when i was fishing maggotts from ashurst breighleys mohmar the maggotts where bigger u could get a 16 carbon feeder in them easy . i found cleaning them off and putting them in a cool consistant temp around 8/10 degrees in the dark in damp wood dust .they stayed the same size of the maggott as the werent racing from high heat .thurs iwood pick out early turning specimens these would be mu hookers ...... top tip black casters just before they turn become very light in weight so with the weight of the burried hook still fall slower than the loose fed as the older the roach and bream the wiser it becomes 90 times out of a hundred first put in with the plumb black caster on the money
I’ve been thinking about doing this. Thank you for showing how to get casters it seemed complicated but you have given me confidence to start doing my own
I have turned casters for years to throw in for the Chub and Barbel of the Yorkshire rivers. Used to start with a gallon of maggots straight from the farm then riddle them off to remove the odd fish bone and skins. Fresh sawdust is a must which i dampened with an atomiser spray bottle. I preferred ice cube bags to place in the fridge & usually it was 2 riddles of the bait each day but occasionally 3. By the end of the week you had around 7 to 8 pints of casters and together with a similar amount of hemp was enough for the weekend.
@@dandyer8351 Some of Yorkshires rivers ie Swale and the Nidd are solid with Chub and Barbel and you need to feed plenty to realise what can be caught Most Barbel i have had in a day was 31 on the Swale but i have had large catches including Chub on a regular basis for 35 plus years.
This vid couldn’t have come at better time. Thanks John as my local tackle shop never have casters when u visit there. I think he takes orders for match fisherman well so I’ve heard. Anyway need them now as me local park lake is doing tench already but love castors more than any other bait. So now I’ll have some thanks again all the best Jon.
Another funny story 😊:- It was probably in the mid 1980's that I had "this idea" = ....using squats in groundbait was a universally recognised method to attract & hold bream, & keep them hunting about in your peg without overfeeding them (cos squats are so small). My local tackle dealer was Dave Burr, of "Banks & Burr" in Rugby. He's a superb tackle & bait dealer, and produces 1st class quality everything, including brill casters! He was/is that consciousness of his quality bait, & about meeting orders, he got stressed out about it, and spent many an evening/night down in his bait cellar riddling casters & making sure that the bait was perfect! Plus he was a mate also, and we were team mates in a few matches too. So, I had no qualms about going into his shop & asking, "Dave, would you produce 4 pints of squat or pinkie casters for me, for collection next Friday??" ...... I must have caught him at an overworked stressful time because, God almighty, the steam came out of his ears!! He thought that I was taking the p*ss!! I feared for my safety & thought I'd be banned from the shop for life!! 😂.....I was soon forgiven though, after I remembered just how much work goes into producing top class casters (let alone squat or pinkie casters 😊) . I still don't know how good squat or pinkie casters would be in groundbait feed though, cos I didn't have the time to produce them myself. I had a fishing wife widow, and 3 fishing orphan daughters, & didn't want to push my luck further 😂😂
I've caught on squatt casters! Had some big white squatts once on a red hot day that were castering as I fished and ended up catching on them really well. I had 9lb on the GUC at Weedon that day, including a big perch on... corn!
Top information on caster care. Learnt some good tips to making them last longer in tip top condition. Thanks taking the time to share your knowledge. All the best Pete tight lines 🎣
Great video Jon, it's good to finally see someone show how to create and store casters, when fishing caster in the past I have had my best silvers to light coloured casters over a light bed of the dark ones
Reminded me of Frank Barlow , he had a big barrel of water in the yard he would keep gallons of casters in it and just scooped out as much as he needed for his Trent matches , they absolutely stank but he always caught on them .
Fantastic video mate thanks for this. I recently opened a tackle shop and this video has been the most helpful by far in terms of learning how to produce quality bait. Tight lines!
Nice video as usual, thanks Jon. Seeing the cat in the video reminds me of my attempts to go the whole hog and breed my own maggots. I can still see our old cat sat in the middle of the kitchen floor with a half eaten chicken breast covered in maggots...! Best wishes Rob.
GREAT VID JON, if you want to make the floaters sink, pump them in a pellet pump, you will be surprised how many sink, depending on how far they have turned, I do this with great success.
Yes I've done that in the past and even did an article on it 8-10 years ago in Match Fishing mag. Not tried pumping them for years but sure it'd still work.
