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The
best bait for catfishing is a debatable
one. First off it depends on where you are
fishing. It depends on what time of year it
is. And it depends on what kind of catfish you
are trying to bait.
First off there are thousands of types of
catfish in the world. In the United States,
common catfish include Channel Catfish, Flathead
Catfish, Bullhead Catfish and Blue Catfish, just
to name a few.
The most common smaller catfish is the Channel
Catfish and it is the easiest to bait. Being a
scavenger and bottom feeder, these fish will
feast off bugs on the surface of the water,
smaller bait fish and almost anything they find
in the water. |
The bigger
monster catfish, like the flathead and the blue catfish
are more elusive and require greater care when picking a
bait. You want to pick things that they are feeding on
in the wild right now. By choosing fresh bait you have
the greatest chance of catching these monsters.
So what do catfish eat in their natural habitat? Well,
they eat smaller fish. They eat crawfish and shrimp;
they eat frogs and other aquatic animals. Also, as I
mentioned before, the smaller fish will skim the top of
the water for bugs.
The flathead catfish is partial to sunfish. This is the
best bait for catfishing when baiting flatheads.
Another thing to know about catfish is that they have a
really strong sense of smell so you want to make your
bait smell really strong, and by strong I mean scare
away anyone within twenty feet of your bait. Using
fresh bait can do the trick but you can add some other
additives such as the juice from a fish or fish oil to
make your bait even stinkier. When your bait is in the
water, it creates a nice smelly trail for the catfish to
find you.
Channel Catfish Bait
Channel catfish are the least picky and will likely bite
on anything that smells. You can purchase night
crawlers at a bait shop, grab some chicken livers or hot
dogs at the store, use fish guts or raw fish, catch some
crawdad or grasshoppers, buy or catch minnows or make
your own recipe of “stink bait.”
For stink bait the rule is to put a multitude of smelly
food together, let it bake in a sealed tub in the sun
for a few weeks and then use it for bait. The most
common ingredient is smelly cheese, but also includes
fish oil, raw fish or chicken livers, peanut butter,
bread or cornmeal and anything else that the catfish
will bite on.
Flathead Catfish Bait
Flatheads love sunfish, but will also eat chicken
livers, fresh fish like mackerel, shrimp and crawdads.
I have heard of fishermen putting a few minnows on one
hook and even using a dead sheep’s head, although I have
never tried this myself.
Bullhead Catfish Bait
The bullhead, like the channel catfish, will eat almost
anything. You can try any of the above baits to catch
this guy. Bullheads seem partial to salmon eggs as
well.
Blue Catfish Bait
Blue catfish are some of the largest catfish out there.
To attract these monsters, the best bait for
catfishing is cut bait (fish cut into pieces). You can
also use live bait to attract these predators.
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Editors Note: For more
information about catfishing bait please visit this
page. J.D.Sill is a
catfishing expert. For much more information about
catfishing check out the website
Catfishing Success. |
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