Catalpa worms?

[mdatlanta]

My dad read/heard that Catalpa (sp?) worms are great for bream, but he can't find any info; especially how to buy them.  He's in west central FL.  Any info would be appreciated.

Mike

[Graybeard]

Catalpa worms to make super bait for both bream and catfish. They stay on the hook better than any other live bait you can use. They are the larval stage of the Catalpa Spinx Moth and they lay their eggs ONLY on catalpa trees.

It's nearly impossible to find them for sale, you really have to grow your own. All you need are the trees in your yard or where ever and the moths will find them and lay their eggs. I have 20 or so trees down near my pond and have loads of the seeds that grown in long bean like pods on the trees. As soon as the current cold snap is past I'll be planting some more of the seeds and plan to add another 20 or so trees near my pond.

If you'll PM me your mailing addresss I can stick a few seeds in an envelope and mail them to you. All you need to do is plant them in a nursery bed and when they germinate and get a bit of size to them replant them where ever you have room for them to grow. They love wet areas but can grow in more dry areas as long as you care for them until they get their roots established. It will take a few years for them to get to size to have worms but not long as they are super fast growing trees in areas they like.

[mdatlanta]

Thank you! 

PM on the way.

[jgalar]

If he has a boat, look at the Lily type pads for a hole in the center by the stalk. If you split the stalk a bit at the hole there is a grub/worm in there. Don't know what the insect is called but when I lived in FL it was a great bait.

[Graybeard]

Yup when we lived in Florida (Haines City back in 1958) we used those "bonnet worms" as they were locally called back then. We caught bream, bass and crappy on them and they were easy to get and free. Dunno how it is down there now.

[liljohn]

Greybeard......
Want to swap some of your seeds for a dozen of my handtied bluegill flies?
(I just bought some land in the country, and a row of these large leafed trees would work great on my property line!)

When I was a kid my dad had a 20ft. cane pole with a single edged razor blade taped on the tip at an angle, and he would cut down the leaves that he could see worms on.
My little brother and I would catch the leaves and put them in a bucket.

These worms work great when turned inside out for smallmouth bass!

[tn_junk]

I grew up in the Florida Panhandle and fondly remember using Catalpa worms for bait. Like previously stated, they stay on the hook great and catch anything that swims.

alan

[Graybeard]

Greybeard......
Want to swap some of your seeds for a dozen of my handtied bluegill flies?
(I just bought some land in the country, and a row of these large leafed trees would work great on my property line!)

When I was a kid my dad had a 20ft. cane pole with a single edged razor blade taped on the tip at an angle, and he would cut down the leaves that he could see worms on.
My little brother and I would catch the leaves and put them in a bucket.

These worms work great when turned inside out for smallmouth bass!

Sure why not. I just pulled a new batch of seed pods a few days back so have plenty of seeds on hand. Drop me a PM with your snail mail addy and I'll send you mine in a reply and we can make the swap.

[rockbilly]

I f you get more catalpa worms than you need, take the left overs after fishing, put them in a plastic bag and freeze them.  They will still catchy fish after being thawed.  We use to catch as many as possible, and freeze them for use as we needed them.  My new bride didn't take too well to the idea of storing them in the freezer, but she got over it after near fifty years.

[Graybeard]

We always use a fruit jar to store them in the freezer. The really strange thing is when you thaw them out at least some of them will still be alive and moving around even after weeks or months in the freezer. They are tough critters for sure.

[rex6666]

Berkly make a bait with Catalpa flavor.
I grew up in western OK. we did not have catalpa worms and very few trees, i had a guy
tell me that you don't find the worms west of I35 highway, has anyone else heard that.
They are good bait for most anything, cats love them worms.

[deernhog]

They do grow west of I-35, a friend lives between Chickasha and Anadarko has a yard full of them. Watches them like his chickens when the worms are crawling to keep out the locals. Best channel cat bat I ever found.

[Chewie80]

Hey greybeard is there anyway I can get some of those seeds???

[Graybeard]

Dunno I'll have to look on my trees to see if there are any seed pods left. There might be. I didn't pull any last fall as I have about as many trees now as I have room for around my pond area.

Drop me a PM so I'll remember with your name/address and if I can find any pods with seeds left I'll send you some.

[squirrellluck]

As far as freezing the worms we found they are better if put in bag with cornmeal. Don't know why but it works. But my favorite bluegill bait is wasp larvae. Now for chinkipen (sp) you can't beat little crawfish.

[chefjeff]

I set out two saplings at the edge of my yard 20 years ago just for the worms. They are available from many nurseries,cheaply. Plant at least two. Some years my trees now 30+ feet tall yield two crops of worms per year. They will eat every leaf on the tree,then quickly they grow back and worms come again.I use a reach thru cricket cage to hold them for fishing. Mine tend to turn black like a banana does in the freezer. The cornmeal trick helps,also oatmeal. This year Im gonna try lemon juice and rubber bands to see how that is. Also when fishing,try pinching the head off,then start the hook in the other end and turn'im inside out! When you grab them they want to put some saliva on you that will stain,so I use surgical gloves when collecting my bait.Happy fishing!

[bulletstuffer]

We used to use the catalpa worms for catfish when I used to live in Indiana.  My friend had a giant tree in his front yard   I haven't seen any of the worms for years and it's not because I wasn't looking   Fishing seasons right around the corner!!!

Good luck,

Bulletstuffer

[Graybeard]

I don't even know how many trees I have now but at least 30-40 likely more especially when the new sprouts come up from the seeds from fall. I'll try to get out tomorrow and take a look to see if there are any seed pods with seeds I can round up to ship you. I need to feed the catfish tomorrow anyway.