Which Catfishing Bait To Use

With most fish the best bait is whatever they feed on naturally but the catfish are truly omnivorous and scavengers and they eat almost anything. The range of successful catfishing bait is amazing from live fish bait through worms, small frogs to marshmallows, hotdogs, unscented ivory soap (I didn't believe this but I can assure you it is successful) and some very strange, very smelly home-made concoctions.

The catfish has an array of senses to detect food from good eyesight (despite rumours to the contrary), excellent taste, smell and hearing and they use all the senses to detect food and warn of danger. The expert angler will make use of all of these catfish senses to get the fish to notice the bait that is being offered.

To list all the baits that have been used to catch catfish would fill a library of books but here are a few suggestions from the list of most successful.

The old fashioned worm, either night crawlers or the garden variety sometimes appears to be the food that is top of the catfish menu, but other times when they are not interested. Overall the worm, which is always readily available, is excellent catfish bait.

Shrimp or small prawns especially if they are soaked in fish oil tempt catfish. If you remove the prawns from their shell gives a better result. (Cut large prawns in half) These can be obtained easily from the local sea food store either frozen or fresh work very well.

Home-made bait that is a favourite is peanut butter and cornflakes mixed together and then formed into balls which can be fixed onto the hook. The butter releases oils into the water which the catfish detect and are attracted. An advantage with this bait is that small fish do not appear to be able to suck it from the hook. Another successful bait is sweet corn. Put a piece of sweet corn on each point of a treble hook then wrap bread around it. The smell of the sweet corn attracts the catfish and the bread will hide the hook from reluctant fish that have been caught and released too often. Cheese, the smellier the better, also hits the spot in attracting catfish.

A big advantage of home-made bait is the fun it generates in using your imagination to come up with original successful recipes. Not only for you but the children take huge delight in the designing and mixing the bait. And you should see the absolute joy when one of their recipes is successful and catches a catfish large or small. Involving children in the sport ensures that it becomes more popular and goes from strength to strength. And the catfish not being a picky eater and therefore easily attracted plays an important part in this growth. So long last the home-made bait.

Ben Field is a catfishing enthusiast and expert. For more information on catfishing bait, visit http://www.catfishingskills.com.

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