Best catfish bait that will stay on the hook...avaiiable in TN.?

**richg99** · 06-16-2018, 09:29 AM

I haven't targeted Catfish EVER....and won't be making a habit of it. However, I had to take a friend and his grandson fishing on one of our local lakes yesterday. They just wanted bluegills/brim and we caught a few.

There were three decent sized (20 /25 inches) catfish hanging around. I had purchased some "stink bait" from WalMart in anticipation of trying to catch one of those cats. It just melted off of the hook.

I did try again this morning and got lucky. The bait stayed on long enough for one cat, but the kid and his grandparent were no longer with me.

Any suggestions on something I can buy locally? I am in Crossville, so we have nothing other than Walmart and Dunhams. I can buy something online if necessary, of course.

thanks rich

**Hyco Bass** · 06-16-2018, 11:01 AM

If legal in Tn, catch a panfish, cut into chunks, put on large hook, toss out and wait.

Works magic.

**Buccaneer** · 06-16-2018, 11:06 AM

Chicken chunks soaked in jello powder -

**Cross Plains Kid** · 06-16-2018, 01:13 PM

Get the cat food at a dollar general that has the “x’s and O’s” in it. Pick out all the X’s and feed them to your cat. Take all the O’s you have and thread them on your hook. Dip that in your stink bait and it will stay on. It will eventually get soggy and fall off but it takes a while. Don’t bother trying with Cheerios, it doesn’t work. Tight lines.

**richg99** · 06-16-2018, 01:27 PM

Just made up some chicken chunks with various Jello add-ons.
#1. Added some Vanilla & red wine to one batch.
#2. Added Chipotle Seasoning along with Garlic Pepper to another, along with Red Kool-aid.
#3. Put the Garlic Pepper to use again along with a shot of J&B scotch and some more Kool-aid.

All three batches only have a dozen or so chunks in them. We shall see if any of them work better than the falling apart Stink Bait from Walmart. They are on my very sunny porch being properly aged. Ha Ha

I love to experiment. Thanks, guys. richg99

**richg99** · 06-16-2018, 01:39 PM

Cross Plains...Darn. I just left the Dollar Store with the fixin's for home-made Jello/Garlic/Chicken baits. I'll look for the X and O catfish food, too.
This should be fun!

thanks guys. richg99

p.s. Oh, I carry a cast net on my boat for my Texas fishing. I presume using one for catching bait (bluegills etc ) is OK in TN>?

**Bass AHolic** · 06-16-2018, 03:59 PM

Back yrs ago when live in Arizona, took old nylons and cut a 2x2" square, put some canned dog food and some dry and a spurt of cat fish tube bait, then folded up and put on hook. channel cats. had a small split shot weight about a foot above hook.

**Will Seyler** · 06-16-2018, 09:00 PM

Fresh cut shad or skipjack. Hands down best bait for catfish

**Dan21XRS** · 06-17-2018, 07:35 AM

Guys in the know say Asian Carp... Dan

**n2ratfishin** · 06-17-2018, 09:24 AM

I've used nightcrawler with luck and I've also used various baits in cut up nylons like Bass A Holic describes. If you're using soft stink bait try the nylon idea on a treble hook. You'll have to cut the daggum nylon patches off the hook to reload. They are not getting the stuff off the hook. We used this when my son was young and wanted to just sit a pole on the dock. Sometimes we used it for dough balls made out of oats for carp fishing as well. If you want to see a young person have a blast let them hook up with a big ole bugle mouth LOL.

**Big John in TN** · 06-18-2018, 10:29 AM

I think a lot of the sticking to has to do with the bait holder. Get you some of the magic bait tube holders and you will probably have better luck, Walmart has them. My favorites are the purple ones. Best dip bait I have ever used is the Junnie's cat tracker bait in sewer version. Never seen it anywhere here in TN but you can get it online. Not a fan of any of the baits at Walmart.

Second best dip bait IMO would be Sonny's that comes from Iowa. Not sure what is going on with them, but I am not seeing it available on line anymore. I have seen some bait that looks just like Sonny's called Uncle Sonny's in the tackle stores around middle TN, but it's not the same. I have not tried it, so can't comment on how good it is. Might be worth a try.