Catfish Baits You Should Try

Many anglers enjoy the the thrill of catching monster catfish.  They are opportunistic eaters that will bite on many different types of bait. There are all types of dough baits on the market that claim to be the best one to get the job done.  If you've tried as many different dough baits as I have you know that there is not much difference in their performance for catching fish.  Some alternatives to dough baits are prepared baits, live baits and cut baits.  If the fish don't seem to be biting, try some of these alternatives to improve your luck.

Prepared Baits:

• Although it is not a bait in and of it's self, anise oil makes an excellent additive for prepared baits.  Anise Oil is a licorice scented oil that can be found in the baking aisle at most grocery stores.  Catfish seem to find the smell of this oil irresistible.  Try dipping your bait of choice in Anise oil to take home a stringer full of catfish. 
• While fishing on truman lake last summer my wife and I ran out of minnows.  Not wanting to make another trip to the bait shop, we decided to rummage through the cooler for something to try as bait and came across a package of hotdogs.  Figuring it couldn't hurt anything, we pulled them out and placed a bite sized morsel on our hooks.  It wasn't long before we were catching catfish like crazy.
• Spam is another one of those rarely thought of baits for catfish.  It is a very oily food which works wonders for attracting catfish.  Simply pull the spam from the can, cut it into pieces about the size of your hook and you are ready to go.
• Ivory Soap is another alternative to dough baits that seems to work well.  Cut the bar into bait sized pieces that will fit on a treble hook and let the fishing begin
• Raw bacon is another effective choice for catching catfish.  Try using it in combination with the  anise oil listed above or try putting it in a baggie with some garlic allowing it to soak up the garlic flavor in the refrigerator for a while.
• While getting ready to head down to the river one afternoon a small piece of left-over steak that had been lurking in the fridge for a few days caught my eye.  I figured if it wasn't going to be eaten, it might as well not go to waste.  Anxious to try out my newfound bait I cut a piece off, attached it to my hook and sent it sailing into the water.  It didn't take long to figure out that saving the steak from heading to the landfill was an excellent decision.

Live Baits:

• Crayfish or crawdads as I call them are a proven top choice of catfish.
• Goldfish also make an excellent live bait presentation.  Catfish can't seem to resist them.
• Small bluegill are among the best live baits.
• Shad tend to work well when fishing channels in the lakes as well as in rivers.
• Night crawlers are hard to beat for catching catfish that are the perfect eating size.
• Minnows are another good choice for pan-sized catfish.

Cut Baits:

• Shad work great as a cut bait.  I have found that the catfish really enjoy dining on their heads.
• Carp make an excellent cut bait. 
• Drum is often considered a trash fish but don't rule it out as a bait for catfish.
• Skipjack can be cut into bait sized pieces and is another effective choice.
• Bluegill/Perch/Sunfish are easy to catch in large quantities any time of day and catfish love them

When the fish "aren't biting" we tend to blame it on the weather or some other variable that is out of our control.  Although the weather can sometimes affect how the fish are biting, more often than not we are simply attempting to entice the fish with a bait they aren't presently interested in.  The next time you think you're about to go home empty handed, don't give up until you've tried some of these alternatives.

- Any day in the outdoors is a good day