# the best baits for cats?.



## dstiner86

so this year i have been real big into catfishing. typical bait used is chicken liver.. has had moderate success with it with plenty of 5-10lbs under my belt with ease..and when the biting is slim i found a drop or two of anise brings them in. I've tried globs of worm, chubs, shad, and gil with little to know success..have also looked up a lot of stuff on popular cat baits and read the massive flats prefer live instead of dead..but what im looking to hear just out of curiosity is what everyone else is using.. and if your really looking to chime in some no how id love to hear specific i.e. brands best way to hook it or fish it.. for example.. i found gerber chicken liver (white lid clear container) is the best ive tried yet ..its a thicker meatier quality.. i wrap it around a. single hook and no matter the roughness of my cast it doesn't fly off like butter like tysons been doing. ..I've actually found that if a spot isn't working even after becoming soggy it will still stick during cast.

other then that ill be honest im a noob.. live bait fish i cent figure out the best way to use it and as for shrimp... (stupid question) but live shrimp or like the frozen shelled store bought stuff? and crawfish how the @#%& do u not make them explode when putting in the hooks?

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## willyb021

If you are after channels the best baits in my opinion are chicken liver, dough ball or bread ball, and shrimp. ( frozen shrimp, raw,with the shell on). 

For flatheads you are better off using live bait or cut bait . (shad,bluegill,skipjack,shiners,goldfish etc etc). U Hooke them in the back not too deep . 

As for crawfish you can hook then in the joints in the tail. Or there are actually soft shell crawfish you can find that hook easier. 






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## BigFishAddict

Most of my catfishing is done by wading rivers and drifting night crawlers under a float. I've caught some nice channels upwards of 8-10lbs. Even a couple suprise flatheads. 

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## Salmonid

once you make the jump to fresh cut shad, youll never look back.....

Salmonid


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## City fisher

Salmonid said:


> once you make the jump to fresh cut shad, youll never look back.....
> 
> Salmonid


I agree with salmonid. I also was like you this year trying different baits at different lakes. Chicken liver, night crawlers, shrimp both cooked and uncooked and shell both on and off. Then I tried some minnows last weekend at Milton. I had been wanting to try some cut bait for a while but never picked any up. 

I caught the biggest cat I have caught so far this year on the minnows. My cousin was sitting right next to me using night crawlers. He switched to minnows after I had caught 3 and he had only had a few bites. Cut bait will be the one I go with from now on. Good luck out there, trial and error is part of fishing.


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## JohnPD

Cut up blue gill works great too.


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## jjshbetz11

Raw boneless skinless chicken breasts(more fat the better) cut into 1" chunks or bigger. Add a generous amount of garlic powder, salt(to cure) and a dab of vanilla extract. Let that sit in a hot garage for a full day. If there is channels where u fish, I guarantee that will bring them in. Any cutbait witch puts off amino acids aka protein will get there attention. Now I gave ya the go to bait. All you have to do is put in the bank or shore time to locate them.


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## FISHIN216

for channel cats.....raw shrimp. hands down. end of discussion

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## Burks

We've been having the best luck with live bluegill while going for channels. The reservoirs we fish are just chock full of bullheads. Using a bigger bait keeps them away.

Not only are we catching more fish, we're catching bigger fish. But we're also getting snagged about every third cast. The reservoirs we fish are nothing but huge bolders to nearly the center of the place. Sucks......but we deal with it.

Chicken livers work very well but 9 out of 10 times a bullhead will snag it before a channel.


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## Mr. A

I know I'm not the only cheap/thrifty person on her but I've had good luck with shrimp. I go to Krogers and ask if they have any raw uncooked shrimp they are throwing away. The seafood manager will give it away the workers charge 50% off. 

Or, I wait for the fresh shrimp to hit the "manager's special" and get cheap that way. I put them in a bag with some minced garlic and canning salt (iodine free). I try to let them rot in the heat for a half day or more before I go fishing. They have kept me in a steady flow of hits and catches. Nothing to big yet but I haven't seen anything bigger being caight by others....

