Long Life Casters?

[Maceo]

Last time I was in the tackle shop, I asked them if they had any casters. 'Only long life ones' they said. I was a bit taken aback and asked what the difference was as I'd never heard of them before. They said that they would never turn into flies and sank like normal casters.

Well I bought them and they came in a plastic bag and were nearly frozen. Quite a lot of water appeared in the bottom of the bait box during the session as they slowly defrosted.

They seemed to work just fine and I caught pretty well on them, but I can't find any info about them on the internet. Has anyone else encountered these casters and does anyone know:-

1. Do they really never turn into flies? I chucked the rest of them in when I'd finished the session, but if I'd taken them home with me could I have kept them for a couple of weeks? Would I need to freeze them again?

2. Are they considered as good as regular casters? If you were offered the choice between fresh and long life casters, which would you choose and why?

Thanks in advance for any info as always.

[Greenheart]

I think it's just casters that are dunked into hot water to kill them before they become floaters & are then frozen to preserve them.

[..::Pike Pirate::..]

that sounds logical, and the freezing would also kill any left over from the hot water because the ice crystals just cut through any living tissue as they grow, so it sounds very unlikely to me that any flies would emerge should they be left for a long time!

[BoldBear]

When I used to do a lot of match fishing and used to captain our clubs team we used to make sure we bought our caster from a reputable tackleshop who made their own fresh caster every week.
However, very occasionally I bought some caster from another shop who used to sell caster which were dead and they never seemed to catch the same amount of fish as fresh caster, plus they went a bit rancid after a few days even when kept in a bait fridge.
If I had any fresh caster left at the end of the day I would usually freeze them and use them for mixing in with my groundbait, but I would never normally use them on the hook.

Some people say that they have used dead ones with no problem and caught well, but for me it is just a confidence thing where I need to be sure that my bait is fresh.