Trapping/Seining/Scooping Willow cats?

[riverbottoms]

I have heard so much about Willow Cats being a great Walleye bait. I live along the mississippi in northwest Illinois. Would I be better to look for these in the weedy backwaters of the mississippi or look in the creeks that empty into the mississippi? Should the creeks be sandy/rocky/riffles or mud/muck/grassy over growing the banks? Which is the best way to collect Willow Cats Glass minnow traps,Pop cans on a string or scooping them? I have read somewhere making a scoop with PVC pipe and a 4ft.section of minnow seine, or would a regular minnow seine work better?

I'm just trying to figure out what would be the best way to collect them and where here in northwest Illinois to look. Should you not feel like posting a Pm with any information would be greatly appreciated.

[zero]

'll do my best to answer this.

A number of years ago I was cleaning some walleyes and this half digested thing was in it's stomach, so I sent it off to the regional DNR office in my part of state in Minnesota to find out what it was. I got a call back a few weeks later and after a long talk they didn't know that they were up this north and they wanted more of them.

so how do I get them I asked ?

he told me to use soup cans or pop cans with the tops cut off the pop cans punch a hole so a small rope can pass though and tie a knot move up the rope and add another can until you get about ten in a row add a little weight to the bottom of each can to hold them in place and sink the whole thing and tie the rope off.

when you lift the rope out of the water all the cans should stand up, if they don't retie the can so they do( it took me a few times to find the balance)

the willow cat mainly moves at night in slow to moderate current rock and gravel is key, everything I catch is in rock (small rock that the willow cats hide during the day) so they swim in to the cans and you lift and you catch a few willow cats. I've caught hundreds this way.

hope this helps, good luck

one more thing, I set out about twenty of these lines in different place when I find them I move all the lines to that area.

and if I read the rules right you can only use them in the water they were taken out of. but check the rules anyway just to be sure.

[riverbottoms]

Thanks Zero for your help,it's much appreciated,I'll give that a try.

[riverbottoms]

Although I plan to give the pop cans a try as Zero has suggested, I would like to try and make a willow cat scoop but have no idea how wide and high to make the frame out of PVC and how much minnow seine to use. Could anyone give me demensions on the proper size?