I use hamster bedding but I put it through a food mixer first, like when you liquidise bread and then riddle it, turns out nice. Just don’t let the Mrs catch you :-)
Great video Jon. Amazing what you can learn about how to produce casters from the humble maggot. I will certainly put your methods to the test especially the keeping in water one for Commercials. Thanks
Hi Jon thanks for the video you have inspired me to have a go at doing my own casters going to try turning a single pint 1st but if all goes well will be doing more fingers crossed
Another awesome video John... have always bought casters and complained about their quality ... no excuse now and Its not as complicated as I though ... thanks 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Great vid! I've been doing my own for a while, some useful tips for me in there though. Can I ask what size mesh riddle you use? Takes forever for my maggots to pass through.
Yes you can but I'd personally only do it for carp. I pop them in containers/bottles of water and freeze the whole lot. The water will tend to go black though and the casters will go soft, but the carp don't mind.
Great video Jon. Is it also possible to put some oil over dry casters when you bring them to the bank? So that they won't go darker anymore in the sun? Instead of using water?
Hi Jon. Different question to your brill item. Which camera do you use on your sessions as I’m thinking of getting one and there’s lots of different reviews but always been impressed with your clips. Cheers patrick
I sometimes think about turning my own casters but my local tackle shop does such a good job with them. Maggots are £3 a pint, casters £4 so I'm better off just ordering casters from the pros than paying my for 3 pints of maggots to get 2 pints of casters.
If you can guarantee quality casters and a local shop's nearby then definitely. What I was getting at more with the ratio was don't ever expect to get 3pts from 3pts. You might get near to that amount, but the last 1/2pt might also take a bit longer to turn.
This is fine if u have the time and your a pro angler and get through alot of bait. id like to do it put its not worth the effort tbh. For a few quid once a week i go fishing its cheaper and less hassle to just got to tackle shop. I like the effort you got to though and you know there as fresh as can be. 👍
Don't think so I used to do gallon a week used saw dust from college did like john did put though maggot and pinkie riddles kept sawdust in air tight tubs
If you can guarantee quality casters and a local shop's nearby then definitely. What I was getting at more with the ratio was don't ever expect to get 3pts from 3pts. You might get near to that amount, but the last 1/2pt might also take a bit longer to turn.
I hope Jon doesn't mind me sticking my nose it, especially bcos I'm old enough to be his dad, & I almost agree with everything he says.... But you can't make a silk purse from a pigs ear (meaning = the best casters will always come from the best reared maggots). Ian Heaps had the best casters I've seen, but he came nowhere in that particular match. In total contrast, cos I'd got 3 daughters under 14 months old, was working my arse off & couldn't prepare my own bait, & I've had the shittiest casters from a tackle shop that I was pissed off to buy. And I caught unbelievably. ... not that I'm advocating using shìte bait. Also, my mate John "L" bought his bait at lunchtime & left it in his car boot on a hot day during the 1980 ''s . His bait was long dead when he arrived at his match peg hours later... he won the match by miles, despite the dead squatts and pinkies put in groundbait ..... it surprised him, cos he told me. Things don't surprise anglers so much. 😊
The "old stories" (& perhaps a few new ones) that defy logic are the most interesting Jon .... cos it shows that when we think that we've got fishing figured out, we HAVEN'T, & we'll still be learning when we're finally buried 6ft under the daisies , still wearing our smelly wellies 😉 ..... 😂 lol ❤
Thanks for sharing. I use a lot of black bags but always make sure they’re not ones with that horrible plastic chemical smell like some cheap bin bags have 👍
Only just seen your caster video, top quality information. First class.
Glad it was OK Garry
when i was fishing maggotts from ashurst breighleys mohmar the maggotts where bigger u could get a 16 carbon feeder in them easy . i found cleaning them off and putting them in a cool consistant temp around 8/10 degrees in the dark in damp wood dust .they stayed the same size of the maggott as the werent racing from high heat .thurs iwood pick out early turning specimens these would be mu hookers ...... top tip black casters just before they turn become very light in weight so with the weight of the burried hook still fall slower than the loose fed as the older the roach and bream the wiser it becomes 90 times out of a hundred first put in with the plumb black caster on the money
That’s pretty much what I do and the casters I get still take a big size 16, but some places they’re definitely smaller these days. Nice memories 👍
I’ve been thinking about doing this. Thank you for showing how to get casters it seemed complicated but you have given me confidence to start doing my own
No probs
I have turned casters for years to throw in for the Chub and Barbel of the Yorkshire rivers. Used to start with a gallon of maggots straight from the farm then riddle them off to remove the odd fish bone and skins. Fresh sawdust is a must which i dampened with an atomiser spray bottle. I preferred ice cube bags to place in the fridge & usually it was 2 riddles of the bait each day but occasionally 3. By the end of the week you had around 7 to 8 pints of casters and together with a similar amount of hemp was enough for the weekend.
