The above pic is what us icefishermen refer to as a Mousee. They are actually a larva of a drone fly. The drone fly resembles a honey bee but is just a fly. Anyway due to drought conditions and our over zealous EPA they have been almost impossible to find to buy. They thrive in stagnant ponds with rotting vegetable matter. Large vegetable processing plants were a goldmine for these to thrive.
Veteran ice guys know that the mousee is one of the most effective live baits used thru the ice. The tail is important as the mousee wiggles and twists it when hooked properly. That is hooking the grub without killing it.
They are real close to size of regular maggot.
I think this will be about the 4th year in a row they are in chronic short supply. So being a handy dandy jig tyer I came up with these to imitate the real thing. In actual use they are going to be tipped with a maggot. Used mono thread as base, then formed body using dental floss on dry fly hooks sizes 12 , 16. First step was to put small bead on hook. Think these are the smallest beads they make. Used varying material for tail. Most used was sili-leg. Anyway heres the result
