Catfish Bait

**Sparky93** · 07-08-2011, 11:14 PM

I was wondering what others use for catfish bait. When I fish with a pole I use chicken livers and they work good but the bait is a one time use thing and smaller fish like bluegills will steal the bait. When I jug for catfish I use small bluegill or shiners. I'm just curious what other people use expecially the weird ones like I have heard of people using chunks of bar soap for bait.

**Rick** · 07-08-2011, 11:19 PM

The largest cats I've caught have been on small bluegill or shad. Nothing weird unfortunately. I'm mostly a worm guy when it comes to catfish.

**Sparky93** · 07-08-2011, 11:43 PM

yah my dad and I caught a 15 pound cat out of a mine pit on either a bluegill or shiner I don't know wich we had our jugs baited with both.

**COWBOYSURVIVAL** · 07-08-2011, 11:53 PM

Blueback herring is THE best bait.

**Skinner** · 07-08-2011, 11:57 PM

Ok, This May Sound Weird But I Have Used Dove Soap and Caught Catfish .So It Works

**Sparky93** · 07-09-2011, 12:08 AM

Originally Posted by Skinner

Ok, This May Sound Weird But I Have Used Dove Soap and Caught Catfish .So It Works

How well does soap stay on the hook?

**nell67** · 07-09-2011, 07:26 AM

I have always done the best using worms like RIck said,the only time I used chicken liver,I never caught a stinking catfish,but I did catcht the biggest bass I have ever caught,@ 8.5 pounds.

**Rick** · 07-09-2011, 07:58 AM

Originally Posted by Sparky

How well does soap stay on the hook?

Not very long but you wind up with the cleanest hooks in the lake.

**Sparky93** · 07-09-2011, 02:23 PM

Originally Posted by Rick

Not very long but you wind up with the cleanest hooks in the lake.

or catfish with squeaky clean mouths

**Winter** · 07-09-2011, 02:57 PM

I always used chicken liver when I lived down south. You keep the bait alot longer if you wrap it in pantyhose.

**Sparky93** · 07-09-2011, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by Winter

I always used chicken liver when I lived down south. You keep the bait alot longer if you wrap it in pantyhose.

I'll have to try that, sounds like a good idea. I've seen treble hooks with nets on them for stuffing bait into but have never tryed them.

**LowKey** · 07-09-2011, 03:45 PM

Usually worms.
Occasionally corn, cheese or hot-dog.
For some reason it was always a rumor that it was against the law to use liver here in MA.

**Sparky93** · 07-09-2011, 03:54 PM

I bet mold vein cheeses would work well do to their pungent oder

**LowKey** · 07-09-2011, 03:57 PM

All we ever had was the orange Kraft stuff.

**Rick** · 07-09-2011, 03:58 PM

I've seen a lot that looked good wrapped in panty hose but none of it was chicken liver. Hmmm. No, I'm sure none of it was.

**Full Metal** · 07-13-2011, 09:42 PM

We tend to use live goldfish for large yellow/flatheads in the river. Mostly if we are fishing for catfish in general we like to use cut bait(shad) or night crawlers. Weirdest bait I've ever seen used that worked was pepper jack cheese.

**Sparky93** · 07-13-2011, 09:46 PM

The gander mountain near me sales live goldfish, but they want five bucks for the little boogers.

**wtrfwlr** · 07-13-2011, 10:24 PM

Yeah that's where I'm at too, when it got to where I could by goldfish at wal-mart or the pet shop cheaper than the bait-shop I went with a casting net to catch bait or if I'm going to have lines out for a while in one place I put out some minnow traps for small bream. Native bait always seems to be the most effective which makes sense. Although I knew an old timer that used to make his own blood bait which was very good, he gave me a 5gal. pail of it and it was awesome. I never got the actual process from him before he passed but he used to go to a slaughter house and have them bleed out a beef. Then that was collected on big trays and treated with salt. This was then cooled to coagulate and then taken out after a day or so and sliced into 2" squares. He then put it in 5gal pails and he had blood bait,it never went bad and you didn't have to worry about the storage, the salt I'm guessing, it was great bait on trotlines here on the lower Arkansas River. And he always floated his where as most everyone else sinks um down. That's all I can remember, if somebody out there can fill in any blank spots I would really like to make some more of that bait.