They work, just not worth the time in finding them compared to casting a net.

mussels are good cat bait..trouble is finding and mesing with them

I have caught more catfish on mussels than any other bait. Used to live in the Rio Grande Valley and mussels could be found in all the canals and resacas very good bait!

You can harvest up to 25 lbs with your FW fishing license. The game warden probably can't identify the prohibited (endangered) species from the more common ones, and so you probably won't have to worry about a violation. I know one thing, a cracked mussel in a "perch" trap will get you more 3-4 inch bluegill than you can use in no time at all.

Apparently there are more mussels (Zebra) in Texoma and Ray Roberts than are wanted. How you can catch them, I have no idea, but do know they are found in the stomachs of catfish in Texoma so they do eat them.