Nice. Oh to be lucky enough to get buckets direct from the maggot farm!
@@JonArthur Bonus as it was only £3 per gallon
Seriously 8 pints for two days, sounds like ur overfeeding to me thats a silly amount to feed lol even on a river. Did you actually catch anything.
@@dandyer8351 Some of Yorkshires rivers ie Swale and the Nidd are solid with Chub and Barbel and you need to feed plenty to realise what can be caught Most Barbel i have had in a day was 31 on the Swale but i have had large catches including Chub on a regular basis for 35 plus years.
Fantastic, JA. Thank you for sharing this "littles" big secrets!
No worries!
Brilliant video Jon, another interesting insight to the time and effort top anglers go to. Will definitely try turning my own 👍🏻
Have fun
This vid couldn’t have come at better time. Thanks John as my local tackle shop never have casters when u visit there. I think he takes orders for match fisherman well so I’ve heard.
Anyway need them now as me local park lake is doing tench already but love castors more than any other bait.
So now I’ll have some thanks again all the best Jon.
Glad it's helped
Another funny story 😊:-
It was probably in the mid 1980's that I had "this idea" = ....using squats in groundbait was a universally recognised method to attract & hold bream, & keep them hunting about in your peg without overfeeding them (cos squats are so small).
My local tackle dealer was Dave Burr, of "Banks & Burr" in Rugby. He's a superb tackle & bait dealer, and produces 1st class quality everything, including brill casters! He was/is that consciousness of his quality bait, & about meeting orders, he got stressed out about it, and spent many an evening/night down in his bait cellar riddling casters & making sure that the bait was perfect! Plus he was a mate also, and we were team mates in a few matches too.
So, I had no qualms about going into his shop & asking, "Dave, would you produce 4 pints of squat or pinkie casters for me, for collection next Friday??" ...... I must have caught him at an overworked stressful time because, God almighty, the steam came out of his ears!! He thought that I was taking the p*ss!! I feared for my safety & thought I'd be banned from the shop for life!! 😂.....I was soon forgiven though, after I remembered just how much work goes into producing top class casters (let alone squat or pinkie casters 😊) .
I still don't know how good squat or pinkie casters would be in groundbait feed though, cos I didn't have the time to produce them myself. I had a fishing wife widow, and 3 fishing orphan daughters, & didn't want to push my luck further 😂😂
I've caught on squatt casters! Had some big white squatts once on a red hot day that were castering as I fished and ended up catching on them really well. I had 9lb on the GUC at Weedon that day, including a big perch on... corn!
Some great tips there Jon, cheers. Off to the garage to prepare mine.
Have fun!
Top information on caster care. Learnt some good tips to making them last longer in tip top condition. Thanks taking the time to share your knowledge. All the best Pete tight lines 🎣
Glad it was helpful!
Great video Jon, it's good to finally see someone show how to create and store casters, when fishing caster in the past I have had my best silvers to light coloured casters over a light bed of the dark ones
Glad it was helpful!
great video Jon, and great advice on storage especially keeping them in water in the fridge, hadn't heard of that one before, once again many thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Reminded me of Frank Barlow , he had a big barrel of water in the yard he would keep gallons of casters in it and just scooped out as much as he needed for his Trent matches , they absolutely stank but he always caught on them .
Good old Boris Barlow!
Fantastic video mate thanks for this. I recently opened a tackle shop and this video has been the most helpful by far in terms of learning how to produce quality bait. Tight lines!
Great to hear!
Nice video as usual, thanks Jon. Seeing the cat in the video reminds me of my attempts to go the whole hog and breed my own maggots. I can still see our old cat sat in the middle of the kitchen floor with a half eaten chicken breast covered in maggots...! Best wishes Rob.
Oh dear! :-)
GREAT VID JON, if you want to make the floaters sink, pump them in a pellet pump, you will be surprised how many sink, depending on how far they have turned, I do this with great success.
Yes I've done that in the past and even did an article on it 8-10 years ago in Match Fishing mag. Not tried pumping them for years but sure it'd still work.
