If anyone on here would be willing to share some good methods for catching the cats on Willard I would be ever so greatfull.
from a boat troll medium dive brown/orange belly crankbaits in 10-12 feet of water at about 2.5mph in freeway bay..
Chub or carp directly on the bottom. Fish for an hour and if no bites then move till you find them.
Forgot to mention I don’t have a boat right now. At least not one with a motor. I do have a 12’ aluminum boat and looking for a 5-9 hp motor for it if anyone needs to sell one. I also just acquired a 30 hp motor that I would be willing to trade for a smaller one I could actually use on my boat. Anyone interested send me a pm.
P.S. thanks for the advice
I have caught them one right after another up there on chunks of hot dogs soaked in vinegar or vanilla. It is a challenge to keep the dogs on a hook, but the cats love them.
If anyone on here would be willing to share some good methods for catching the cats on Willard I would be ever so greatfull.
**You can cast for cats all around the perimeter of the dikes. But, sometimes the fish are holding out deeper than you can reach with a good cast. You have to be able to reach at least 8 to 12 feet of depth. **
One good spot is from the point inside the south marina…casting just to the west of the buoy at the entrance of the inlet channel…and fishing right in the channel. Goes to over 15 feet deep. The main problem is that there is still a lot of leftover brush from the low water years next to the bank and landing a fish can be a problem.
There is also some occasional good fishing inside the south marina from the bank opposite the boat ramps…and from the rocks outside the harbor, casting into the main lake.
Possibly some of the better kitty catchin’ is from the points on both sides of the north marina entrance. Again, find some deeper water and cast out to it. Also good inside the north marina, along the far east shoreline and in the SE corner.
Minnows and carp meat are the two best “natural” baits. Crawlers will always work, but sometimes not as good as fish flesh. As already mentioned, plain old hot dogs are well accepted by Willard kitties. No flavoring necessary.
When the cats are in close to the rocks, fish a jig with a worm or minnow about 4 feet under a bobber near the rocks. That will also hang the occasional wiper and smallie. If you fish just worms under a bobber next to the rocks you can also expect some decent bluegills.
Good luck.
Also another spot you can catch them day or night is the canal at the south marina. Fish under either of the two bridges. Don’t turn into the marina. Instead drive about 20 yards from the south marina entrance. Fresh cut bait will do wonders! We had a couple of days where we caught from 10-20 fish in a matter of hours. All 1-3 pounds.
Listen to TubeDude. 
Wow! what a response you guys are awesome. Thanks so much. My son will love trying to catch some cats with your ideas.
all of these guy’s suggestions will work but remember to bring bug spray just in case or it’ll be a pretty short trip for you and your son especially from dusk till dawn