Willow cats in the spring

Just wondered if any of you river rats have tried willow cat in the spring. I know that they work good in the fall on the wing dans in pool nine. Has anyone tried them vertical jigging or pulling three-ways and floaters in the spring? I think willow cats would work but, would like see what others have to say before I go through the effort to try to find some for sale.

matt

I have used them as early as March and they do work.The best time besides fall is after the spawn from then on I always have them in the boat.

The big question is the availability of them early in the year. Do many people carry them early?

most of the time we can get them.Call ahead to make sure.

They don’t work at all post spawn

Good answer Scott, they fail miserably during the post spawn . seriously, I have had good success using them vertically in the spring.

What are willow cats??????

Those that use them enough know what they are when you get STUNG by them.They are tiny catfish like creatures with stingers like catfish and are also known as madtoms and are native to most waters in Mn and Wis.From what I’ve been told is that there venom in there “horns” is simmalar
to that of a bee.As I tell everyone that buys them from us IT ONLY HURTS FOR A SHORT TIME

What and when is the “preferred” time/technique for these things? I know guys use a lot when fishing wingdams, but how? More detail?
Thanks.

Thanks for all the info. Since willow cats dont work very good for post spawn fish I just go bass fishing. I will have to stop by the rock this spring and get some wollow cats and give it a try.
Matt

The don’t work in wood either so don’t try them there. You get snagged too much.

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What and when is the “preferred” time/technique for these things? I know guys use a lot when fishing wingdams, but how? More detail?
Thanks.

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Willow cats can be good at any time but really excell in the summer months of May thru Sept.

Fishing them on a slipsinker rig or a 3-way rig is common. Using them on jigs works well to if you are not in need of a lot of weight to get in to your target area.

Most commom size hook used for these fiesty critters is a #2. I like a 1/0 long shank aberdeen.I seem to get a better hook up than I do with a standard bait hook.

How well do they keep?

It depends but most of the time they are pretty durable. Bait shops that have a lot of turnover will see better bait life for the consumer. Seems you always get a couple batches a year that won’t last longer than a couple of days.