I have been running a trot line on Lake Austin occasionally just to see what kind of cats frequent the lake. I have heard stories of the cooks at ski shores pulling 50+lbers out of there over the years. I have tried blood bait, worms, and shrimp with no luck. A guy told me he used hot dogs and after baiting it one night with hot dogs I had a small cat the next morning. Has anyone ever heard of using hot dogs?

What else should I try?

I don't have a cast net to net shad- I don't even know how many shad Lake Austin holds.

we use hot dogs when we can't get shad- we have had the best luck with the mixed meat kind- the redder the better

I use hot dogs a lot with fair results , I add garlick salt and veggie oil to it and let it soak over night.

I have used hot dogs before with mixed results. Sometimes have done well sometimes not. I do recall using them and not catching a thing on them. As I rebaited with cut perch i threw the hot dogs back into the water. When I ran the line again I had 7-8 cats that bit the perch. When I cleaned them they all had the hot dogs in them that I had thrown into the water while rebaiting with perch.

They will eat them, they are cheap and east to bait with. I am still not sure they will ever be my go to bait but if it is all you have they will do in a bind.

Mudshark

During the summer, I had good luck on hot dog weiners. I added garlic and veg oil like leonriver does.

I think they are an excellent hook and line bait but not much of a trot line or jug bait. Reason being they seem to be only effective for about 20-30 minutes until the oils all come out of them, even when soaked.

I kept a few bull heads in a tank for a while and even they had little use for a dog after about 15 minutes in the water. When fresh they would attack them though,

I use them on jug lines,and do right well with them.If I cannot find shad weiners are it.My hot dog has a first name....never mind to darn old to remember the rest but I bet my 8 grandkids can.. lol.

Now, besides the veg oil and garlic, add red food color to the weiners and let them soak all night in the mixture. This is basically the same mixture I use for beefhearts, which I prefer. I usually add a full bottle of the red food color for around a gallon of bait.

I know I will get some flak over this but, Salami! I have caught more fish on trotlines with cheap salami lunchmeat. Please try it and let me know.

tomnt, I do not doubt you any whatsoever. Do you soak the in oil or anything first?

My experience with hot dogs is reflected by the above comments.

I have soaked my hot dogs in kool aid mixture / garlic powder overnight. They worked great.

However I used plain hot dogs another time - didnt catch a thing - I rebaited with fresh shad/bream and then I caught fish.

My take away from this experience is they are great when you are in a bind on bait. You will only know the results when you go to run the lines. But I place more confidence in fresh shad / bream.

Cane, I agree. Heck, if you carry a pack of weiners and don't need them for bait, heat the up over a lighter and eat them for lunch.