FAQ on Catalpa Worms

Frequently asked questions about Catalpa Worms.

1. Where do they come from?
Catalpa worms grow only on Catalpa trees, these are not the green worms you find in your gardens. Generally you will find them predominantly in the southern regions of the US, they do live in the northern regions but are not as plentiful.

2. What kind of fish do they attract?
When their alive they will attract just about any kind of fish, since their wiggling. When their frozen then thawed to fish with they attract predominantly catfish. I have caught panfish and bass as well but the majority of the time it's been catfish. Catfish can not see to well in the murky conditions, they have over 140 different taste and smell receptors they use to find their food.

3. Do you have catalpa trees but no worms?
During the last few years we have seen the population of the catalpa worms diminish. There are many reasons for this:
(a) Cities that control the mosquito populations with pesticides kill the catalpa worms by spraying in the area where they live.
(b) Farming areas that have crop run off spoil the soil where they hibernate for the winter.
(c) Lawn fertilizers will kill them as well, won't be noticed until the next year after the worms borrow in the soil that's been fertilized.
(d) Excessive harvesting, many people have been over harvesting the worms from the trees over the last few years and selling them to local bait shops. If enough are not left on the tree, birds will clean out the remaining few. We have stopped buying from individuals and have only been buying them from Catawba Gold Bait company. We found out people have been trespassing on other people's property to get these worms, so we quit buying them from people.

4. If they turn brown will they catch fish?

Yes, even shortly after a live one has been used for fishing they will turn brown in color. Even when thawed from water they start to turn brown immediately. This does not effect the cat fishing ability of the worms. I have even thawed the worms, re-froze repeatedly and used over and over again. It's the taste not the color that attracts catfish. Think of it as a dough bait not a worm! Anyone who says they have to be alive to work for catfishing, has no idea what their talking about.

5. Problems with purchasing them alive and having them shipped from unreliable sources!
We have had many people call and ask the size of our catalpa worms. They have bought catalpa worms through people online and received small worms. In the pictures online they look great but when they get them over half are small, that's because the worms starve during transit reducing their size and effectiveness. We ship only Catawba Gold Bait catalpa worms, adult worms, flash frozen to ensure freshness.

Any questions or comments please direct to admin@thebaitbarn.com or the webmaster directly at h2oborne@thebaitbarn.com who has used these worms for many years.