Fishing Victoria Forum

aren't bardis found in the ground, and witchetty grubs found in timber?

ducky wrote:aren't bardis found in the ground, and witchetty grubs found in timber?

I think saltwater man may have a point here!
thanks
Jim

I doubt very much that the grub's you are finding in the wood are bardi's, Bardi's are the larvae of the rain moth,so called because the moth usually emerges out of its hole in the ground during the early spring rains. It leave's behind an orange coloured casing at the top of the hole,which can be a handy clue as to where to find them next year.

I was actually talking to a mate last night who digs them and sells them. I told him that there were members here asking about purchasing grubs. He said he already has enough customers. He will start digging in a few weeks. On saying that, he told me that he has to dig 400 to start with for an order that one of his regular 'hard core cod fishos' has placed! They must be good bait!
thanks
Jim

Yeah they are good bait for cod,silvers love nothing more than picking them off the hooks either
I think it is now illegal to chip for grubs in national park's & state forests,you used to be able to do it as long as you replaced the top soil & vegetation back,but too many didn't bother to do it (it's hard work removing the stuff in the first place) so they stopped it.

Must be small witchetty grubs i'm finding in the wood then ? , . If it's the ones out of the dirt your on about, we get them too , they stink when you squish them.

Witchety Grubs and Bardi Grubs are one and the same.
I suspect the grubs some are talking about are smaller grey ones, Bardies are thick,creamy coloured with a distinctive black or dark brown tip or nose one end. Great bait for any Freshwater species and a small piece on tip of hook with a scrubby is about as good as it gets for Trout. When a hook is put into them a thick creamy liquid oozes out and it is this scent that attracts fish.

Blue wrote: I suspect the grubs some are talking about are smaller grey ones,

I used to dig these up in my backyard when I was younger, a few years back.
I believe they are some kind of beetle larvae.

They are scarab grubs,as far as i know not much good for cod bait,same as wood grubs.

just checked with my parents as it was them that found the grubs, they were infact bardi grubs.. massive things much bigger than the usual grubs i find in the backyard which are the beetle larvae type and barely 1 inch long when stretched out..
they got heaps of them out of a seedling box of mixed lettuce that you used to be able to get from bunnings, they werent sure though if the moths came and layed the eggs in the lettuce in our backyard or where the lettuce was grown.
i just remember when i was a kid i used to find quite alot when id dig a hole in the back yard or sometimes one or 2 under a potplant but i think they were alot smaller, when spring comes along i might go for abit of a prospect and see what i can find tho and identify them.