# Catfish bait.



## Snowfan (Nov 6, 2011)

OK, I know most catfish bait recipes are family secrets or at least guarded as closely as the U S mint. But, my recipes (maybe "concoction" would be a better word) just don't seem to have the same attraction as some others I've used or smelled. I've used chicken livers aged with all sort of ingredients for different lengths of time in various amounts of sun.
If you've got a bait recipe you might want to share and you think will work in my Minnesota rivers, I'd like to hear it. If telling me means you have to kill me, I don't want it.
Thanks.


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## rags57078 (Jun 11, 2011)

1 tub of chicken livers ( use the blood too )
1 pkg of limburger cheese
place in blender and blend it up good
place in a jar and leave the lid loose , place in the sun and let it age atleast a month ( longer is better )
if you want it thicker add flour


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

I catch more (and bigger) with *fresh cut* FISH than anything else.
Old shrimp runs a close second, followed closely by redworms.


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

Properly rigged live bait works the best.


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## TenBusyBees (Jun 15, 2011)

We've always fared very well with cheap hot dogs or bacon.


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

There is so many there isn't enough time.Commercial Bait at the top is Sonney's Blood Bait,then Chicken Liver,Cut Shad,Live Perch,Gold Fish and Night Crawlers.

big rockpile


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

For me it depends on what river I'm fishing on. If I go to the Grand River, I have better luck using cut shad. If I fish close to home at the Illinoise River (in Oklahoma), I have better luck on fresh dead minnows. Just slightly bloated.


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## greg_n_ga (May 4, 2012)

All the above work well !!

If the current is slow, I will share one with ya. If you are like me, I don't like the big ones !! Fun to catch but the small ones are better for eattin' !! Recipe don't catch big ones, but does well in this area in the lakes {slow water}. 1 lb chicken breast cut into 1 inch or so so cubes, 1 pack of sugarless strawberry jello(sugarless), table spoon of garlic powder, table spoon of anise oil. Let all this marinate over nite.


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## chickenslayer (Apr 20, 2010)

Like BF said, I've always had the best luck with fresh cut bait.


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

greg_n_ga said:


> All the above work well !!
> 
> If the current is slow, I will share one with ya. If you are like me, I don't like the big ones !! Fun to catch but the small ones are better for eattin' !! .


Just can't agree enough on that! A month ago my youngest daughter and I set out some limblines and caught a nice size blue and a nice size flathead, plus several small cats. I'm doing everything I can to swallow some of the nastiest catfish. I should have thrown them back in and just kept the small ones. I even like store bought catfish fillets better then a big monster.


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## Big Dave (Feb 5, 2006)

Fermented Wheaties. Gag a maggott. Attracks fish like throwing up in the water. Kinda like chum. Soak a weiner in it and well la nasty catfish bait. Works for me anyway. You can press the wheaties into balls on the treble hook.


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## coontail (Oct 3, 2012)

the most recent fur fish game had a bunch of recipes in it.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

We always catch the most bluegill with corn straight from the can. It works better than lures or anything else. The bottom fish (catfish) love fresh bait.


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## Snowfan (Nov 6, 2011)

Thanks for all the input all. I think part of the fun of pursuing Mr. Whiskers is all in the experimenting with all the recipes, rigs and methods. Beats spending evenings and nights watching TV. Coontail, I saw the article and recipes in the F-F-G this month. I like that magazine. Once we get a good freeze here in southern Minnesota, I'll start chasing bunny wabbits and squirrels. Good luck to all.


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

Back a month or so one of the hunting/fishing magazines had a "recipe" for catfish bait that sorta stuck me - good enough to remember it....... it's also sorta like the one greg n ga posted.
A pound of hotdogs cut into 1" pieces, put into a large plastic bag. Add a box of sugarless Strawberry jello and a tablespoon of garlic powder. Mix until hotdog pieces are coated; let sit overnight before using.

Me, the best luck I've ever had was using dead worms, but then I wasn't fishing for "catfish" but on the hunt for "bullheads"............


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## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

For big channel cats, I've always used a live two or three inch sunfish (where it's legal). Suspend the sunfish between a float (a bleach jug works) and a weight on the bottom, so the fish is about 2-3 feet off the bottom, allowing for about two feet of leader. You need to keep it deep, but not on the bottom, or crawdads will get it before a catfish comes along.

I've also used rotten chicken wings, where live bait wasn't practical or legal. They just stay on the hook well all night and they're big enough to discourage the smaller fish. 

Catfish aren't real picky, though -- I've caught them on everything from salmon eggs to artificial lures. If you're having trouble catching them, it might not be your bait. It could be your location or the time of day. 

They're most active at night. I've fished mostly for channel cats and they'll move from deep water to shallower water in the evening, and then back out to deep water at dawn. They tend to follow the same path each time. Once you find it, you just need to get bait in front of them and they'll take it. I can't speak for other species, or what their habits are.

(The advantage of using large live bait is you tend to get bigger fish.)


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## Gianni (Dec 9, 2009)

It is seasonal but two grasshoppers on a circle hook works great.


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## dkhern (Nov 30, 2012)

flat heads in river small perch or bream channel in pond save deer liver cut in 1" slices then into 11/2 cube stick eye of trebel hook thru cube


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