Holloway Reservoir

[mrmoo42]

I caught several cats here the other day and wish to continue fishing this area. I was wondering if you guys could help me with some information about this lake and cats. When i was catching the cats i was in a boat up against some downed logs in the middle of the day. I would like to come out sometime at night and do some shore fishing for some cats and hopefully some decent sized fighters.

Where would you recomend fishing from the shore? Dam? Bridges?
What would you recomend using as bait and tackle. line test? hook type?stink bait? live bait?etc...
Are most of the cats in the reservoir eater sized or are there some bigger cats that have been caught?

Thanks for the help.

[michiganwhitetailRLM]

I caught several cats here the other day and wish to continue fishing this area. I was wondering if you guys could help me with some information about this lake and cats. When i was catching the cats i was in a boat up against some downed logs in the middle of the day. I would like to come out sometime at night and do some shore fishing for some cats and hopefully some decent sized fighters.

Where would you recomend fishing from the shore? Dam? Bridges?
What would you recomend using as bait and tackle. line test? hook type?stink bait? live bait?etc...
Are most of the cats in the reservoir eater sized or are there some bigger cats that have been caught?

Thanks for the help.
Well brother your in luck. I have done nearly all my catfishing at the holloway dam and all of it was from the bank. I use 17 lb test with a 1 oz. egg sinker set up. I also keep @ least a foot of slack in my line or fish with an open bail. A #2 baitholder by eagle claw is all i use, never had a problem with this rig thus far, even with the 30+ inchers. This time of year i found FRESH chicken liver works best. Once july comes i use the shad that seem to flood into the dam each year. I went out lastnight and put a wuppin on the cats. If you ever want to meet up @ the dam just pm me and i'de be more than happy to show you some of my techniqes. I'm only 20 minutes away in lapeer, and am currently laid of so anytime is a good one for me........rick!

[wishbone1]

Hello Rick
you seen any crayfish, crawdads, etc.
in the res. area?
(thinking about trying to trap some):002:
thanks for any infro.
Barry

[michiganwhitetailRLM]

Barry! What's up bro? Actually I've seen alot of them @ night while out fishing. Caught a few and tried them as bait with no hits...lol. Been seeing them right up by shore. I had a racoon come within 2 feet of me a few nights ago, scared the crap out of me since I did'nt notice him until he got that close. Maybe he was lookin for crayfish...lol. l8r man!

[wishbone1]

howdy Rick
:0a23:Heard you put quite the show last night at the res.

Son and Grandson where quite impressed.
(would had like to been there, but this cold has me down)
hopefully make it out soon
take care
Barry

[michiganwhitetailRLM]

thank you very much sir. i gave your grandson some chicken liver and cut bait in hopes that he would catch a big one. hope you feel better soon!
Rick

[wishbone1]

Barry! What's up bro? Actually I've seen alot of them @ night while out fishing. Caught a few and tried them as bait with no hits...lol. Been seeing them right up by shore. I had a racoon come within 2 feet of me a few nights ago, scared the crap out of me since I did'nt notice him until he got that close. Maybe he was lookin for crayfish...lol. l8r man!
did you use the tail meat for bait?
here tell that will catch'em
haven't tried it my-shelf
(makes sense being they catch'em on shrimp)

maybe try this with craw tails
one person says leave shrimp in the sun for awhile'
(gets the stink going)
then puts them in a bait tub and freezes them
when he goes fishing just adds water to tub
claim shrimp stay on hook well.

Barry

[michiganwhitetailRLM]

I fillet them right there on the bank and use the whole fillet. The skin helps keep it on the hook. I got some pics I'm trying 2 download of the biggest 1 from lastnight. It's belly was packed full of crawfish and even had a hook with chicken liver in with it. I can't figure out how to attach it to my reply. grrrrrrrrr:angry:

[wishbone1]

could have been one my son had on the other night
it took the hook.lol

[michiganwhitetailRLM]

That very well could be. I tell ya brother. I don't know if it's from me not going to bed since i got home @ 330 this mornin or what but I can't get anything to go right on this little uploading problem. I'll just wait 4 my fience 2 get home from work to do it. Heck, my little girl could probly figure it out and shes only 3.9 yrs old.....LOL!:beat_brick:

[mrmoo42]

I will probably be heading up to the reservoir wed or thur night. Pm me or post here if anyone would like to meet up and do some cattin.

[michiganwhitetailRLM]

Man I wish I could hang out with ya and do some cattin, but I'm not sure if I'll have my car fixed by then. This should be a great week 4 fishin with all this rain we've gotten.

[wishbone1]

anything been going on at the Res?
haven't been able to get out there lately
did pick up a used reel on e-bay (to use for cats)
still waiting on my crayfish trap to arrive (hopefully this wk.)
this cold front isn't going to help with fishing any.

Barry

[mich dave]

I just got the tag to launch today. Got tired of wating for the wind to back off to fish the bay so at 4$gas Mott looks good. If anybody wants to go let me know , there's room two. I got shrimp and cut bait ready. I wont go if it might storm out[Im a wimp when it comes to fishing poles AL boats an sparks in the sky] call me 989-8712504

[wishbone1]

just got back from the res. caught one 13 inch eye lots of people there.
one person lost a nice cat, broke his line.
lots of small eyes being caught.
no crays in the trap

[wishbone1]

:0a24:

noticed that the res. dam has a pvc tube for recycling fishing line at the parking lot side dam wall.
please use it

[michiganwhitetailRLM]

:0a24:

noticed that the res. dam has a pvc tube for recycling fishing line at the parking lot side dam wall.
please use it
I hear ya barry! I for one am getting rather tired of snagging my shoes and gear on others old fishing line. Is.nt it amazing how lazy some folks are? I see it all the time out there. I made up my mind to speak -up and let people that I see doing it to put it in the trash can or mono recycling tube. They don't even use the trash can that is only 4 feet from them @ times...lol!

[chemfish]

I live in Grand Blanc and I want to take my son (11 yrs old) to catch his first catfish. I used to fish a little as a kid below the Holloway Dam and caught some pike and channel cats. Sounds like they are still catching channel cats there. Here are a few basic questions...Do you guys fish below the damn or on the banks above? What type of bait would you recommend in late June? In general, what is the best time a day to give it a try?

Thanks for any help that you all might provide!!! I love the forum and appreciate the generosity of the folks that share their hard-earned knowledge.

[jonny7344]

Hi, this place sounds like a good spot. what city is it in? Could someone provide me with the address, or one thats close by? I would like to come and fish there but not to sure where its at?

[chemfish]

My son and I went fishing below the dam in the a.m. of June 30. We had no problems getting hookups with small channel cats using bluegill cutbait on three-way rigs. Saw a bunch of other folks catching small cats. All-in-all it was a great time. Here are my only "issues"...

1. As many others have noted, the place is covered with litter. What the heck kind of "outdoorsmen" frequent that place? My son was shocked. I wasn't, because it looked exactly the same in the late seventies. So much for the growth of the conservation movement. I wish I would have brought a couple of garbage bags.

2. I was snagged all of the time. We were fishing from the south bank just west of the little creek that flows in from the south. Does anyone have suggestions to reduce the number of snags or is that just the nature of the beast?

3. I had a lot of pecks, but not many takers. I was using a 3/0 octopus hook with about a 2" x 1" piece of bait. I starting using smaller pieces of bait. I'm not sure if it helped.

Oh well, it was fun and we will return.