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Finally have a tree and my neighbor has 3 more. Mine is pretty big now and plan on adding a few more. Also didn't know you could freeze them for using later. I have used them for Bluegills and I hear they are good for crappie can catfish as well. I am thinking a little piece of frozen one on a fly or small jig should be great!
Used to use them when I lived in Arkanasas. Man oh man!! If you can find a Caltalpa tree hanging over the water and fish those worms anywhere near there, you're in for a bunch of fun. Had one on an ox bow in Scott, AR... about this time every year you would pull crappie, cat, bass... the whole shooting match out from under that part of the bank.
I've never done it Skip, but have heard of others freezing them. Just search the Internet and I'm sure you can get plenty of info.
My niece's boy makes a killing selling them frozen. 5 cents each, bags of 10 or 20 with a bit of corn meal to keep them from sticking together. They have five trees and he has rights to an old lady's trees that lives down from him. He gets calls when it's time. He's only in the 7th grade.
That's cool!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by kcbrown
We use to freeze them also. Have not fished with any in years but they sure do work very well on bream.
I use them live and we freeze them as well. Catch them both ways but seem to have best luck when the live ones.
Never tried them for gills, but when I can get my hands on them, they are some of the best channel cat bait I've used. There hard to find around here, you have to be one of the first ones on the trees or your out of luck.
Used to use them for catfish, but it's been years since I've seen them on a tree. I watch for the trees in the spring to find new ones, but haven't had any luck finding worms?
Ive froze them before, try flash freezing by putting them on a cookie sheet or plate so when you are ready to use them they wont be all clumped up and froze together in a baggie, they do get a little soggy but still deadly if you use pieces on a jig. You can use them for bass, crappie, and gills. The color makes them a wanted target underwater!
Ditto for cats. Used to have a small patch of woods where I lived which had 2 Catalpa trees, last time it had worms, I caught 2 guys stealing them. I introduced them to my "friend" and informed them they had 30 seconds to get off the property.......or they would become fish bait themselves Devil Icon
Thanks guys! I uses them as a kid at my uncles as they had a tree right next to their lake. I plan on loading my tree really soon.
Not all trees will keep worms, I can't remember if its a male or female. I grew a tree years ago when I catfished all the time and once worms never came, I added them thinking they would take off, and in a day they were all gone. Google it, and you'll learn a lot of thinks that wouldn't normally cross your mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by skiptomylu
:biggrinWent to fly tying classes for a spell and catalpa worms were the hardest
fly to learn to tie. Complicated. But they work just like the real ones. Good.
Locator79, Very good to know so I will look it up and read what I find to make sure all is right or plant more trees, LOL!Quote:
Originally Posted by Locator79
RetiredRR I guess I will be looking up that pattern and tie some. I like a good challenge
Thanks,
Skip
I know were a couple trees are but i cant remember them having worms.........dont know why...
My dad had a tree that never had worms for several years....then all of a sudden it got them, and generally has them two or three times a year.
My dad and i used to use them to bait trot lines with. They are killer for catfish.
Freeze them in coffee grounds stays fresh!!! Mark them in case the wife gets the wrong can!!!!!!
Biggest bluegill I ever caught I pinched off the head and turned the catawba worm inside out. I was 8 years old fishing in a lake off the river and I thought I had an eel. Caught him on a 12 ft. cane pole and boy did he pull. I've been hooked ever since. 1-Cove
A buddy of mine will drop them in boiling water for just a few seconds then dip them out and into water with ice cubes all over the top (ice cold water). He claims it makes them tougher. Straight out of the ice water into ziplock bags for the freezer. I have already had 3 of my trees stripped and the new leaves are starting to grow back. I have 2 more trees that havent had but a few. Funny thing is...back when I wanted taber worms I'd have to ride and look for trees that had 'em. Now I got trees and dont use 'em anymore. Go figure...:rolleyes:
The ole timers always told me you needed to put the first worms on your trees once the trees were big enough. They told me it didnt take many...@ a dozenn or so per tree...and they'd go into the ground when they come off the trees. I did this to my trees way back and can only remember a year or two that I didnt have worms. Nobody around here hardly had worms those years either.Quote:
Originally Posted by BULLFROG-1
I'm guessing youre talking about a new can of coffee grounds?!?Quote:
Originally Posted by jackie53
I often wonder if it's necessary to go to this disgusting level (and I'm not squeamish about bait.) On a recent trip, I caught plenty of gills with just a little chunk of hot dog.Quote:
Originally Posted by 1coveblowcrkedcrkmarina
i tried the putting the worm on a couple of the trees that my Grandfather planted many users ago but never had any luck getting them to have worms.............i have often wondered if the birds eat them as quick as they showed up....
Seems like the older trees don't get them as much as the 10-20 year old trees.
I have used them for years but have quit. They are good bait but the juice is just
about impossible to get off your hands and under finger nails. Have tried every way
to freeze them but they always lost their color and tunred mushy but still worked
pretty good. I hit it right one time in my life with puting them in boiling water
then ice water and freezing but have tried many times and never got it right sense.
Does one find the worms on the leaves, or dig them out of the soil near the trunk? When do they start appearing--late spring? early summer? Have others found them showing up several times a year on the same tree?
I find them on the leaves.Never have dug for them.
The worms are on the leaves. They usually start showing up around here toward mid June to early July. But I've only ever noticed 1 crop of worms per year.
Those worms never worked for me up in northern Illinois. I used to fish carp & catfish bank tournaments and Henrys Bait Shop in Chicago would get them in for about a 2 month period. E tried UGH turning them inside out etc. Guess our fish up here are too dumb to know they are supposed to be good to eat. Doughbait or nitecrawler would out fish Catalpa ten to one.
So are you guys finding them right now??
I must agree! Excellent for catfish from my experience. Never tried them on anything else. Too bad they are pretty much non existent in southeast missouri anymore. We used to pull em off the tree next to my parents house but i think the use of farming pesticides over the years has wiped them out in this part of the country. Too bad b/c they were an excellent bait for sure. Good idea on freezing them. If i ever find a tree with some on it i will definitely have to try that out.
Good fishin!
Find em on the leaves. They'll strip a tree til it is bare. Get them that day, they generally only stay on the trees a day or two.