Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Catfish Bait

Old guy I know has been fishing for catfish for years. One recipe He share has got to be about the simplest. He Eats a good bit of Ramen noodles. He just uses the noodles and not the flavor pack. He takes chicken breasts and cuts it up in squares. Then he puts that in a bowl and puts a good number of the flavor packs in.

I don't see why that wouldn't work great. Maybe toss a few shrimp in just to stink it up a bit.

They love chicken

I'm having to try and Connect the Dots. He mixes the Noodles up with the bowl of chicken and flavor packs or he eats the noodles and takes a crap and mixes that with the chicken and flavor packs?

Make a gowl darned good chip dip!

Chicken livers cured in the sun after good dose of garlic....sun hardens em' up so that stay on the hook. Can also use an egg loop knot.

MAGA!

Small bullhead

Good old night crawlers will catch plenty eating size catfish. Raw shrimp works ok too.

I used to work with a coonass that used ivory soap bars cut into little squares for catfish bait. He swore by it.

My 80 something year old second cousin down the road grew up extremely poor. His father, my grandfather’s brother, worked for the county and was a commercial fisherman and trapped to supplement their income. He also used Ivory soap on his trot lines, live brim for yellow cats. He and my father also used cottonseed cake from the oil mill to attract fish of all kinds. They would put it in tow sacks or hoop nets and anchor it deep. My grandfather worked at the cottonseed oil meal and he kept them supplied. Oil mills are almost a thing of the past as well as cotton gins. Corn has supplanted it as the major crop.

Nevr heard of that

Strawberry Jello-soaked chicken breast chunks are supposed to be a thing too. I usually buy a $5 bag of raw shrimp for bait. I've tried the strawberry chicken but didn't have any luck on any bait that trip.

Ever used hotdogs

I think what it boils down to is hungry active catfish will eat nearly anything, but unactive full catfish won't bite a damn thing.

Little cubes of spam,ivory soap,chicken hearts, or a gob of worms , all good all work

Blue and channel cat can be caught on chunks of cut up fish or small shad. The cat that everyone seems to want is the flathead or Opelousas cat and only bites live bait. Little bluegill bream or goggle eye are the best live bait and are easily caught. Goldfish will work but expensive if you are baiting 100 hooks. I'm talking about trotline bait, not rod and reel.

Worked with an old Arkie named Catfish Hunter. His go-to bait was cow brains and anise extract set on a post in the sun to ripen.

Dip your foam covered hook in the slurry and drop it over the side. Hang on to your pole, they don't nibble.

Fugg all that

Just chop up some bluegills

Hot dogs cut in one inch chunks marinated over night in cherry koolade and a jar of minced garlic. 1/2 gallon of koolade woods.

You are correct

And, we have a WINNER!

Catfish are cannibalistic creatures and bullheads are very appealing to them. Clip off their spines and either the top or bottom half of their tails. Flatheads and Blues love them! Channel cats usually can’t take even a small bullhead and that’s just fine as I hate the damn things.