Locusts...a hopping good bait for fish!

LOCUSTS are top fodder for lizards and snakes, but Ben Ahmed has been using them to sack-up on perch and chub down his local river!

Turns out locusts are a great fishing bait

By nicking a dropshot hook through the tail end and using a single SSG shot for casting weight, the 28-year-old from Kent has been enjoying a bite-a-chuck by freelining the critters in the main flow on the River Stour. 

He told us:

“I was shopping for my home aquarium at Pets at Home when I came across these alien-sized hoppers in the reptile food section.

“I remembered that grasshoppers worked for me when I was a kid so when I saw these locusts only cost £2.50 for a box of 10 I just had to get them.”

Similarly to a fly or a beetle stuck on the water’s surface, locusts give off lots of vibration and attraction which according to Ben is just too tempting for fish to resist.

“The kicks from their legs and the fluttering of their wings really provoke the fish to hit the bait hard,’ he adds.

“I’ve had some incredible takes from chub and pike to over 5lb which have exploded clear of the water to attack the locust.

“It really is exciting fishing!”

This chub couldn’t resist a locust hookbait