We have been given permission to chum our boat slip at the marina we keep our boat at on lake Travis.. with one exception.. we are not allowed to use anything that will make the place smell like..well catfish chum! The people who own the place are really anal, and I am surprised they even agreed in the first place. The only stuff I have used in the past didn't fall into this catagory very well so I am looking for some new ideas. The water is about 30ft where our slip is.. any suggestions are much appreciated!

Range cubes...

Range Cubes?? Which type?

20% protein or higher

i betcha rehydrated deer corn would work ... all you need is for it to sink ... just boil it for about 30 minutes & let sit in water for a few hours & use it before it gets stinky

Use 20% range cubes or cattle cubes. You can get them at just about any feed store or Tractor Supply. Just keep them dry and they won't stink. If they get wet in a sealed bucket the smell can be worse than just about any soured grain you can brew up.

Range cubes are the way to go.

You could use a weighted 5 gal paint bucket with holes drilled all around and on the bottom and top large enough so that the dissolved range cubes can saturate the area, and attract the baitfish, and catfish.

Keep it tied to the stall with a lenth of rope, and refill it ever so often over the water, as to not get the soured range cubes on the stall deck, and you should be okay!

You can also use horse & mule sweet feed.

Ole Roy Dinner Rounds, more expensive than range cubes but available at any Walmart so perhaps you'll make up for added cost by using less gas. Did a test with my aquarium fish a few weeks back, out of range cubes, several types of dog / cat food, that was their favorite. It is also malleable to the point that you can put a hook through it.

The soured milo only stinks with the lid off the bucket. Can't smell it once it is in the water. Just keep the lid on tight. If the bucket dumps, take off running and say you didn't do it.

Joe

About 15 years ago we use to put out fish blocks around the shore of our campground to bring in fish for our bank fishers. They were about 10 inches square and were sold by or made by East Texas Feed I just can't recall. They would sink with no weights and would last about a week. Check with a feed store to see if they can get them.
If not just put the owners in a burlap bag and throw them in then you can use anything you want.

Nice... Good idea, but they stink so bad that I think they would scare even catfish away.

Range blocks here I come..

i use calf manna at my slip and range cubes in a homemade feeder works pretty good and the cats i catch have a red mouth from the calf manna lol..the calf manna is 25$ for a 50lb bag

We use creep feed at ours,,,its the same thing as range cubes just smaller,we use the 3/8 size,keep it in a water tight bucket,works great!

try cotton seed block from a feed store 25lb block about 5$ last 48hrs and attracts everything..goodluck

Thanks for all the good info guys!! If this all works out some of you in the austin area may have to come sample the results!!

How long should it take for the block to start dissolving enough to bring in the fish?

Did you find the fish blocks?
The blocks we use to get were made to feed the fish. They could feed off them right after we put them in. The best fishing was within 15 feet of the blocks. We use to wait about a hour after putting in a new block.

I haven't been able to find the actual fish blocks around here. I guess I am going to go with a combination of range blocks and maybe a hog head from one of our hunts tied to a brick. Then I won't tell my buddies that the head is down there and as well as working as chum it will provide lots of entertainment if someone snags it and reels it in!!

Cottonseed cake, fish blocks, range cubes should all begin to dissolve within 5-10 minutes and start attracting fish as soon as they smell it or follow the baitfish to the feed. The above is also a great attractant for baiting crappie holes since it draws minnows in by the hoards!!

Good luck...