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Catawba/Catalpa worms
Posted on 10/14/19 at 8:32 pm
Posted on 10/14/19 at 8:32 pm
Back in 1980s Alabama, my dad and I had access to a whole bunch of catalpa trees that would be covered with ‘catawba worms’.
Dad would put a few dozen in a paper bag, along with some leaves, and freeze them. They’d ‘come back to life’ when the sun would warm them in the boat.
There’s no telling how many channel cats and bull bluegills we caught on those worms.
I haven’t seen a catalpa tree with worms in years...I have looked all over AL and TN. I know where some trees are, but never see worms.
Have any of you baws seen any lately?
Dad would put a few dozen in a paper bag, along with some leaves, and freeze them. They’d ‘come back to life’ when the sun would warm them in the boat.
There’s no telling how many channel cats and bull bluegills we caught on those worms.
I haven’t seen a catalpa tree with worms in years...I have looked all over AL and TN. I know where some trees are, but never see worms.
Have any of you baws seen any lately?
17
Posted on 10/14/19 at 8:40 pm to Eli Goldfinger
If I remember right, catawba worms are really caterpillars. So it is seasonal. We had a bunch of the trees on our place when I was growing up.
Posted on 10/14/19 at 8:42 pm to UcobiaA
They turn into a moth at maturity.
I see trees, but never any with worms.
I see trees, but never any with worms.
Posted on 10/15/19 at 7:02 am to Eli Goldfinger
My brothers used to catch them when I was a kid many years ago. Great fish bait. Don't remember what time of year it was.
Internet says adults begin laying eggs beginning in May. They can produce five generations. So I am guessing June as a beginning to find worms.
Internet says adults begin laying eggs beginning in May. They can produce five generations. So I am guessing June as a beginning to find worms.
This post was edited on 10/15/19 at 7:09 am
Posted on 10/15/19 at 7:51 am to Eli Goldfinger
My understanding is that in/around June start watching the trees. When you see the leaves getting really torn up from the caterpillars (Worms), they're ready. Spread out a few tarps and beat the hell out of the branches to knock 'em down. Freeze them on a cookie sheet (don't tell wife) in a single layer then pack away in a bag deep in the freezer (again, don't tell wife). On a good year they'll strip the trees almost bare.
Posted on 10/15/19 at 7:51 am to Eli Goldfinger
My grandfather had them on his trees before he died in 1977. You're right, they slayed fish. He always used an old tooth pick to turn them inside out.
Posted on 10/15/19 at 7:59 am to Eli Goldfinger
When I was a kid we would catch a ton of them. If we froze them we put them in a ziplock with cornmeal. Don't ask me why
Posted on 10/15/19 at 8:54 am to Ppro
quote:
When I was a kid we would catch a ton of them. If we froze them we put them in a ziplock with cornmeal
Was coming to post the exact same thing. I think it was to keep them from sticking together.
Posted on 10/15/19 at 9:01 am to Eli Goldfinger
I noticed some last year near a friends house. His dog ran off and he was old so we went after him. We didn't know who the landowner was so we didn't really know who to ask about picking them. At that time we were just trying to round up his dog so we could go fishing that afternoon. This was June of 2018 I believe. There were only a few.
When I was little we had a tree and it would be demolished every year. We would go catfish fishing at Pickwick or Sardis and there would be people coming off the lake empty handed and we would have more catfish than we could clean before noon fishing with Catalpa worms.
When I was little we had a tree and it would be demolished every year. We would go catfish fishing at Pickwick or Sardis and there would be people coming off the lake empty handed and we would have more catfish than we could clean before noon fishing with Catalpa worms.
This post was edited on 10/15/19 at 9:02 am
Posted on 10/15/19 at 9:27 am to Eli Goldfinger
Like you, I haven't see any in years. It's one of the few trees that sticks out like it's painted neon orange to me because as a kid I was always on the lookout for them. We had several in my old neighborhood that got worms every summer. I haven't seen a live catalpa worm in a good 15 years despite seeing more of the trees now than I ever did. You can get them off ebay from a guy in North carolina. He sends them in a type of gel and the worms still have their color
Posted on 10/15/19 at 10:14 am to Riseupfromtherubble
i have heard that they need to be transplanted to the tree. allowed to turn into moths, then those will return to tree to lay eggs.
Posted on 10/15/19 at 12:13 pm to Eli Goldfinger
My Dad and I used them in the 70's when my Aunt had a tree but they all disappeared by the early 80's and the spray from crop dusters nearby always got the blame. This was in NE La. Up until then, we could have all we wanted.
Posted on 10/15/19 at 9:29 pm to Eli Goldfinger
Man we used to put 4 on those then a live bait on trot lines and kill the catfish
Posted on 10/15/19 at 9:30 pm to TutHillTiger
My grandpa used to just grab them off these trees and then put them with leaves in icebox, that was in Sarepta Louisiana. They were always on those trees in spring time.
This post was edited on 10/15/19 at 9:32 pm
Posted on 10/15/19 at 10:02 pm to Eli Goldfinger
I got 3 trees down my driveway and the worms got after the leaves on all 3 trees. You could drive down the driveway and see the crawling down the fence to the other trees. I believe that was early June.
Posted on 10/15/19 at 10:23 pm to Eli Goldfinger
quote:
Back in 1980s Alabama, my dad and I had access to a whole bunch of catalpa trees that would be covered with ‘catawba worms’.
They were real common on the Cajun Prairie when I was a kid in the 60s and 70s. Us kids would go with our Dad and knock them out the trees with bamboo poles. Great fish bait.
I think the aerial application of pesticides did them in, I haven't seen any in over 25 years, and where I live now has several catalpa trees. Pretty much the same with quail, used to see lots of them, now there are nearly none.
Posted on 10/16/19 at 6:58 am to LongueCarabine
I used to get them off the trees in Lake Verret in the spring...
then wear the bream out on the beds...
then wear the bream out on the beds...
Posted on 10/16/19 at 7:13 am to Eli Goldfinger
Mamaw had 2 catalpa trees. They would load up early summer. Papaw and dad would take me to Black Bayou or the Bonidee and we would kill bream and chinquapin on them. Or we would go to the Ouachita, tightline and wear out the catfish. What we didn’t use got put in coffee cans with cornmeal and froze.
Then the catalpa worms stopped coming, papaw died and the trees got cut down to fence in mamaws backyard. Then mamaw died. Damn you catalpa worms!
Then the catalpa worms stopped coming, papaw died and the trees got cut down to fence in mamaws backyard. Then mamaw died. Damn you catalpa worms!
This post was edited on 10/16/19 at 8:12 am
Posted on 10/16/19 at 7:27 am to Eli Goldfinger
My grandparents had 5 or 6 trees in their backyard. We had them up until the early 2000s then they just dissapeared. I do recall having issues with wasps killing them.
Posted on 10/16/19 at 8:12 am to Eli Goldfinger
I had a tree in my yard that must have been 40 years old. We bought the house about 10 years ago and never had a worm near it. I had it removed this summer because it looked like heck and was in the way of another project I have looming.
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