I was just wondering if anyone has used hellgrammites as bait? If you have, are they a good bait to use? Any info would be appreciated, thanks!

Not live but I use Case helgies, both the big and small ones, for smallmouth and largemouth. The small ones are absolutely killer early season on clear water. Google search case plastics.

You betcha!! If you have any streams with smalmouth in them you definitely want to have a bucket of them.

I have used them, they are awesome especially early spring before they get their wings. They are also useful after the wings grow, smallies in streams will tear them up.

Watch out for the pinchers!

The plastic Case Helgies are great drop shot baits! Never used live ones though.

I've caught plenty of lake fish with them too! Very expensive bait though.

Yup, i used to go to a large creek feeding the local river with nothing but a box of hooks and sinkers and start kicking over rocks

They're hands down my favorite live bait for smallmouth. I'll have to check out the case helgies, as i didn't there was a soft plastic version available.

I see from everyones posts that they are good for smallmouth but what about largemouth and trout?

thank everyone for your feedback!

I see from everyones posts that they are good for smallmouth but what about largemouth and trout?

thank everyone for your feedback!

I've caught trout and just about every thing else that swims using Hellgramites in the Elk River here in West Virginia. They are a great bait. Hellgramites are big and are available year around so they are a good food source for fish.

Largemouth will annihiliate a hellgramite just as much as a smallie will. Great bait, and one hellgramite will last several fish. I use a cheap eagle claw weedless hook and just toss them near any cover. Whatever is there, big bass or small, will take it. I have had limp, dead, soggy helgies catch up to a dozen bass.

I caught my first fish on a hellgrammite. They are great bait.

I've been know to drift a split shotted case hellgie in shallow river current time to time. Mostly when my go-to's aren't producing so well. Smallies absolutely love 'em

Expencive, painful at times, but well worth it, the rivers all around here in Va.will give up a lot of fish, bass especially, to the little beast.

I absolutely without a doubt promise you, you will catch bass, LMB,SMB, they will tear them up !!!

expensive??? I didn't even know you could buy them. When I was a kid half of the fun was going to the creek, kickin over rocks and catching helgramites and lizards. Crazy thing is I never had much luck using live crawfish but wear them out with plastic ones!

Yes, I've used them for fishing in rivers, lakes and streams. They work well.

expensive??? I didn't even know you could buy them. When I was a kid half of the fun was going to the creek, kickin over rocks and catching helgramites and lizards. Crazy thing is I never had much luck using live crawfish but wear them out with plastic ones!

Same here, I loved flipping rocks and catching them when I was a kid. I still hunt them down from time to time when the bite gets tough on the Upper James River.

Have someone hold a seine in a narrow spot in the riffles and go up stream and turn over rocks as you work towards the seine. If you hit the right spot it won't take long to have enough for a days fishing.

They are nasty little buggers but are like crack for bass.

How does everyone fish the plastic hellmagrittes from case? I see some people mentioned dropshotting but how else do people fish them?

I drop shot them. The Case hellgramites have been around for years. Berkley also has a gulp version.

I fish them on jig heads, hook with split shot, or drop shot. I actually use the 2" a lot and do well on both smallmouth and largemouth. Have had some incredible days with largemouth on clear water lakes with the 2" black ones.