A

Wishin' I was fishin'


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## dstiner86

thanks for everyone input..gonna have to test a few out.. especially the shrimp..I've heard a lot about using shrimp but been to cheap to attempt it.. but manager specials...i like tho sound of that! lol... but general consensus says live or cut bait works the best.. and hooking it by the tail not two deep will keep them alive?.. I've been going more on the body of the side of the tail but they die quick it seems. .. as for minnows .. sound like im heading to the creek at my house i have a pool there of atleast 150 minnows 

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## FISHIN216

Mr. A said:


> I know I'm not the only cheap/thrifty person on her but I've had good luck with shrimp. I go to Krogers and ask if they have any raw uncooked shrimp they are throwing away. The seafood manager will give it away the workers charge 50% off.
> 
> Or, I wait for the fresh shrimp to hit the "manager's special" and get cheap that way. I put them in a bag with some minced garlic and canning salt (iodine free). I try to let them rot in the heat for a half day or more before I go fishing. They have kept me in a steady flow of hits and catches. Nothing to big yet but I haven't seen anything bigger being caight by others....
> 
> A
> 
> Wishin' I was fishin'


Go to ALDI....bags for 4.99 40-60 pieces. Let it thaw drain it and try that. trust me. Stinky nasty shrimp is not a good bait. I catch big channels all the time. T 90% of the time im using shrimp

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## City fisher

dstiner86 said:


> thanks for everyone input..gonna have to test a few out.. especially the shrimp..I've heard a lot about using shrimp but been to cheap to attempt it.. but manager specials...i like tho sound of that! lol... but general consensus says live or cut bait works the best.. and hooking it by the tail not two deep will keep them alive?.. I've been going more on the body of the side of the tail but they die quick it seems. .. as for minnows .. sound like im heading to the creek at my house i have a pool there of atleast 150 minnows
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


Was out at Milton again last night, using minnows again. Managed to get 7 and missed 3 really good hits. They seem to be working good there too. I talked to a guy on the way out , he was using raw shrimp and had 3 and he was there before I was.


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## dstiner86

definitely gonna try some minnows the next time i go out.. anybody know what's a good aerator? .. i have plenty of 5gal buckets and what not so figure ill just buy one of those..do the battery powered ones run long.. i may need it to run 10-12 hrs after catching the minnows.. that possible on them? or do they drain the batteries after a couple hours.. 

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## Burks

What we learned fishing for channels on Thursday:

- Live bluegills = sucked
- Cut bluegill = even worse
- Chicken liver = terrible
- Worms = why even try?
- Raw shrimp left out in the sun for 3 days still sealed in the bag, sprinkled with garlic powder immediately after open = teh winnar. I swear the shrimp barely had time to hit the bottom before being hit.

Normally we do very well with bluegills, live or dead. I guess Thursday, with that big beautiful moon out, the cats were in the mood for some higher class dining of fine, quality Meijer shrimp.


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## dstiner86

Awesome!! Going out Wednesday night and plan on getting some shrimp...will have to try the garlic with it two!!!.. now if only i can make up my mind to what lake to go to and im set!

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## BBO Ohio

Salmonid said:


> once you make the jump to fresh cut shad, youll never look back.....
> 
> Salmonid


Couldn't agree more. Channels love the cut shad. Best thing is you don't have to great balls on your hook

This guy, which salmonid has already seen, was caught on a piece of shad the size of a dime. Flats I've always used bluegill and even live shad. It's just had to keep shad alive

"friends don't let friends fish alone....... Good call!!!!"


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## City fisher

dstiner86 said:


> definitely gonna try some minnows the next time i go out.. anybody know what's a good aerator? .. i have plenty of 5gal buckets and what not so figure ill just buy one of those..do the battery powered ones run long.. i may need it to run 10-12 hrs after catching the minnows.. that possible on them? or do they drain the batteries after a couple hours..
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


I just had this same discussion with my cousin. He went out and bought one of those buckets with the aerator built into it. It worked well to keep the minnows alive, but we were taking them out and cutting them in half so what's the point of keeping them alive until you use them? Makes no sense to me at all. 

I use a regular beach bucket, the ones that are different colors for the kids cause that's what I have and it works well for me. Minnows don't stay alive very long, but like I said above I'm going to cut them in half anyways so it doesn't matter if they are alive or dead to me.


