THE HELLGRAMITE OR DOBSON 
Found Throughout the United States—the Hell- 
gramite Is Second to None as a Bass Bait 
By A. B. CHAMPLAIN 
F ishermen know the value of 
the “hellgramite” or dobson in 
fishing- for bass and others of 
the finny tribe, but their knowledge is 
usually limited to the stage of the in¬ 
sect most prized as bait. 
Anglers whom I have known, es¬ 
pecially around Harrisburg, Pennsyl¬ 
vania, on the Susquehanna River and 
tributaries, consider the larvae of hell- 
gramites equal to any bait for black 
bass. In addition, they may be used 
with good results in catching numerous 
other game fish. They live and move 
about for a long time when on the 
hook, and for that reason were great 
favorites as bait for outlines before 
the latter were prohibited by law. 
One local fisherman tells me that his 
| best all-around bait was hellgramite 
larvae, treated in the following man¬ 
ner:—Cut off the head and run the 
hook in at the tail, drawing the body 
up over the hook with the in-side out, 
the legs pulled up above the hook on 
the leader. Then free the barb of the 
hook on account of the tough skin, and 
in this condition there is exposed a 
tough but strong scented, attractive 
bait, that is often taken by fish when 
every other bait fails. 
They are plentiful where they occur, 
and, as the insect lives nearly three 
years in the larval stage in the water, 
they may be found and collected at any 
season of the year. The best method 
of collecting the larvae is to wade into 
the stream against the current, with a 
net, turning over the stones in front 
and the hellgramites will float down 
the stream into the net. In the winter 
time the larvae curl up into a sort of 
ball when disturbed, and they are 
easily collected in this manner. 
Fishermen desiring to keep hell¬ 
gramite larvae at home for convience, 
will have no trouble if the following 
directions are carried out:—In a 
wooden box place a layer of gravel 
about one inch deep on the bottom. 
Put a few loose boards over the top 
of the gravel, thus making a place for 
them to hide. A lid on the box will pre¬ 
vent their escape. In the lid there 
should be a small hole in which to 
pour water, just enough to keep the 
gravel moist, the surplus running out 
at the cracks. Do not place too many 
larvae in one small box, as they will 
attack and mutilate each other when 
too numerous. Keep in a cool place. 
The adult or mature insect, often 
called fish-fly, hellgramite fly or dob- 
son fly, is about two inches long, with 
a wing expanse of about five inches. 
The four, brownish wings are large 
and net-veined and are folded back 
over the body when at rest. It has a 
broad head, six legs and prominent 
mandibles or jaws, while the antennae 
or feelers are many jointed. 
The adults are active and crawl 
about or fly readily, usually at night 
and are attracted to arc-lights or any 
strong lights, especially those situated 
along or near streams. They are short 
lived and their main function is mat¬ 
ing and egg laying. The female re¬ 
sembles the male in many respects, 
but the latter can easily be distin¬ 
guished by the greater length of the 
mandibles. 
After mating, the females, which are 
the longer lived, are ready to lay their 
eggs; these are laid in blotch-like 
masses, chalky-white in color at first, 
later a dirty-white, each mass about 
one inch in diameter and containing 
from one to three thousand eggs. 
These eggs are attached to the stone 
work or timbers on the under side of 
bridges, to stones or the trunks of trees 
overhanging a stream, so that when 
the eggs hatch the young hellgramites 
or larvae will easily find their way 
into the water, where they pass then- 
entire early life. These larvae are 
carnivorous and feed upon the young 
or larvae of other aquatic insects, 
readily crawling or swimming about 
and making their homes beneath 
stones or among the vegetation at the 
bottoms of running streams, preferring 
places where the water flows swiftest; 
they breathe by means of gill tufts 
arranged along the under sides of the 
body. 
When nearly three years old, the 
larvae have reached their full growth; 
and during the latter part of May, or 
early June, they leave the water at 
night and migrate to the shore, where 
they burrow into the soil, beneath 
sticks or stones, or in an old stump. 
It is at this time that they may easily 
be collected, and usually in numbers. 
After entering the burrows or cells, 
they change to the pupae or quiescent 
stage. The pupae are dirty-white in 
color. They are too soft and watery 
to be especially prized as bait. 
The hellgramite, in this stage, is 
practically defenseless and for this 
reason utilizes a burrow or cell in the 
ground. No food is taken in this stage, 
but the energy stored up in the larval 
stage carries it through this period, 
lasting about a month, when the adult 
or winged insects emerge from the 
cells. 
The adults are used for bait, but 
the wings are usually pulled off first. 
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