03-25-2022, 01:44 PM
Good to hear you are getting into a few. At Willard the cats are grouped up and if we catch one in an area, there are usually more, so we will start circling the spot where we caught the first one, making bigger and bigger circles. Having side scan really helps, as there are times when we are just searching but not fishing, when we will come accross a spot where there are big numbers of fish, when we see that we stop right there and start slow trolling. We use 3/8 oz weights to be in constant contact with the bottom, the fish will see the distubance from the weight dragging the bottom and come over to check it out, then the flig will go by and they will grab it. Lately we have been using a 15 to 20" leader between the weight and the flig. One thing I sould tell you, always check you leader after catching a cat because they have a habit of rolling when caught and their fins will nick the line, you might get that one in but the line will be weak, so the next one might get away when you are reeling it in. Willard is always tough this time of the year, so a number of years ago, when we learned, "the way of the flig", from TubeDude we started using it and it was a game changer for us, consistantly putting fish in the boat when others were having little to no luck. The catching should continue to inprove with the warming temps.