I tried wieners one time for catfish bait and didn't have any luck. But recently I saw a video where a guy was using a special tool to thread a wiener onto his leader and pull it down over his hook, he used a whole wiener. He happened to mention that the wiener had been laying un-refrigerated for a few days before he used it, i.e. let it get ripe and stink. It had never occurred to me I needed to do that. So, wanted to ask if any of you guys use ripened wieners for catfish bait, and if you use a whole wiener, or cut off pieces of it? Secondly, what about shrimp for bait? Is it a good bait? It's been a long time since I've fished for cats, but I want to get back to it and could use a few tips.

There are so many baits that so work well when they are the freshest, that I'm kind of skeptical of letting stuff rot. I mean, fresh shad, or old shad? Fresh chicken breast, or let it stink up? I don't think anyone would suggest not using either those fresh.

I don't know. I think some of these things people do are because they know catfish hunt by scent, but our noses are not the same as theirs. Some people think it has to smell bad to humans to be attractive to them. But whatever works, I guess. Not bashing a bait that someone has good luck on, I'm just skeptical.

Hey Fishbonz, appreciate the information, especially about kind of wiener. Did you use a whole dog on the hook or chunks? Secondly, what has been your experience with shrimp?