Good day. I am seeking the best baits for small lake channel catfish. If you have a favorite and would like the share your help would be greatly appriciated.
Jim
This may sound crazy, but it works. Where I live I have found that I can catch catfish with just about anything (cubes of cheddar cheese, pieces of stale french bread, chicken skin, chunks of microwaved hotdogs, cubes of an old sponge, or anything else that will stay on a hook). My secret is the scent. I stir up and soak my bait in mayonaise. The catfish love this scent and I never fail to catch nice fish with this.
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Used that gooey plastic bait that looks like baby rainbow trout, about 4" long ... might've been just the color as it was a muddy lake ...
Take a pack of hot dogs,and cut into bait size.Place in a quart zip lock bag with 1
tablespoon garlic powder and 1 package of
strawberry Jello powder with just enough
water to make a thin paste.Place outside in
sun for 1 week. Good luck. Ken
I live along a stretch of river that withOUT a boat I can NOT reach any deep holes any ideas on what bait will draw them out OR to me from down stream?
19James73, I've spent most of my life fishing from the bank simply because I couldn't afford a good, dependable boat! Keep in mind that you sort of have to "hunt" for catfish... much like you would for game. But, once you've found them, you've probably got a good fishin' hole for a long time.
On a river, it depends on what time of the "season" it is as to where they are located. During spawning season, they usually come into the shallow water during the daytime to spawn. They usually like to find areas with rocks (not pebbles, rocks), logs, fallen trees and tree limbs, and such for this.
When catfish are spawning, you can usually use almost any kind of bait to catch them! I've had excellent luck with worms, minnows, crickets, Catalpa worms, grasshoppers, grub worms, chicken livers, shrimp, bacon, hot dogs, blood baits, cut baits, store bought stink baits, home made stink baits... and, even white marshmallows!! Actually, the list goes on and on!
When catfish are not spawning, they like to spend the hot days of summer in the deeper holes out in the river. And, although a few will venture into the shallows during the daytime, it will only be a few... and, not very often. At this time of year, I don't waste my time sitting on a river bank in the sweltering sun waiting for a stray catfish to bite!!
Fishing at night is when I've had my best luck catching catfish after they have spawned! They have spent the day (at least, most of it) laying on the bottom of a deep hole... with little to nothing to eat. So, when the sun goes down, the water temps drop slightly, and they move into the shallows in search of food. This is when you can easily reach the catfish with just a rod and reel, a pole, or a throw line. Heck, at night, I've even caught some nice catfish as little as 4 feet from the bank!!
When fishing at night, the water is dark. And, the catfish has little to no visibility. So, keep in mind that a bait that has an odor to it will probably do better than any other.
Fishing at night for catfich, I've used night crawlers, Catalpa worms, and stink baits with great success. But, of all the baits I've used at night, a big ole chunk of chicken liver has worked better for me than any other. I don't know what it is about it, but catfish love chicken blood. And, the liver contains a bunch of it!
There are two downsides to using chicken livers. First, it takes a bit of practice to cast them without "slinging" them off. But, with some care and practice, you should be able to master this in no time! Second, turtles love chicken blood too. And, they can be quite annoying some times. But, for me... dealing with the turtles is always worth the catfish that I catch!! :>)
To rig things up for night fishing, I use a heavy weight and a hook with about a 6 inch leader on it. I tie the hook on about 12 to 14 inches from the end of the line. I tie the weight on the very end of the line. Sometimes, I even tie a second hook about 12 to 14 inches above the first one. And, I've gotten "two at once" lots of times! Bait it, cast it out, tighten your line, and wait. If there are any catfish in the area, it won't be long before they'll bite!! :>)
Good luck to you! And, if you catch more than you can handle, give me a shout! I'll gladly help you clean'em, cook'em... and eat'em!!! :>O
beebiz
I,m an avid fisherman. I currently live in fl. But i lived in st. Louis Mo. for seven yrs. I used to do a lot of cat fishing channel,s ,blue,s, flat heads. but my most succesful channel bait was cut river herring & shad. for smaller size channel,s i,d cut haf" strips of small shad. for large channels i,d cut 3"to4" river herrring slices. You can use large shad! But river herring have a much better oil content . large channel,s and Blue,s can,t resist them.when the fishing is slow dip cut bait,s in atractant,s!!!!!!!!
... you were only supposed to get fish-smelly AFTER catchin' somethin'!!!
Good advice Fish Whisperer :)
here in ohio i buy chicken liver then i soak it in anise oil actstract and put it in little pockets of panty hose to assure hold to hook sure to lure in the biggest chatches u will want to fight
I keep shrimp left over from shrimp coctail in the freezer. Catfish in the St Lucie river will bite this even if it is a bit frozen, but like it best thawed and a little bit "old".
Sue
When we plan on fishing off the dock we use a bag of dogfood. Stab a few holes in the bag first then put the bag in a cage attached to a string tied off to the dock. We do this a few days before we plan to fish. It really attracts the catfish in closer.
