catalpa worms

[Tomas Daniel]

just wondering if anyone else uses catalpa worms for bluegills. springtime in mid ga they are verry available and offen turn an average day on the water outstanding. we even freeze them for use later in the year. are they not available in other parts of the country?

[dick tabbert]

When I lived in Kannoplis N.C all we had to do is find the catalpa trees and then we could pick in worms. Not every tree had them though so we had to drive around and find tree's that had them. You are right they are great baits for gills.

[Jim Gronaw]

I used them as a child when we fished near Norfolk, VA for gills at Lake Prince.

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

They worked growing up in Louisiana and we use them now in the Carolinas.....It's hard to keep the catfish off them if you have them in your area.......Big gills will hit them as well as white perch....

[jason grimm]

THIS PAST SEPTEMBER I WAS OUT AT MT FAV LAKE WHICH IS SURROUNDED ALMOST BY 100% COON OR CATTAIL REEDS WHAT EVER YOU CALL THEM, AND THERE WERE THESE CATALPA WORMS OR CATIPILLARS FALLING OFF EVERY WERE. NEXT YEAR IM GOING TO GO BACK AND CATCH SOME FOR RESERVE IN THE FREEZER AND FISH WITH THEM AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

[Tomas Daniel]

jason ive had mixed experience freezing them. the best way ive found to preserve em is to put em in a ziplock and squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible. ive tried other ways but they always thawed mushy and hard to put on a hook. never seen em on ca tails though. we only find em on a certain kind of tree around here, dont know the name of the tree. we always called em catalpa trees.

[jason grimm]

well what ever these critters might be I will find them again and see how they fish, and thx for the ziplock tip!

[Glen Clatterbuck]

That's the name of the tree too - catalpa (a.k.a. catawba).  The worms are hard to find around central Illinois though because of spraying.   People should pay more attention to my need for bait instead of protecting their trees <grin>, plus the worms produce a large moth which is cool (the sphinx moth).    

Several web sites recommend layering them in a jar with cornmeal to prevent crushing each other and then refrigerating or freezing.  These sites assert that the worms will be alive when unthawed [imagine my VERY skeptical face at this point].  

One of the catfish bait companies produces a squeeze tube of catalpa-scent bait for use in bait tubes.  I have never tried it for bluegills.   

[Dwayne Denison]

Glen, I live in southern IL, near Carbondale. I found a couple trees this fall,while out walking. Not as many around as when I was a kid.

[dick tabbert]

Nice info Glen. I thank you and next time I happen to come across catalpa worms I will try putting them in corn meal and freezing them. Again thank you and GOOD FISHIN..