Don’t be stubborn
The topic of “the best catfish bait” has always been an arguable one. The biggest problems I feel like is the fact that people are so stubborn and not willing to think outside of their own belief. Usually this consists of someone’s uncles, granddaddy swearing by hotdogs and kool-aid chicken and passing that “wisdom” onto their kids. Not saying that those options won’t work but we want to know what is truly the best.
Best bait for any fish
The “best bait” for any kind of fishing is going to be bait that mimics what the fish are already eating. Take bass fishing for example. A bass fisherman uses different baits that imitate different prey at different times of the year. The goal is to trick a bass into thinking it’s eating what its already feeding on so there no hesitation for the fish to bite. We can use the same concept when choosing our catfish bait.
Match the Hatch
Figuring out what catfish are currently feeding on is going to be crucial. This will also likely differ from place to place. If your fishing a shallow community lake chocked full of small green sunfish try out one of them for bait or if your fishing a river full of skipjack, catch a few of them for bait. It really just depends on your location and what is naturally available as a food source.
Results may vary
Since we’ve covered what is essentially the “best” bait for catfish I want to highlight what has worked best for me.
- Skipjack
- Green Sunfish
- Night Crawlers
- Shad
Skipjack
An all around favorite of catfish anglers. Skipjack has got to be one of the most effective and universal baits for catfish ever. It’s a very oily and bloody fish that releases an aroma in the water that any catfish will recognize as food.
Green Sunfish
Any member of the sunfish family will work basically the same but I’ve found that the green sunfish is a hardy fish that will do a good job at surviving as a live bait on a hook. This is especially useful for catching flatheads.
Night Crawlers
Classic… Old School… Basic… whatever you may think when it comes to using worms as bait, they are the OGs of fishing bait for a reason. There’s been many times that night crawlers have out-fishing some of the top dog baits. Simple and effective is the reason I like them most.
Shad
When I can find them I try to stock my freezer. Slimy, oily, bloody and full of smell. Shad are definitely on a pedestal compared to other catfish bait. They are an easily manageable size so you can pop a hand full into small sandwich bags, freeze them and have em on hand whenever you need em.
