One of the great things about fishing for channel cats is the sheer amount of bait you can successfully use to catch one. They are the “Mikeys” of the fishing world. You can feed them just about anything. In addition to worms, grubs, bait fish and crickets, I’ve also used hot dogs and other items to catch a catfish. Here’s a rundown on some of the weirdest catfish bait I’ve used to date:
1. Fruit
Who would have ever thought that channel catfish would enjoy noshing on fruit? I know that I didn’t think about using fruit as catfish bait until I moved south. It actually works. In my experience, some of the best fruits to use are muscadine grapes, golden raisins and figs. The grapes are best when you are using a rod and reel whereas the raisins and figs tend to work better with trotlines. It seems that the longer the raisins and figs sit in the water, the more effective they become at luring out the channel catfish.
2. Spice is Nice
Going cat fishing and need bait in a hurry? Head to your kitchen and grab some cheesecloth and Anise. It’s time to make some dipping bait. I’ve found that channel cats are inexplicably drawn to the underwater scent of Anise. You may opt to use Anise oil or whole Anise seeds. If you go with the oil just soak the cheesecloth in it for awhile. You may even want to put a wad of stale bread or cereal inside the cheesecloth and let it soak in the oil too. It will only help draw the catfish out more. You may also choose to wrap whole Anise seeds in the cheesecloth if you plan on using a trotline. Whole cloves also work well and you can easily combine them with other bait attractive to cats like hot dogs, oranges and chunks of ham.
Somewhere along the line channel cats have also developed a taste for finger foods normally reserved for party goers. Bacon wrapped chicken livers in cheesecloth, chunks of cheese, cocktail shrimp, pate and even leftover bagel pizzas work as catfish bait. So do deviled eggs. I’d suggest that you use a homemade cheesecloth pouch to secure the deviled eggs, pate and bagel pizzas to your hook.
4. Catfish S’mores
Channel catfish also seem to have a predilection for marshmallows and chewing gum. I learned that nifty trick while at Girl Scout Camp. As far as the gum goes, the Bazooka, Bubblicious and Bubble Yum brands tend to work the best. You will have to chew the Bazooka a bit yourself before adding it to the hook otherwise it will be difficult to use. Giant red gumballs also work well if the other brands aren’t readily available.
5. Little Bits
One other channel catfish bait that has worked for me is to go to the grocery store and pick up some banana leaves, crackling, tripe, headcheese and pig’s ears. I should mention that I’ve only found some of those items in southern grocery stores or specialty shops. Chop the meats up and place them inside the banana leaves. Once that’s done wrap the meat filled banana leaves into cheesecloth pouches. Don’t worry if the meat starts to spoil in the sun while you’re out fishing. The worst it smells, the better the catfish seem to like it. You can also just use the pig’s ears without the other meats. In most cases the pig’s ears will go onto your hook without the need for a cheesecloth pouch.
