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Old 12-05-08, 05:09 PM   #1
jig fisherman
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Default New lure(maybe)

I was wondering if anybody had ever seen a lure meant to look like a caterpillar that fell out of a tree?
if not some company should make flaoting,hollw soft plastic that looks like one because i have seen fish go nuts on them.
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Old 12-05-08, 05:25 PM   #2
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A short Senko or Tiki Stick wacky rigged and weightless should do a good job of imitating a caterpillar. It'll have a slow fall, and the tips will have a nice shimmy action to them.
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Old 12-05-08, 05:52 PM   #3
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Try this website.
The Catalpa Worm Zone

To answer your question - Any floating worm that looks like the Catalpa worm will do.

The live ones work best though as they emit a green fluorescent odor and color when skewered with a fishing hook. I found it easier to just find a Catalpa tree near the lake that has the worms in it. There will be plenty of worms on it for you to fish with. Catalpa worms show up late in the summer here in the south and the catfish and bass go nuts over them.

My brother in law has a lake that has several trees around the lake about 20 feet off the water that will get the worms in them. He calls us when the worms are out and we make short drive down and hook into some great bass and catfish.

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The catalpa worm, a green caterpillar that lives on the catalpa tree, is well known as a tree pest, but is better known to some for its attractiveness to catfish. References to their collection as bait reportedly date back to the 1870s. Tough in texture, they sport a black head and tail with a neon strip down either side of its back. When put on a hook, which according to some should be a circle hook with heavy sinkers to make sure the bait is on the bottom, a bright fluorescent green fluid oozes from its body that smells sweet, which is its attractiveness. It is also reported to "wiggle forever on a hook." This sweet aroma and liveliness of this worm make it very appealing to fish. [You don't have to sink them, they work well near the surface and floating. Bass and catfish will hit them near the surface.]

Harvesting the worm is best from April through November, with the largest hatches produced in late spring and again in late summer. A single tree may hold 200 worms. To gather the worms, place a tarp or piece of plastic under the tree and shake it until the worms fall off.

The worm can be preserved alive by placing it in cornmeal or sawdust and packing it in a glass jar and frozen indefinitely. When thawed, they become as lively as the day they were froze. This is because their metabolism slows down while eating and, therefore, freezes in its natural state. Some fishermen report that it is better to freeze them in water in lots of 25. Thawed out, they turn black and soggy, but do not seem to lose their appeal to catfish.

There are several ways to use this worm as bait. It can be cut in half, turned inside out and threaded on the hook. Another way is to cut them in pieces just like an earthworm. But the most common way seems to be cut (or bite-YUK!!!) its head off, use the end of a match and turn its body inside out. The common thread here is to release its aromatic scent and green fluorescent juices.

Finding these worms? Find the Catalpa Tree and in most cases you find the worm. The trees grow naturally along rivers and margins of swamps.


Catalpa worm
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Old 12-05-08, 06:21 PM   #4
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As a kid I used to throw these into the water all the time to see if fish would eat them. A few would suck them in but then spit them up immediately. Never caught a fish on them. Must taste really bad.
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Old 12-05-08, 07:28 PM   #5
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we had catalpa trees right next door and would get the worms to fish with,, all species tear them up.
The beetle spin looks like one to me
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Old 12-05-08, 07:53 PM   #6
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Perhaps a Strike King Bitsy Wiggler...

http://image.basspro.com/images/images2/91500/91624.jpg

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Old 12-07-08, 10:33 AM   #7
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If I was to cut a floating worm in half will the two seperate halves still float?
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Old 12-07-08, 01:48 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jig fisherman View Post
If I was to cut a floating worm in half will the two seperate halves still float?
Floating worms don't actualy float for any length of time.The 3 x plastic stuff floats alot better than anything else I've seen.Hand poured plastics tend to float a little bit better than mass produced for some reason ?
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Old 12-08-08, 01:47 AM   #9
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those bitsy wigglers are just that, bitsy. i can hardly use mine because its so small
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Old 12-17-08, 02:03 AM   #10
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I planted a catalpa tree in my back yard a few years back. It finially loaded up this year. We had two planted when I was a tad pole in the 60's and we used to put them in the freezer to to save them and then catfish with them as needed. Best bait I ever used for catfish.

I may do so playing around on the scent of some of the worms on my bass bait in my pond, but them 7 to 8 pound cats may not leave em along enough to play around with them. Maybe something just to see if the scent maybe something a bass may like when I am killing time and trying to get the feel of finess fishing with soft plastics.
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Old 12-17-08, 11:36 AM   #11
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rebel makes one, Here it is

http://www.lurenet.com/productdetail.aspx?id=5091
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Old 12-17-08, 05:56 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tall View Post
I planted a catalpa tree in my back yard a few years back. It finially loaded up this year. We had two planted when I was a tad pole in the 60's and we used to put them in the freezer to to save them and then catfish with them as needed. Best bait I ever used for catfish.

I may do so playing around on the scent of some of the worms on my bass bait in my pond, but them 7 to 8 pound cats may not leave em along enough to play around with them. Maybe something just to see if the scent maybe something a bass may like when I am killing time and trying to get the feel of finess fishing with soft plastics.
its the best catfish bait going here, all the town drunks capture catalpa worms when available and sell them to bait stores, for that evening booze lol
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