We are Missouri's Premier catfishin' spot, with two lakes that are chock-full of tasty channel cats, not to mention the occasional big flathead, crappie or bass.

Here Donald Warnol filets a mess of fresh catfish. He'll then package them up and off you go...

On a beautiful late-summer day last August, my five-year-old son Remington and I made the trip to Dixon, and the WARNOL VALLEY LAKES. Donald and Tina Warnol are long-time advertisers with the magazine, and believe me, our trip was long overdue.
Warnol Valley offers several different fishing opportunities, but the main reason that most anglers head this way is for some real world-class catfishin’. We’d made a call ahead to Donald, and he’d filled us in on what’s hot, so we came prepared.
Now like most Missourians, I’ve fished pay lakes before, but the Warnols have taken this concept up a notch with one of the cleanest, best laid-out operations you’ll ever see. Manicured grass meant that we didn’t get attacked by creepy-crawleys, and the way the ticks were last summer that was a great deal. As a matter of fact, the bug spray never left the truck.
One of the reasons folks fish pay lakes is because the odds are supposed to be improved that you’ll catch a mess of fish. After a quick visit with the Warnols, Remington and I, along with my right-hand man Fred Burgess and his son-in-law and grandson headed to the water. There were probably twenty-five or thirty other fisher people on the lake we were at, but there was still a ton of room. Just a quick glance was all it took to show that folks were catchin’ fish, and it didn’t take long to get things underway for us, too.
Donald had suggested a cheese dip bait applied to those little plastic ring worms as a good choice, and I followed his advice. Now, I’m a patient guy- all fishermen need to be to some degree. But I’ll quickly lose my patience, especially when a fish won’t cooperate. And that’s my only complaint about our visit to Warnol Valley. I’d got my first cast out, and the line was tightened to my satisfaction. Now I wanted to get another one out, ‘cuz you never fish for catfish with just one rod. Right? Well, those rude Warnol Valley cats just don’t care- it took about a minute and a half before a channel cat was tryin’ to pull that first rod in the lake. It’s great when a plan comes together!
I love the way a catfish fights, and these were no pushover. After some careful (if not highly skillful) handling, the first catfish was strung up. Visions of deep-fried catfish & golden hushpuppies were dancin’ thru my head, let me tell you.
It took one more fish before I got that second rod out, but I was determined. Of course, one rod is all I ever got bit on, showing that these catfish are the same as everywhere else in the world.
One of my goals this day was to have Remington catch something a little larger than the typical small bass & sunfish he normally sees down at the creek. And it didn’t take long before a fish cooperated. These babies don’t mess around, and Remington didn’t need much of a hook set when the next cat bit. He did a good job handling the fish, especially considering it probably fought three or four times harder than anything he’s ever caught before. Of course, Fred was there, and between them they finally put a whuppin’ on a channel cat that was just short of three pounds. The look on my boys face was priceless.
No matter where you fish, there are times that they just don’t bite, and this day was no exception. While the action was fairly steady, it was funny how the catchin’ went. There was one time when it was near an hour where nobody caught a fish, and you can see most of the fisherman at any given time on the lake we were on. This would be a neat place to check the Solunar Tables! But the down time was great for visitin’ and enjoyin’ the day.
I’m not a fish hog, and it didn’t take long for us to get the mess of fish we came for. Then came the best part- Donald cleaned ‘em for me. Yep, I never had to touch a knife to a fish. Talk about gettin’ spoiled! When he was done, we had a nice bag of about ten pounds of catfish fillets, and I couldn’t hardly wait to get them into the skillet!
While we didn’t catch any large fish, they do exist at Warnol Valley. There are some very nice Flatheads here that would require a little different technique than what catches channel cats. We did see one gentleman catch a real nice channel that probably weighed around nine pounds or so.
Warnol Valley Lakes also have some sleeper bass and crappie, and someday I intend to try to check that out. Plus, they have a trout pond now that offers a nice change of pace.
I know a lot of our readers are Warnol Valley fans. We publish more pics from there than anywhere else in the magazine. If you’ve never been there, you need to give them a try. The Warnols are some of the greatest folks in the world, and their operation is first-rate, plus I was surprised at how reasonable the price was. Give ‘em a shout and try your hand at their fishin’ holes. Then get your picture took, and we’ll put it here in the Outdoor Journal website.

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