I use hamster bedding but I put it through a food mixer first, like when you liquidise bread and then riddle it, turns out nice. Just don’t let the Mrs catch you :-)
Cheers Jon really appreciate you sharing this. Very useful. Hope to get fish with you soon on a Riverfest
Hope so but looks like half the qualifiers I fancied clash with other events :-(
Good vlog. Good tips. Very wel explaned. Thnx.
Glad it was helpful!
Good Video Jon, not seen the process before, Thanks
Glad to help
Great video Jon. Amazing what you can learn about how to produce casters from the humble maggot. I will certainly put your methods to the test especially the keeping in water one for Commercials. Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Great vid, about time a decent tutorial went up.
Glad it helped
just watched you video lots of quality info top tips
Thanks for watching
Hi Jon thanks for the video you have inspired me to have a go at doing my own casters going to try turning a single pint 1st but if all goes well will be doing more fingers crossed
Good luck Ian
Another brilliant and informative video
Thanks again!
Great informative video again Jon.
Glad you enjoyed it
Nice Video John very informative stuff thanks for sharing. Alan
Very welcome
Another awesome video John... have always bought casters and complained about their quality ... no excuse now and Its not as complicated as I though ... thanks 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks 👍
As they generate their own heat ., keep giving them a little drink to keep sawdust moist ..it also boosts your finished caster size
Yep damp sawdust is vital as I've mentioned. Thanks for watching
Very interesting Jon. Thanks mate 🎣💪💪
No problem 👍
Brilliant informative video nice one Jon
Thanks 👍
What lovely caster's
Excellent Jon.
Thanks 👍
Brilliant video thanks jon👍👍
Glad you enjoyed it
Absolute legend for doing this 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks :-)
Excellant video tips as always
Thanks again!
Some really good info their J.
Thanks Rob
Thanks John 👍
Cheers
Nice one John cheers 👍
Thanks 👍
Jon what riddle was that you were using please?
Just a standard maggot mesh riddle. The rectangular ones I've had years.
Great tips Jon ;)
Thanks! 👍
Thanks Jon
No probs
Great vid! I've been doing my own for a while, some useful tips for me in there though. Can I ask what size mesh riddle you use? Takes forever for my maggots to pass through.
It's about 4mm, standard maggot mesh. If yours takes ages it is slightly too small mesh. I had some Sensas riddles where the mesh was no good
Informative video John. What size riddle are you using?
Just a standard maggot mesh riddle
Excellent!
Many thanks!
Nice video Jon. Can you freeze casters? Or is that not something you would recommend
Yes you can but I'd personally only do it for carp. I pop them in containers/bottles of water and freeze the whole lot. The water will tend to go black though and the casters will go soft, but the carp don't mind.
Great video Jon. When they are on your side tray during a session do you keep them in water or you happy to leave them dry.
I always leave mine in water otherwise they turn to floaters, especially when it’s warm
I cover in water generally.
Great video Jon. Is it also possible to put some oil over dry casters when you bring them to the bank? So that they won't go darker anymore in the sun? Instead of using water?
I'm not sure oil will stop them getting dark. Not even factor 40!
Hello!
How many days do larvae turn into casters?
I have competitions on Saturday. Can I have them ready in 2,5 days?
Thanks Jon but I think I will carry on buying the buggers. I never need more than a pint as I fish natural venues. Cheers mate.
Fair enough! I actually prefer to turn my own when I need smaller quantities, time permitting.
Hi Jon. Different question to your brill item. Which camera do you use on your sessions as I’m thinking of getting one and there’s lots of different reviews but always been impressed with your clips. Cheers patrick
I have two Canon D80s for my pro work and two GoPro Hero 9s for general sessions, plus a couple of older GoPros and my iPhone.
@@JonArthur Thank you for the reply that’s a great help. Keep up the great vids 👍
I sometimes think about turning my own casters but my local tackle shop does such a good job with them. Maggots are £3 a pint, casters £4 so I'm better off just ordering casters from the pros than paying my for 3 pints of maggots to get 2 pints of casters.
If you can guarantee quality casters and a local shop's nearby then definitely. What I was getting at more with the ratio was don't ever expect to get 3pts from 3pts. You might get near to that amount, but the last 1/2pt might also take a bit longer to turn.
@@JonArthur it’s tempting just so I can see if I can do it.
