Hellgrammites: best live bait in Kentucky?

July 14, 2008 by admin

Above left: By turning rocks with you feet just upstream of a seine with poles, it’s possible to net hellgrammites with only one person. Hellgrammites and crawfish, both of which will show up in seine nets in many Kentucky streams, also make great trout bait. Above right, Hellgrammites, which are dobson flies in their larvae stage, make excellent bait for various fish species in streams.

Grampus, Go-Devils, Conniption Bugs, Hellgrammites…. Call ‘em what you want. Fish think the larvae of dobson flies are candy, so I simply call them great bait.

Hellgrammites, to use the proper common name, abound in cool-water streams through much of Kentucky. Fierce-looking critters, with oodles of legs, big pincers at one end and a hook at the other, they inhabit rocky runs in cool, clear streams, spending most of their time tucked under rocks.

Hellgrammites may stay hidden under rocks because virtually everything that swims will eat them, which I’ve witnessed every time I’ve used hellgrammites for bait ina cool-water stream. Smallmouth bass typically are the official sought-after species, but somehow the rock bass, largemouths, channel catfish, bluegills, longear sunfish and other fish never get that message (which I don’t mind at all).

My brother-in-law, Jerry Perry of Danville, grew up in Frankfort, fishing Elkhorn Creek and other streams in Franklin County. Perry is strictly a stream fisherman, and he fishes almost exclusively with hellgrammites (plus the occasional soft-shell crawfish that shows up in his seine). He catches his bait upon arrival and then wades up through the creek, drifting hellgrammites thorugh promising-looking runs.

Perry uses a seine net to catch his hellgrammites. His net is small enough (about 6 feet long) for him to manage it alone, but the bait-catching process is easier and more effective with two people. One person holds the net while the other flips rocks and shuffles his feet in the bottom substrate just upstream.

If you don’t have seine, you also can catch hellgrammites by hand by simply flipping rocks and grabbing the little critters when they become exposed. The process is slower, but it’s usually not difficult to gather enough bait to fish with. You just have to grap quickly — before the current washes the bait downstream — which is sometimes challenging because flipping rocks can cloud up the water.

Also grab hellgrammites carefully, whether out of your bait cup or off the bottom. They aren’t very fast, but their pincers can draw blood. Always grab one by the head, right behind the pincers, and you’ll stay out of harm’s way.

The best places to catch hellgrammites are swift, shallow runs that have plenty of rocks to flip. The shallower the better for hand-picking, just because it’s easier to see them and grab them. For seining, a decent current to carry bait into the net and plenty of big rocks to shuffle are the most important ingredients.

Hellgrammites may be anywhere from about 1 to 3 inches long, depending on their age. They spend two to three years in the water as larvae after hatching from eggs. Eventually, they crawl to the banks, go through their pupae stage and finally emerge as flying adults, which mate and lay eggs and then die within a few days.

If bait is ever difficult to find in a stream, especially during late summer or fall, anglers should look under big rocks or moist logs on the edges of streams for hellgrammites that have crawled out of the stream.

Perry puts his hellgrammites in cricket cage or some type of bait cut that he can attach to a belt loop. The only terminal tackle he carries is a packet of bait hooks and a few split shot. He fishes with light spinning or spin-casting tackle.

For most situations, Perry fishes with nothing but a baited hook, which allows for very natural hellgrammite presentations. If the creek is high or he needs a little extra casting distance, he might add a split shot. He’ll also put on a shot or two on the line to fish the bottoms of big pools, where channel catfish often lie waiting for meals.

A No. 6 or No. 8 bait hook works well for hellgrammites. Hold the bait with its back toward you and slide the hook tight under its collar, with the hook point facing toward teh bait’s tail as it goes through.

You can also hook a hellgrammite straight through, from the bottom up, running the hook between the collar and the head.

One of the best things about hellgrammites is that they are extremely durable, as long as they are fresh. After they die, they will begin to get mushy, but a bait hooked live commonly will produce several fish.

Defying stereotypes of live-bait fishermen setting on the banks and waiting for bites, Perry works streams much the same way that a fly-fisherman would. He wades gradually upstream, and casts to the upper ends of runs, riffles, pockets and pools that should hold fish. He picks streams apart as he goes, putting his offerings everywhere that fish should be.

Perry lets his bait drift in the current and pays close attention to his line, watching and feeling for hits. FRom all that I’ve witnessed, however, Perry rarely has to wait for long!

Seine nets

Seines are rectangular nets that are weighted on the bottom and have floats on the top. The nets, which are usually fine meshed, are stretched between poles. In lakes, anglers sometimes drag seines to catch minnows. In streams, the net is just held in place, and the current brings the bait into it.

Artificial hellgrammites

Want to fish hellgrammites without having to catch them? Check out Case Plastics at www.madtoms.com, another maker of lifelike hellgramites.

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