Best Bait for catfish

[xrap]

I went catfish hunting last night and we got a bunch of small ones on worms. We used beef liver as well but didn't get nothing on it. Just wondering if beef liver and chicken liver works the same? Were looking to find some bigger cats but the worms are the only thing producing fish right now and the liver doesn't seem to be working. Anyone want to share some good baits for big catfish.

[huntervasili]

Chicken livers work good... besides this the most gross and old thing you have in your house [molded cheeses, anything] left outside in the warm for a few days with a lid should work, just add a little blood to make it paste like... Had some luck with that sort of thing before...

[Daplumma]

Chicken livers are what I usually use.They dont have to be stinky and gross,the cats like the blood that comes from them.Cut bait and shrimp are also good bait.

Joe

[Eddyk]

When I lived on Scuggog there was an old guy who would tie about 2 dozen worms in a ball by using a needle and thread. He would go out at dusk and lower this ball to the bottom of the lake and let it sit there for a few minutes then pull it to the surface but still kept it just under the water. He would then put his net under the ball and lift the worms out of the water. The cat fish would then let go and fall into the net. I dont know if that was legal but he sure caught a lot of catfish.

[spanky]

we use chicken livers with great success and chubs/large minnows, don't really use anything else... tried hotdogs with no luck and stink baits with no luck...

[Fishmaster]

Big dead Minnows or cut Gizzard Shad Sucker Meat ..my fav

[xrap]

Thanks for the tips guys. I went tried at Maitland,York,and a trib today and didn't have much luck. Caught one ugly one last night under the skyway but it was small.

 

That's one ugly IQ challenged

[Beans]

Hey Eddy... that sounds like what my grandad and I used to do back in the late forties but we never had a net...a washtub in the center of his old punt was all we needed...the catfish (Scugog trout) would not let go of the (bob) until their tails touched sumpin'...it was my job to thread the worms into a bob (ball of worms) with a long darning needle then bury them in the worm box until needed...

 

We would dump our catch into a 'live " box near shore and when we were going to eat some it was also my job to grab a dozen and clean them up...

 

Mmmmm...catfish rolled in flour and cornmeal and pan fried in hot lard with new potatoes freshly picked from the garden and corn on the cob...

 

I watched Cronzy yesterday fishing on the river near Winnipeg for big cats and they were using shrimp from the supermarket...makes me wonder if the small shrimps we buy for the cats would work...113 grams for $0.50...that's a lot cheaper than buying worms...

 

If I wasn't so old and decrepit I'd pick my own worms...

 

Dang...if I had known I was going to last this long...I'da taken better care of myself !

[ch312]

mmmm....fried chicken liver

 

for bullheads i always have the best luck on worms. ive tried a bunch of different crap and worms always seems to be the best. the 2nd best would have to be my homemade blend of minnows, meat scraps, worms all blended together then mix in flour and some other stuff to make it super thick so it doesnt come off the hook. all winter i just throw all the stuff in the freezer and then in the spring i make a batch

[oldschool]

Many good replies here. I just posted on the carp topic that we have good luck using carp that has been "aged" for a few days in a closed container left out in the heat. It hangs onto the hook well and stinks well so the catfish love it. This takes a bit of planning but it sure is inexpensive. And fun considering one has to first catch the carp.

 

In Iowa we use many of the blood baits and chicken livers as said above. Seems anything that has a large odor and will stay on the hook so that the odor will drift downstream works well. Here we look for holes in the streams and let our baits drift into them. The catfish lay in those holes and wait for their supper to come along. If the hole has a downed tree or other cover, all the better.

 

Roy

[OhioFisherman]

I have always used big creek chubs or shiners for them. My wife isn`t much of a caster, on trips to the georgian bay a big chub gave her a chance to catch a good fish whether it was a pike, walleye, ski, or bass, she got about a 15# cat one year, the next one around 25#, also around a 40 inch gar that lassoed itself with the line trying to get the chub.

 

The blood baits, chicken parts and such might limit the species you can catch.