Brilliant video.. no chance the wife will let me put them in fridge lol!
🤣
Ace video jon
Thanks MIke
Jon I find letting them turn in fridge gives me a bigger caster
Yes that could indeed be right
Put the live maggot or the casters?
This is fine if u have the time and your a pro angler and get through alot of bait. id like to do it put its not worth the effort tbh. For a few quid once a week i go fishing its cheaper and less hassle to just got to tackle shop. I like the effort you got to though and you know there as fresh as can be. 👍
Fair enough!
Hi Jon what fish’O tickets did you get?
Only went for 5. Hopefully got them but there were some complications. Long story...
@@JonArthur it kept crashing for people
@@JonArthur will you be filming the matches
Possibly. All depends on the day and if I'm set up in time etc
@@JonArthur I guess you’ve got both tunnel balm farm tickets hope you get a good peg this year if you do I know you will qualify 👍🏻👍🏻 good luck mate
John, I’ve had great success pickling mine. Big jars and lots of white vinegar. Sounds mental but they last forever
A work colleague used to swear by elderberries he'd preserved in formaldehyde(!), so white vinegar sounds ok to me!
Can't critisise at all Jon .perfect!..been doing it like this for 40 years and use the cold water method. Will lose my edge now if everyone does this
Thanks 👍
what size mesh do you use ? ive been wanting a vid on this for a good while now
Thanks, just a standard 'maggot mesh' riddle 👍
Hello. What kind of riddle did u used? 2.5mm? Thx
No all maggot and caster riddles need to be around 4mm
Just wondering, does it make any difference what type of sawdust you use (what wood etc.)? thanks
Don't think so I used to do gallon a week used saw dust from college did like john did put though maggot and pinkie riddles kept sawdust in air tight tubs
I don't really think so, so long as it's plain wood, not treated
Good video but the price of maggots in my local shop its not cost effective to turn my own if 3 pints gives 2 pints casters.
If you can guarantee quality casters and a local shop's nearby then definitely. What I was getting at more with the ratio was don't ever expect to get 3pts from 3pts. You might get near to that amount, but the last 1/2pt might also take a bit longer to turn.
@@JonArthur I'll give it a go when i have some left over maggots instead of freezing them.
Where.did.you.get.the.paper.bags.from
Easy to find online. Think mine were via Amazon
Interesting about using whites not reds.
Cheaper than buying great tip
Glad it was helpful!
Why the little bit of water in saw dust???
Caster maggots keep best in damp sawdust
Thanks @@JonArthur
Very interesting video Jon, but more adverts than bloody ITV :-(
Rich
They should ratio out at every 4-6 mins and any TH-cam ads are worth putting up with for all the FREE content we all get to watch :-)
@@JonArthur I will put up with them to keep watching your video's 😁😁
all the best
I hope Jon doesn't mind me sticking my nose it, especially bcos I'm old enough to be his dad, & I almost agree with everything he says.... But you can't make a silk purse from a pigs ear (meaning = the best casters will always come from the best reared maggots). Ian Heaps had the best casters I've seen, but he came nowhere in that particular match.
In total contrast, cos I'd got 3 daughters under 14 months old, was working my arse off & couldn't prepare my own bait, & I've had the shittiest casters from a tackle shop that I was pissed off to buy. And I caught unbelievably. ... not that I'm advocating using shìte bait.
Also, my mate John "L" bought his bait at lunchtime & left it in his car boot on a hot day during the 1980 ''s . His bait was long dead when he arrived at his match peg hours later... he won the match by miles, despite the dead squatts and pinkies put in groundbait ..... it surprised him, cos he told me.
Things don't surprise anglers so much. 😊
I've got some stories on old bait too, but that's for another time...
The "old stories" (& perhaps a few new ones) that defy logic are the most interesting Jon .... cos it shows that when we think that we've got fishing figured out, we HAVEN'T, & we'll still be learning when we're finally buried 6ft under the daisies , still wearing our smelly wellies 😉 ..... 😂 lol ❤
Yet another great video. 👍
Can you do one on how to stop bananas turning black? 🍌
Eat thrm?
🍌🍌🍌
I heard a bloke saying he put his casters in an old stocking and put them in his toilet system to keep them fresh .
Nice tip! :-)
Black Dog poo bags unscented ones work well
Thanks for sharing. I use a lot of black bags but always make sure they’re not ones with that horrible plastic chemical smell like some cheap bin bags have 👍