Grass hoppers

Ok I went driving around Pat mayse lake a few weeks ago. Some guys are st the ramp and I saw a load of catfish in their boat . So they wreceillingbyo share their secret. They said the catch grasshoppers in the summer and freeze them for bait in winter. Well I got inspired so I plan to take my flashlight out this summer to get some grass hoppers and not sure my wife will like them in the freezer. They will fit real good with my Stubbys cheese bait in my freezer. I try to keep a nice balance between bait and fillets in my freezer. I have had people tell me that fish don’t last in the freezer. I freeze mine in water and have ate fish that were over a year old in freezer and they were good. I have made it a policy to eat fish more often and yes I do bake and grill a good number to watch my peanut oil intake. My cholesterol level is very good but my doctor wants it at 80 which is impossible for me. So anyone freeze grasshoppers for bait?

Yes, and I save them for when the creek is flowing into the lake, it’s a slaughter

Freeze them in cornmeal. They're less likely to turn black that way.

This reminds me of a story from my younger days. When I was a kid I used to ride my bike up to the Lewisville fishing barge for the carp and buffalo rodeos. I was fishing it one day when I was probably 13 yrs old and little boy had caught a giant green grasshopper looking insect. He brought it over to his dad in excitement and said “Dad, let’s use this for bait!” The dad looked at his son and said look how big and beautiful it is, let’s set him free”. The father proceeded to toss the giant bug into the air as it caught the wind and took flight... the dad yelled it’s free! as it got about 25 yrds across the water and out of the sky a bird swooped down and ate it right out of the air!!!! Totally freakin awesome!!!! Y’all should have seen the look on their faces! I will never forget. Priceless!!!

When I was a kid we mostly used bait we could get behind the house or in the garden. Grasshoppers were a big portion but we used catalpa worms, tomato bugs, cotton wood beetles, earthworms, and crawfish. All great baits.

Soaked alot of those yellow grasshoppers in the river below LL floodgates & caught loads fo channels back in the 60's. Simpler times.

I think your freezer space would be better utilized filled up with shad.

Scale buster if a shad would not fall apart after freezing they would be better. Nothing beats a fresh dead or live shad. Frozen shad are difficult at best for me. Any suggestions welcome?

I freeze them on a wire rack with a fan blowing right on them in the deep freeze. The faster you freeze them the smaller the ice crystals that form and less damage to cellular structure. Flash freezing is common in the food industry to keep the texture of foods. I have no problem with them being mushy when thawed. After they are frozen solid I bag them up. They don`t even stick together.

Shad? In the freezer? Meh. That's what a Fitec is for.

The large yellow ones are dynamite in local creeks around here.