[aplumma]

Chicken livers fresh from the grocery store work great. Catfish can follow a blood trail just as well as a stink trail. You don't have to suffer thru the smell while fishing. Most of the commercial baits stink because they don't/can't keep them fresh economically is why they keep the stinkin myth alive and well. If you want big cats then you need to feed them real fish and a good sized piece or live bait. You can find them usually under schools of bait or the edge of flats that drop off into deeper water. Catfish that are over 15 lb's are predators they can't afford to be opportunity feeders like their smaller brothers. Dusk to dawn is always a good time to fish for cats with 2-6 am being prime time for a frenzy if you have set up on the right place. Day time can also be good if you fish deep enough or the weather is overcast and about to change.

 

Art

[OhioFisherman]

First good size cat I saw maybe 15 pounds was a nite fish my dad got on a sucker at a lake here in Ohio fishing for muskies with my uncle. Day and nite feeders, my opinion it`s a toss up on the best time. Water depth? also mixed ideas about that, both my wife`s fish came in about 8 feet of water on a slip bobber set at 6 feet, but on a flat near deeper water.

 

A buddy got one pushing 40 in a tournament on a crankbait in 5 or 6 feet of water. I have caught some up to about 10 pounds in shallow and deep water, even jigging blade baits. If your fishing a river system try eddys or slack water near them. Big trees in the water can hold them too, bridge pilings and such.

 

Like Art says the bait doesn`t have to stink, just be something they think they can eat, a lot of things will work, and a bigger size may mean bigger fish.

[FinS]

dead minnows, cut bait and worms

[mattyk]

shad are pretty good down here in kentucky.

[BryceBurzynski]

When I have caught Catfish I used worms, but I will keep these baits in mind!

[bpcbear2000]

Chicken livers, Cut bait fish and grilled hot dogs ( uncooked does not wook as well)

[FinS]

some nice kitties wtg

[Bitsmith2k]

nice fish! just curious are you guys eatin them outta the grand?

Edited April 3, 2007 by Bitsmith2k

[panfisherboy]

i like to use leeches when the regs permit them in the summer on the grand. gold swivels large hooks with live leeches. can't keep them off. get good numbers but not size. worms would be my second choice bait.

[Fishmaster]

I was on the grand river today ,caught 10 cats the biggest 17lb .I use uncooked shrimp shell on .My biggest cats are caught on fresh cut bait. Buy some big minnow 5To 6 inch keep them alive until you are ready to bait. The blood trail from the bait will attract the big cat My biggest cat last year was 25lb caught in the Grand river. I will be out tomorrow for some more cat action

Fisher you should be in my cat derby being that you catch such nice cats bellow the Dunnville Dam my derby is all Ontario waters but the Grand holds some Big Kittys ..

[Fishmaster]

Yes you can eat them from the Grand get the nice Gold 5lb cats you got some fine white meat ...Blackend Catfish yummy

[Fang]

Start hitting the rivermouths around the great lakes. Bring a long handled dip net and when the alewife start coming in you can pick up the dying ones along the breakwalls. Freeze em. For cats take a 1-2" slice across the mid section. You can usually get 2 cuts from 1 alewife.

 

Best cat bait I've ever come across. Stinky, oily and stay on the hok pretty good. Keeps the gobies and small fish away too!

[ch312]

nice fish! just curious are you guys eatin them outta the grand?

 

there is absolutly nothing wrong with eating fish out of the grand. pretty much everyone that says you cant eat fish out fo the grand have absolutly no clue what they are talking about.

 

just think about this....

 

people eat all kinds of fish out of erie, yet alot of people are scared to eat fish out of the grand. where does all the water from the grand river go? how about all the water from lake st clair and detroit river? to lake erie. so, there would have to be more pollutants in fish in erie than the grand but alot of people have trouble figuring it out.

 

i cant speak for the larger cats but i do know the smaller cats taste great. is there a general size that we should try to stay under for eating catfish or is the taste difference not really noticeable with the larger ones?

[pikehunter]

how about all the water from lake st clair and detroit river? to lake erie. so, there would have to be more pollutants in fish in erie than the grand but alot of people have trouble figuring it out.

 

That is exactly why I call Niagara Falls Lake Erie's idiot. Told that to a Casino Niagara shuttle bus driver once and she almost hit the curb laughing