Quick Willard Dike Report

[Jig-fisher]

I made a quick run over to the south dike of Willard this afternoon.  I wanted to see if the cats were up near or in the rocks.  I also needed a couple of more fish fillets for dinner tonight.  Arrived at 3:15 and by 3:50 I had 4 cookie cutter cats in the bucket.  All were on cut bait fished 4-5 ft under a bobber 5 to 10 ft out from the rocks.  I also had another 2 that took the bait but were MIA when the line came tight.

[jjannie]

Nice stop for dinner! What's your favorite way to cook catfish?

[Jig-fisher]

My personal favorite way is to grill the fillets on an outdoor grill. Fillets need to be fairly thick or they will fall apart. Brush liberally with an olive oil mixed with your favorite spices (for me garlic salt, pepper, dill, and paprika).  Let it sit for 10 minutes or so and then place on a medium setting on the grill for a couple of minutes on each side just to get a little blackening and starts to flake. The firmness of the catfish holds up really well on the grill.  The oil prevents it from sticking and the flavor is fantastic. My whole family loves it this way.  

My wife's favorite way is deep fried with homemade tartar sauce. 

I also like it fried, sauteed (like I did with these) and smoked.  I've even done fish tacos with it. Very versatile fish.

[Cowboypirate]

After reading your report we almost, I say almost, changed our mind this morning and turned the wheel Willard way. But we knew we only had an hour or so before we had to get back to moving, so we stuck with a quick panfish run to Pineview. Panfish continue to be on fire at Pineview - and some decent size perch for a change. Will post a report on that later, but now I see ya done went and posted recipes to boot - I am drooling on my keyboard as I type. Really not right to do that to a hungry young lad around lunch.  You still hitting the Bear or the Mallad?

[Jig-fisher]

Yes I'm still hitting both on occasion.  I caught 3 suckers in short order on Wednesday out of the Malad, then ran down to the Bear and got blanked.  Go figure?  Fresh bait and not a single bite.  The Willard cats sure liked the sucker though.