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Went back to Willard for some more catfishing. We tried out a different spot and it seemed to work just as well. We fished between 9 pm and 2 am. We used crawdad lures and bait. Worms and liver didn't seem to work well. Cut carp and some freshly caught crawdad tails (peeled) seemed to be the best bait. All the larger cats were caught on either crawdad meat or crawdad lures within ten feet from shore. Bobbers with about four feet of leader drifted along the shore line worked well. Casting further out produced many cats but were all under 14 inches.
We ended up with around twenty cats. Four of them went 5-10 pounds. Three were around 3 pounds and the rest were about a pound. We decided to keep a couple cats for a fish fry and crawdad boil we are having with friends and family this weekend.
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Those are some mighty fine cats you caught there. How were the misquitos?
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Damn bro nice cats! those are some hogs
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all the pictures of willard cats from you are HUGE!!!! especially from willard. nice catch. and by the way I thought you was a UTES!!! fan
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Mosquitos weren't too bad. You did go home itching though. I am a Utes fan but any sweater makes for good catfishing apparel.
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Another nice haul, good to know those big cats aren't in just two spots around the bay. Your a lucky guy to get your girl to fish you that time of night, I can't my wife out even during the day[frown]. By the way, did you catch the crawdads at Willard?
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Dang!
Whoever believes that Willard cats are all cookie cutters is mistaken.
My boss at work is going tonight he invited me but I'm broke till tomorrow. Oh well may go this weekend. I have tons of cranks.
Good job.[fishin]
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Make sure you are fishing along the shoreline. Seems like the larger cats are all within a few feet from shore.
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You don't have to tell me where you fished. But how was the water level? Is the water up to the rocks along the dike?
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We've fished in the inlet, north dikes and by the light pole with pretty good results. The water level seems pretty good but I haven't seen it really fluctuate much there. Fishing along the shore at slightly steeper areas along the inlet provided the most consistent and large cats. Around the second set of baffles and downstream was good. Also right up by the first set of baffles close to shore was good.
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What pound test was you using?
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All four of our rods have 6 lb test Stren on them right now. We rarely break our line as long as you have your drag set right.
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Would you suggest a Crawdad Crankbait? It is the only lure I've found that is definitaly Crawdad designed but I'm not entirely sure how to use it haha. Just cast out and retrieve slowly? What woudl be the best Catfish bait in your opinion TY
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Crawdad cranks are the easiest to use because they are extremely buoyant and have a really tight wiggle with a rattle. Generally when I fish them at night it's a pretty slow retrieve and i occasionally bump them along the rocks with pauses. With the slow retrieve it still has really good action. I think anything that resembles any prey species would work but the crawdad lures are easier to keep in the strike zone.
The best bait i've used is cutbait or crawdads. In the south marina they are easier to catch by flipping over rocks along the shoreline. I've also had the best and quickest fishing in the south marina.
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Thanks for all the info bearnk82.
I'll be giving willard a try tomorrow night for kitties I'll post back how I do.
Gonna soak cutbait / crayfish and cast crankbaits. You try tipping your cranks w/ crawler?
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] Good on ya. I'm jealous. This old geezer could never stay up that late, even for those monsters, but then again??? [:/]