# Any body know anything about Blackeyed Susan grubs?



## riverbottoms (May 4, 2004)

I was wondering if anyone knows anything about collecting Blackeyed Susan grubs? 
I was mainly wondering when in the fall is the best time to collect these grubs? Before or after the flowers bloom. The grubs are in the Blackeyed Susan stalks.Any and all repies greatly appreciated.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

riverbottoms, i think the grub youre after is a common corn boring grub. theres a couple different kinds. ive spent the last hour looking at pages on the net. one type (the european corn borer) eats in the stalk and *overwinters* in the stalk. so i would wait until later to let them get bigger. you can look for a hole on the stalk to see if a grub entered the stalk. sounds like field edges are the best places to look, with a lot of grasses and a mixture of different kinds of plants. as the grubs mature i guess they can move from grasses to bigger plants like black eyed susans and corn stalks, etc. actually corn stalks might be real good, especially around the perimeter of corn fields. i would check some now just to see if any grubs are in there. if i ever look for some and come up with any useful information ill get back to you. theres an old field nearby here which im sure should hold some of these if theyre around. i would guess that late fall would be the best time to harvest these grubs. but im going to check some things out real soon.

also, i had no luck using terms like "ice fishing bait". i had better luck using plant pest approach such as "rudbeckia borer" "rudbeckia grub" etc. black eyed susan is rudbeckia from what i gathered on the net.


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## riverbottoms (May 4, 2004)

Thanks for the reply hardwater it was greatly appreciated. 
From what I have heard about the grubs, and one time saw an older fellow using the grubs from the Black Eyed Susan plant. This older fellow was knocking the crap out of the big gills when everyone else around him was doing squat with waxworms. Back then he told me what the plant looked like and the best places where to find them. But he didn't say whether you should harvest the stalks before or after the flower blooms. I'm assuming after the flower blooms and the plant dies off, then pick the stalks. The old guy did say he picked the stalks, bundled them with twine and put them in the freezer until he was ready to use them. 
BTW for those wondering what the plant looks like? It those yellow daisy looking weeds you see growing along the roadways, railroad tracks, in ditches. They grow in bunches about 3-5 ft. tall.
They are in full bloom now.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

im out in my yard yesterday and we have BROWN eyed susan plants. i figure what the heck, i pulled one out of the ground and take a look at the stalk. sure enough right near ground level theres this little hole. so i break the stalk. the hole goes down but not up. so i split open the bottom part, which is round. (kinda like the root of the stalk) it breaks open and its hollow and theres this little caterpillar looking bug inside, gray with a brown head about 1/2" long, looking around like what the heck just happened. im not sure if this is the same kind of bug but it probably is related at least. 

i was thinking later, if i had frozen it overnight and it came back to life then that would surely be the right bug (well, maybe)


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## kozak (Jan 31, 2005)

Never heard of Browneyed Susan grubs but Goldenrod grubs are an excellent bait also. You can find them in the stems of goldenrod where the stem becomes bulbulous. You need to use very small and very sharp hooks otherwise the grub kinda comes apart. Good to talking ice fishing again!


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

free bait = 

goldenrod grubs are good. i also collect acorn grubs and last winter i started catching my own creek minnows. =


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

im not sure if this is the grub we're after but this is a pic of what was inside that brown eyed susan. (i forgot i took a pic)


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Free bait is cool but do any of these actually look much different or work much better than waxworms wich only cost a few dollars per dozen ?


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

i understand your point, i guess what really makes it worthwhile is just the satisfaction of the "do-it-yourself" aspect of it. you know, kind of like the difference between catching a fish on a jig that you bought, versus one that you tied or made yourself. 

i would be happy going ice fishing with waxworms only anytime. 

it just makes it a little more interesting. i really do like acorn grubs though. i guess (if i didnt collect bait) if they sold acorn grubs i would buy some of those and some waxworms.


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