24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 9,292
9
99guy Offline OP
Campfire Outfitter
OP Offline
Campfire Outfitter
9
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 9,292
Well?


"You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass"
~Admiral Yamamoto~

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. ~Thomas Jefferson~
GB2

Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 8,096
T
Campfire Outfitter
Online Content
Campfire Outfitter
T
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 8,096
Shad.

Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 492
M
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
M
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 492
I like SSS stink bait for channel cats and cut shad for blues and live what ever for flatheads.

Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,068
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,068
Creek Chubs work for me.

Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 1,895
I
Campfire Regular
Online Content
Campfire Regular
I
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 1,895
What kind of water you fishing?


We might have to be neighbors, but I don’t have to be neighborly. John Chisum
IC B2

Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 23,924
R
Campfire Ranger
Online Sleepy
Campfire Ranger
R
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 23,924
freshly cut bluegills

Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 9,292
9
99guy Offline OP
Campfire Outfitter
OP Offline
Campfire Outfitter
9
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 9,292
Originally Posted by IA_fog
What kind of water you fishing?


Lakes and ponds in VA.


"You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass"
~Admiral Yamamoto~

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. ~Thomas Jefferson~
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,951
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,951
Take some seafood Pate' style catfood, and mix in some crushed Wheaties until it makes a stiff paste that doesn't stick to your hands. Be sure to get all of the oil out of the can! Form a ball of it big enough to encase your hook and throw it in. Then throw a few more around the area where your bait is. It's cheap, and you will slay them with it.


"Give a lazy man the toughest job, and he will find the easiest way to do it"
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 18,699
1
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
1
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 18,699
Worms or liver always worked pretty good for me in ponds.

Cut shad or some kind of cut bait would probably be good in lakes too.


The last time that bear ate a lawyer he had the runs for 33 days!
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 21,605
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 21,605
Fishing Cape Cod we used clam bellies for cod and haddock.
I thought they would be great to catfish. Tough and grisly, they
put off an oil cloud when they hit the water. If they are a bait of choice for bottom dwelling, scent feeding salt water fish, I bet catfish would love them.

Of course, somebody would,
let them rot first,
Add garlic,
Or Cool Aid.

Maybe, anise.

I should have bought a vac sealer Pac to try.
But knew I couldn't source them here, so It didn't matter much.


Parents who say they have good kids..Usually don't!
IC B3

Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 11,609
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 11,609
For channel cat in ponds/lakes Sonny's dip bait works well for me.


Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 1,241
B
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
B
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 1,241
Catalpa worms...

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 9,086
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 9,086
Blues and flatheads like fresh shad. Live bluegills and goldfish sometimes.

Channel cats will eat just about anything. liver, chicken, stink bait, blood bait, hotdogs, worms, cheetoes, soap, you name it.
strawberry koolaid, garlic powder, and vanilla extract make good attractants to add to any of the above.


"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Edmund Burke 1795

"Give me liberty or give me death"
Patrick Henry 1775
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 9,292
9
99guy Offline OP
Campfire Outfitter
OP Offline
Campfire Outfitter
9
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 9,292
Originally Posted by prairie dog shooter
Blues and flatheads like fresh shad. Live bluegills and goldfish sometimes.

Channel cats will eat just about anything. liver, chicken, stink bait, blood bait, hotdogs, worms, cheetoes, soap, you name it.
strawberry koolaid, garlic powder, and vanilla extract make good attractants to add to any of the above.


First mention of hot dogs which seems to be a popular bait here in Va. I'm new to this, but I want to get good at it. When I was a kid, 40 years ago, fishing channel cats a few times in small rivers and lakes in upstate New York, we used dead minnows, the stinky-er the better it seemed. But that was in a place long ago and far away from where I am now. I'm a catfish rookie.

Thanks for all the responses.

Keep them coming.


"You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass"
~Admiral Yamamoto~

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. ~Thomas Jefferson~
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 8,096
T
Campfire Outfitter
Online Content
Campfire Outfitter
T
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 8,096
In my experience the tales of catfish loving rotten, festering, stinking stuff are nonsense. Sometimes stinkbaits work on channels, but IME if they’re biting great on it they’ll usually bite other stuff too. I do know that they don’t prefer sour or rotten or even day old cut bait.

Frozen shad and perch are almost as bad as no bait at all. I find the best bait to be cut shad caught in the body of water I’m fishing and cut while they’re still alive and used immediately. Some times of the year perch work as good as shad, even moreso when the shad aren’t on the bank and you can’t catch any. For flatheads perch will stay alive on the hook much longer than shad and are also tougher which makes them harder to tear the hook out of on the cast. I hear that skipjack are the ultimate catfish bait but we don’t have them here.

A 4’ throw net will more than pay for itself if you learn to use it, you’ll have a much better chance of getting fresh bait every time you hit the water. We begin every catfish trip by trying to catch bait, if we can’t get any bait we’ll go home. If the shad aren’t on the bank and I don’t want to mess with the boat we’ll go to one of our ponds and catch 8-10 little perch between 2”-5” long. Usually catch them on a jigging rod with a tiny piece of night crawler on a cricket hook, toss them in a 5gal bucket with a little battery aerator.

I guess that’s the long way of saying that you’ll catch more fish if you make the effort to use fresh bait.

Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,195
R
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
R
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,195
On the TN River, Skipjack is king. I use cut white bass, crappie heads after filleting, shad, and fur or live bluegill as a last resort. Fresh is way better than frozen, but sometimes frozen has to work.

Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,522
S
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
S
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,522
I tried fresh bluegills in TN and it works OK. My first year here went fishing with a guide and he used boneless skinless chicken breasts with all the fat trimmed off. In the 4 years since I have not found anything that works any better. Bluegill chunks tends to stay on the hook better and is denser so it sinks to the bottom faster. But chicken breast is king.


My biggest fear is when I die my wife will sell my guns for what I told her they cost.
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,152
I
Campfire Tracker
Online Content
Campfire Tracker
I
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,152
For small channel cats in summer, stink bait is best for me. I get a lot of small channels then. As for flatheads, good live bait . Bullheads are very hard to beat. Small channel cats work well too. I like a 10" channel cat that is feisty.


But the fruits of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, Gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law. Galations 5: 22&23
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 60,276
W
Campfire Kahuna
Online Content
Campfire Kahuna
W
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 60,276
Never tried it, those dead little sparrows that fall from the nest?


These premises insured by a Sheltie in Training ,--- and Cooey.o
"May the Good Lord take a likin' to you"
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 12,330
F
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
F
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 12,330
Hot dogs is good, because the binder leaks out.

Grilled brats is better, because the oil floats up towards the surface, and the fish will follow it down.

But for the big ones, nothing beats cut shad or bluegill.

Page 1 of 3 1 2 3

Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
YB23

Who's Online Now
662 members (12308300, 1234, 163bc, 06hunter59, 09wingates, 78 invisible), 2,674 guests, and 1,224 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,187,612
Posts18,398,407
Members73,817
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 







Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.148s Queries: 15 (0.003s) Memory: 0.8946 MB (Peak: 1.0440 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-28 14:12:09 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS