What's the best catfish bait?

Answer by  catman529 (809)

It's not the odor we can smell that catfish are drawn to. They are drawn to other scents which we cannot detect, which stinking baits often contain. A fresh cut, bleeding minnow from the same lake/river you are fishing in will make a good bait. Thats my favorite.

Answer by  raven (241)

Catfish bait can be almost anything as long as it has a very strong odor to it. You might try chicken liver, blood baits, brim, or even mackerel might work. You might even try some stink bait commonly found at bait shops or shrimp has been known to work also.

Answer by  seb (220)

From my experience chicken liver is a great bait, especially for catfish. Of course you want to fish off the bottom and for some reason they can't resist.

Answer by  jaspat28 (78)

The best catfish bait that we use is fresh cut up shad. Also, if you catch a catfish and cut it up and use it immediately the other catfish are really drawn to it. This has worked the best for us. We generally use the shad to catch the first catfish and then cut it up for bait.

Answer by  roxiee (98)

Old timers used to use a cooked bait of some concoction that included cotton. I don't know the recipe, but we've always had excellent results with chicken gizzards. Gizzards are tough and can't easily be removed from the hook.

Answer by  mooman2679 (1018)

Usually the best catfish bait is some type of meat. My family usually has good luck using chicken liver or dear meat. We hunt so that is how the dear is available. You can buy chicken liver from your local grocer.

Answer by  midnightfox17 (66)

I have found that chicken livers and garden worms work best for catching catfish. You can also use nightcrawlers, minnows, shrimp, hot dogs, cheese, or crickets.

Answer by  Anonymous

we use big minnows, caught from a creek

Answer by  bingo (66)

Cats