Zote is right on soap... or homemade bait soap, with Anise if possible for channels
Amazed no one mentioned, that I saw, regular old worms, use em all the time. And any grasshopper but the green ones seem not as good as regular grasshoppers.
Best by far for channels are helgramites
Grasshoppers! Yup Jeff, them big green ones!! And hellgrammites always worked good on our end of the Colorado to on channel cats.
Used a big sucker or a perch to get them big yellow cats!