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## dstiner86

Well ventured out with shrimp the other night.. They nawed it up but caught one cat the whole night..a young channel and that was on chicken liver .. But whoever up there is right.. 40-60 raw shelled shrimp at aldis only 4.99... that price i can handle giving it another try.. All i got to say tho is i can't wait till fall weather finally hits.. So i can finally start catching some cats again..bright note both me and my buddy caught pound to two pound smallies .. Hit my buzzbait like it haven't ate in weeks.. Then fought like hell to get free..got to love the acrobatics of a smallie!!

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## Silent Mike

Shad (not only the best, but the best feeling because you catch it yourself)
chicken liver
secret 7 dip bait


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## Burks

BBO Ohio said:


> Couldn't agree more. Channels love the cut shad. Best thing is you don't have to great balls on your hook
> 
> This guy, which salmonid has already seen, was caught on a piece of shad the size of a dime. Flats I've always used bluegill and even live shad. It's just had to keep shad alive
> 
> "friends don't let friends fish alone....... Good call!!!!"


I need to get in on this shad thing. Too bad they don't sell them in bait stores or I'd just buy a bunch and freeze them. 



dstiner86 said:


> Well ventured out with shrimp the other night.. They nawed it up but caught one cat the whole night..a young channel and that was on chicken liver .. But whoever up there is right.. 40-60 raw shelled shrimp at aldis only 4.99... that price i can handle giving it another try..


I couldn't get plain ol' raw shrimp to work. Had to basically ferment it for anything to happen. 

Ever smell someone that hasn't had a really good, regular bath schedule in 30+ years? That's about what raw shrimp, still sealed in the bag, left in the sun for 2-3 days smells like. Sadly I know that smell all too well working in a hospital.


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## dstiner86

I mixed my shrimp with garlic..and boy did my hands reek by the end of the night..garlic shrimp.. Chicken.liver..and anise lol..ill try the 2-3 day thing.. And unfortunately i work retail..i know the well past due for a shower smell.. Trust me.. 1st of the month gets a lot of that..some so bad my eyes burn 

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## E_Lin

dstiner86 said:


> I mixed my shrimp with garlic..and boy did my hands reek by the end of the night..garlic shrimp.. Chicken.liver..and anise lol..ill try the 2-3 day thing.. And unfortunately i work retail..i know the well past due for a shower smell.. Trust me.. 1st of the month gets a lot of that..some so bad my eyes burn
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


Anytime I have used bait as foul as that, and sometimes I have used what I will contend is the foulest bait of all (*Mackerel bought whole at Jungle Jims, cut into sections and left out in the sun for over 24 hours, guts and all in vacuum sealed bags*), and whenever I have done that, I made sure I used nitrile gloves to keep the smell off. You can get a small box of them at Krogers for around 5 bucks. That is well worth keeping the smell off your hands that can't be washed off.


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## BBO Ohio

Burks said:


> I need to get in on this shad thing. Too bad they don't sell them in bait stores or I'd just buy a bunch and freeze them.
> .


They do sell them, but if u got a throw net ull save money that way



"friends don't let friends fish alone....... Good call!!!!"


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## Silent Mike

BBO Ohio said:


> They do sell them, but if u got a throw net ull save money that way
> 
> 
> 
> "friends don't let friends fish alone....... Good call!!!!"


x2! get cast net, watch youtube, throw cast net, never buy bait again...


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## elmopete

I recently was fishing on shore at the portage lakes,and lost two cats using a treble hook.should I use a single hook?maybe they felt resistance and let go?Help


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## jjshbetz11

elmopete said:


> I recently was fishing on shore at the portage lakes,and lost two cats using a treble hook.should I use a single hook?maybe they felt resistance and let go?Help


I prefer circle hooks. Which lake? 


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## Boostedawdfun

I have caught tons of channel cats at Alum on the magic bait dough balls. Just take 2-3 pieces and press it around whatever hook you prefer. I cover the entire hook. I take and use a box of cheap rubber gloves because this is the consistancy and smell of dog **** IMO lol. But I've caught many cats with it from small ones to several bigger ones as well.


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## elmopete

the lake where the old state park is frome shore


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