Most of us, at some time or another, have had the misfortune of having had maggots escape from a bait box into the car or the home. Usually, we’ve just had to put up with it, always promising the other half we’ll be more careful in future!
The problem is that bait boxes are usually made from soft pliable plastic. Squash the side of these and they leak, especially, it seems, the square ones.
A couple of years ago I found the answer in Colditz Bait Boxes and started to do a review. Unfortunately, the distributors (Leeda) promptly stopped distributing them! Thumbing through the W.B. Clarke trade catalogue recently I found them again and so can finally finish the review. W.B. Clarke is a smaller wholesaler than Leeda, so your tackle shop may not have heard of the firm. However you can tell them that W.B. Clarke’s number is 01386-423350.
The Colditz bait boxes are made from rigid plastic with lids that snap very firmly shut. They also have an additional centre lid (again secure) which has a lip to prevent maggots crawling out. They’re round in shape and come in 2 sizes: 2½ pints @ £1.99 and 1½ pints @ £1.75.
This may be a few pence more than standard bait boxes, but then divorces are even more costly! In fact, I wouldn’t use any bait box for maggots other than a Colditz.
Steve Burke
20th August 2000
