (men) Were used for bait. Sorry boys lol
I'm still laughing, especially about the Italian woman warming them in her mouth.
Haha, me too! I thought there was a new breed of Aussie male on the way. Damn, guess not!!
Technomad said
08:29 PM Mar 26, 2014
Hey, I'm thrilled to bits. I put gents for bait in the Google Bar and up came the page associated with the Grey Nomads site.
I don't know how it works out but feels good anyway.
Like a recipe I found this method consistent when breeding gents, known here in South Australia, a very successful bait for garfish, tommies or herring and many other species as well.
8 or so live gents on a size 7 limerick hook will catch multiple fish before rebating therefore a rapid way to catch your quota.
In SA there is a blow fly called a greenback. They produce good size gents. A smelly process and for the faint hearted a process to avoid, so buy them instead.
To reduce the smell place fish and only fish, in a small bucket. Heads are ideal, the least gut the better. Crunch up some news paper to cover the heads and hang in a shady spot on a hot day or out in the sun on a cool day.
Keep off the ground away from ants. Accumulate enough eggs, can't spell larvae to cover a 10 cent piece and you will have plenty to start breeding.
If you can't get enough, swat a few greenbacks and with tweezers squeeze.. You know what I mean!
You have controlled the quality of the end product.
Have bran, from fodder stores on hand, an old pillow case, Australian size news papers, ball of string and a pair of scissors.
Lay out the first layer of paper on a bench. Tip heads with blow and add more to pile, I find about 12 or 15 heads enough or fillet frames without gut another option.
Wrap tightly into a parcel at least 6 thicknesses of paper, tie up with string.
Place some bran in the cotton pillow case and place parcel inside. Tie the neck very tightly to stop ants and hang inside your toolshed close to the ceiling where it is hottest.
Bury if you don't like this but needs to be in very dry sandy soil impossible to get wet though.
In the shed in about 4 days you will hear the gents working their way out of the layers of paper and into the bran cleaning themselves while you wait. Say on the fifth day snip off the corner of the pillowcase and run the gents into a bucket. Should have plenty so avoiding the unwrapping and a smell some can't handle. Yes the smell is strong but now you can dispose quickly and your neighbours generally unaware.
When the gents appear clean place in Nescafe jars three quarters full and plenty of bran between the individual gents to prevent them touching too many around them. They can die when in the fridge as they sweat also when fishing keep shaded and before returning to fridge air them a little. They can last for weeks if refrigerated, not too cold and with your wife's permission kept In the door,,,, thank you darling!
Hope you find this interesting, a great bait especially in our gulfs as gents are a natural feed for mullet and garfish in particular as the fermenting sea grass on the waters edge at high tide, flies have laid their larvae and the process follows.
Graham
When fishing a SA Jetty years one evening an Italian woman was catching heaps more Tommies & Gar than anyone else.
I knew she was using Gents as most of us were but she consistently out fished us all.
I had to find out why, I picked a time when the others had wandered off a bit & asked her bluntly..."how do you do it?"
She muttered something I couldn't understand so I asked her again..."How do you catch so much more than the rest of us?"
She looked at me strangely, held her hand to her mouth, spat in it & said..."You have to keep your Gents warm!"
-- Edited by Delta18 on Monday 24th of March 2014 11:03:06 PM
They are very clean once purged but I draw the line, not prepared to go that far. I have seen old timers baiting up with gents held in their lips.
Another thing they used to use was a tobacco tin with a strap on it to strap to the rail. This also allowed the wind to reduce the bran a bit.
Interesting,
Graham.
-- Edited by Technomad on Tuesday 25th of March 2014 06:16:10 AM
Hi Bill12,
apparently in England as you say are coloured, and they put food colour in flour to pass through them.
I have read that the gents that are reared off bruised potatoes are the whitest, and the experience here has proven fish flesh rather than red meat produces the best results, probably the fish odour. I once used Euro Carp, never again.
Graham.
When I was a kid I had a 1/2 old rainwater tank and we would throw kitchen scraps into it for eventual compost, BUT I found if I added a couple of dead rabbits and covered with cardboard/paper I had almost instant gents in seething masses,,, just scrape into a jar, they were as clean as a whistle.
Mum wasn't too keen on this process though.
Was wondering what parts of the GENTS (men)
Were used for bait. Sorry boys lol
I like to think it was my personality that attracted them, but it was probably my wallet. They say that there are plenty of fish in the sea, but I seem to get the ones that John West rejected. You know, the Chinook salmon with the coarse flesh.
I'm still laughing, especially about the Italian woman warming them in her mouth.
Haha, me too! I thought there was a new breed of Aussie male on the way. Damn, guess not!!
Hey, I'm thrilled to bits. I put gents for bait in the Google Bar and up came the page associated with the Grey Nomads site.
I don't know how it works out but feels good anyway.
Graham.