# Catfish bait & lures



## opossum14

*What bait or lure?*​
cheese315.79%top water lure00.00%salmon eggs00.00%chicken liver1052.63%soft bait631.58%


----------



## opossum14

What bait and/or lure works best for channel catfish??


----------



## Duckslayer100

None of the above...I like worms or minnows. :beer:


----------



## Burly1

Fresh, cut bait is always my first choice unless it's August. Then I vote for a freshly squashed frog. Burl


----------



## Turner

I would have to go with the fresh cut bait, then frogs, then chicken livers. My trick for chicken livers is using nylons and making small balls to put on trebble hooks. That way the chicken liver stays on better and longer.


----------



## Gohon

None of the baits you listed would be my first choice but restricted to those I would go with chicken liver for channel cats. I've caught a lot of channel cats with chicken livers. I don't use treble hooks or the nylon stuff. Tried the nylon panty hose trick and didn't like it. I just use a large #6 or #7 wide gap hook, thread the liver onto the hook and run the hook back through the liver 2-3 times and that's it. The trick is don't try to cast a long distance. Just kind of lob the bait out about 20 feet and let it sink to the bottom and it will stay on the hook. If there is no current then re-bait about every 30 minutes or a little less. If there is any kind of current the re-bait every 15 minutes or so. The idea is to keep that blood smell in the water.


----------



## hydro

If you want to consistently catch trophy channel catfish, the hands down choice in the Red River is cutbait, either suckers or goldeneyes.
When in season, frogs are a good option also. Although I don't prefer them over cutbait, some folks do at times. 
Preferably fresh, cutbaits are my big fish bait. Surprisingly, big walleyes like cutbait as well in the fall.

Anything else (and I have tried many different baits) are not consitent big channel catfish baits.


----------



## joneser

Nothing beats a cut sunfish. Catch a couple dozen at your local kids' fishing dock and throw them in a cooler with some lake water and a bag of ice. The longer they stay alive the better. Drift a freshly cut half-sunnie on a 3/0 hook 2 feet below the biggest bobber you can find through rocky riffles and around snags. Don't use any sinkers. Let the bobber flow naturally with the current. If your hook is sharp and your bobber big enough, cats will hook themselves when they smack your bait and head back to the bottom. This technique is deadly on bigger cats in late summer when the water is low. If you want to pay through the nose for inferior bait, I suppose you use use cut suckers instead of sunfish. Moonies, sheepshead, or carp could also be used, but sunnies are by far the best.

In an effort to conserve Minnesota's threatened population of stunted three-inch sunfish and force every law-abiding angler to purchase bait from Cabella's or Gander Mountain, the Minnesota DNR has deemed the use of sunfish for bait illegal. So on top of the fun you'll have pulling in a mess of nice cats on this "secret" bait, you get the added thrill of eluding Johnny Law.


----------



## rockinmichigan

Out of the choices, I went with chicken liver, because I do use it every once in a great while. What I do like to do is put some nightcrawlers into the chicken liver bucket for a few minutes, let them soak up really good, and then put it on the hook and cast out as far out as I can. I tell you what, it dirves the white bass INSANE when you do that. They usually bite pretty fast and furious anyways at times, but when you do that they absolutely go nuts. Have had sheephead strike on that set up as well.


----------



## Mallard Masher

None of the above. I use cutbait, frozen shrimp, and crawfish, minus pinchers, for channels. Suckers and Blugills for flatheads, and larger channel cats.


----------



## nelson6933

if you want to use cutbait try some smelt the oily fish will release a sent for a longer time than any other cut!!


----------



## 94NDTA

Cut bait, or dead bloated minnows.

I will share a little secret with you guys. When I fish, I will get two or three dozen fat heads, leave the bucket out of the water, and let the fish turn for the worse. With the live ones, I'll use to catch cutbait, or sometimes catfish. However, once the floaters start puffing up, I will throw 3 or 4 of them on a giant circle hook and toss it in the water.

Also, for cutbait, I only use the guts. That yeild me the best results.

Frogs with the belly cut open work well too. Makes sure they are still alive, but cut them so their guts hang out in the water, but they can still kick their little legs.


----------



## rockinmichigan

94NDTA, cool tips, I'm gonna have to try that with the dead minnows. Seems like when my buddy buys minnows, they always die off soon before he has a chance to use them, so gonna have to see about putting those dead boogers to some good use.


----------



## 94NDTA

rockinmichigan said:


> 94NDTA, cool tips, I'm gonna have to try that with the dead minnows. Seems like when my buddy buys minnows, they always die off soon before he has a chance to use them, so gonna have to see about putting those dead boogers to some good use.


My largest channel was just a hiar under 36 inches and I caught it on 4 dead minnows. MY buddy in this picture caught his 31 incher on 4 dead minnows.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/ ... 0_0049.jpg


----------



## rockinmichigan

That's a nice cat in that picture. Now you've clinched me on that idea, I've used a dead minnow here and there, and caught perch on them, but never have put as many as 4 or 5 on the same hook. Will definately have to give it a go this year.


----------



## darkfisherman

opossum14 said:


> What bait and/or lure works best for channel catfish??


the best lure for catfish is a "little stinker catfish lure" from dicks sporting goods but dont get the "little stinker rotten shad " get a tub of beef blood it works better u can get beef blood at dicks also.

when me an my friend went fishing in bond lake we got 9 cats between

peace out :beer:


----------



## CREEMAN

I use either smelts or beef liver stays on the hook better than chicken liver.


----------



## bladepro30

We use beef spleen (availble at your local meat locker) it stays on the hook alot better than liver and it doesnt get ripped off. if its not able to be found then cut bait is the next best


----------



## NightWarrior

I agree none of the above are my choices ever...

Live: Suckers, Creek Chubs, Frogs

Cutbait: Suckers, Creek Chub, Frog Nuggets


----------

