Favorite catfish bait

[220yotekiller]

There is a good sized reservoir near us that reportedly has big channel catfish in it but in several trips l havn't caught one yet. I have been using worms and commercial stink bait. What is your go to catfish bait? I have always been more of a brook trout streem fishing guy so I have no idea what I'm doing.

 

[MtsPSU]

There is a good sized reservoir near us that reportedly has big channel catfish in it but in several trips l havn't caught one yet. I have been using worms and commercial stink bait. What is your go to catfish bait? I have always been more of a brook trout streem fishing guy so I have no idea what I'm doing.

Try chicken livers.

 

[KipCarson]

Here in north Louisiana I’ve had good success with channels using a product called Danny King’s punch bait. It’s a dough bait type consistency with cat tail like fibers mixed in so it stays on a small treble hook well. Mainly used it on trot lines and bank lines, not rod and reel. Shad cut bait is a close second around here.

 

[DANGLER]

Here in north Louisiana I’ve had good success with channels using a product called Danny King’s punch bait. It’s a dough bait type consistency with cat tail like fibers mixed in so it stays on a small treble hook well. Mainly used it on trot lines and bank lines, not rod and reel. Shad cut bait is a close second around here.

I second this... not necessarily the brand bit a puch bait will put more cats in the boat than anything else i have tried. Have had nights with close to 100 fish on the yellowstone.

 

[Paul in Idaho]

A chunk of fresh bluegill.

 

[Valley1320]

Sonny's super stinky catfish bait for channels. And bluegills for flatheads

 

[Valley1320]

The big channels I've caught have always been on bluegill tho.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

Fresh cut bait of whatever fish they feed on in that reservoir. Here they can't resist crappie guts.

 

[shannerdrake]

I always have with me:
- Jello Chicken
- Crawlers
- Chicken Livers
- Cut Bait (caught at the same body of water when possible)

Between those I tend to get a bite. I feel like big channels are more predatory and don’t take the alternative baits as well as they do actual cut-up fish.

 

[Rzrbk]

chicken liver was our "go-to" growing up with a crew that was very serious about catfish. We tried other stuff but chicken liver seemed best overall. Some people would wrap the liver with womens nylons if you had problems casting gently enough to keep the liver on the hook. I liked chicken hearts when I was younger because they stayed on the hook better. I've also had great luck using Berkeley catfish power bait on a trotline. One time I took about 15 beautiful channel cat off one trotline baited with the power bait.

At one point we fished a lake that had catfish cages where they raised catfish in open pens and cables to where you could only boat within about 50 yards. Boats would line up at the cable and cast to the cages where you try to get your bait as close as possible. For bait, we used a mixture of purina catfish food, eggs, wheaties, and maybe a little milk if the consistency wasn't right. Make it into a ball and form it around the hook and throw it out. We only caught BIG catfish and some mornings would come home with a stringer of six or seven catfish with none of them under 7 pounds.

 

[Trial153]

Chicken liver for channels…

 

[Southern Elk]

Fresh cut bait of whatever fish they feed on in that reservoir. Here they can't resist crappie guts.

This. We’ve always cast a net and caught shad below the spillway at the local reservoir.

 

[Doublecluck]

Mackerel, bluegill, shad, shrimp, liver. Dip any of it in hog wild fir added flavor. When I was a kid we sprayed wd40 on whatever bait we used. 72 y/o fellow straight from Louisiana tought me that trick at a pay lake in California when I was about 12. Probably not great for the environment. Wouldn’t do it today, but it worked

 

[shb]

The biggest cats usually are caught on big live baits.


Fresh cut fish indigenous to the body of water your fishing on is the all round hands down best.

Catfish are just little freshwater sharks, Fresh, oily, and bloody are tops.

 

[JimQ]

Livers are always a go to when it comes to channel cats but an old man taught me years ago on that issue is to get gizzards, score them and livers, mix them together and let the gizzards soak up the liver blood and juices. The gizzards stay on the hook and you dont have to make little pouches for them.

 

[Don Fischer]

I've done well on bullheads with liver but not on channels. Best I've done on channels is with chicken brest soaked in garlic and strawberry jello! Have never tried cutbait. Did try the gut's out of a sucker one time and surprised me how fast it worked,But, that was only one time!

BTW, with liver I do much better with beef liver that chicken of even calf liver. Tuffer stuff and stays on the hook a lot better!

 

[Doublecluck]

Oh also bubblegum

 

[icepirate]

I agree with the comments about fresh cut bait. Where i use to fish them a lot (Red River, Manitoba) fresh caught goldeye cut into 2-3 inch chunks was hard to beat. also did really well most days with suckers cut into 2-3 inch chunks. I'd freeze the suckers that were caught earlier in the year and use them throughout the summer. even though they were frozen, they worked really well.

 

[RyGuy]

I fish for cats in a big reservoir near me every summer. I’ve tried all types of stink baits, hot dogs, chicken livers, worms…. Never catch anything on that smelly stuff.
We kill them with fresh bluegill! Dead cut bait, or live work even better.

 

[howl]

There is a good sized reservoir near us that reportedly has big channel catfish in it but in several trips l havn't caught one yet. I have been using worms and commercial stink bait. What is your go to catfish bait? I have always been more of a brook trout streem fishing guy so I have no idea what I'm doing.

They key in on blood, fat and fruit. Whatever was free and easy, fitting that bill, was what I used when I ran a trotline.

If you can't net bait, small bream are usually fairly quick to catch. Match your bait pieces to a 3/0 circle hook.