I am thinking about trying to bait a couple holes this weekend for some cats and I need some chum advice. I know the top chum is sour corn and I am going to hit a feedstore sometime this weekend, but I didn't really see any within Dallas and I am pretty tired after work so I figured I would just make it a weekend chore.

My question for yall is whether there is anything at academy or bass pro that could work? I know people offshore use menhaden oil and some freshwater fisherman use range cubes but if im going to a feed store I would rather just buy some grain. Have any of yall had luck castnetting a bunch of bait and crushing it up and maybe adding some water? This is gonna be my second trip to the lake so any pointers are appreciated, going to try ray hubbard. My current thinking is I am going to bait a couple coves that had sunken trees and looked fishy while I chase after some hybrids and sandies for an hour or so and then go back and use some dip bait.

Should be able to get Range Cubes from Tractor Supplies if one of those are close. Those will be your quickest and easiest.

I have caught plenty of channel cats on corn while chumming it for buffs and carp. You can use it for chum and bait if you like. This of course wont be great for blues. However if you do chance into a carp or buff while fishing the corn for the channels... you just made good blue cat bait! Circle of life and all. In my experience you could do worse than using sweet canned corn. Also helps that its cheap and easy to find.

Also heard of guys using cheap dry dog food? Don't know the details on that though... never done it. Just heard it.

Don’t over chum your holes the day of fishing or the fish will be full when you go back to fish. You will catch 10x as many fish if you chum a day or 2 before and then chunk out a coffee can full to ring the dinner bell when you roll up to fish. It takes several weeks to sour grain or milo this time of year and cattle cubes work good like Trent said.

On a time line, don't over think it... just go buy the 20% range cubes. $10-$12 for a 50 lb. bag. Work great. Just dump them in. Can put them in a burlap or fine mesh bag to slow down the spread - dissolve rate if needed due to current.

Soured grain takes time... unless you know someone that works at a local distillery or brewery... They might let you have some of the spent mash. I have access to several grains, and while corn works great, larger size takes longer to sour. I like wheat and milo also. But a couple of beers in a 5 gallon bucket with water. Can also add some yeast if you want. Put in the sun. But this takes several days to sour well.

Range cubes are so much easier... about every feed store has them.

Good luck!

Ken

If you ever decide to go the sour grain route and do it in 5gal buckets, leave the lids loosely fitted. You clamp the lids down they will blow the tops and you will have soured grain all over the place and hopefully you dont have neighbors nearby

You can spend the time and effort souring maize and corn if that is what you want to do. Both are nasty, get all over your boat, and most of the time in the summer, attract dinks. Not to mention they really don’t digest corn. Or, you could get better results and a much cleaner process by using range cubes. I haven’t chummed with sour grain in the summer for years. Every now and then I will throw out a small amount in winter time. More often I will throw cubes.

DON'T DO WHAT I DID !!!!!!!!

Bought two bags of range cubes with the idea of going fishing soon. So I just stacked them on the front deck of the boat. Then something came up, and I couldn't go to the lake.

Couple weeks later, I walk by and see that the bags were broken into. RATS. And they didn't stop there. They chewed through EVERY WIRE IN THE BOAT. I'm still outta the water.

This was in a 18' Charger Bass Boat parked in my enclosed shop.

Thanks for all the advice this is great, I will let y'all know how it goes!

Made it out for a couple hours on Saturday between the rain. I managed to catch one catfish and missed another, but hey it was a fish! Growing up in Corpus I always thought of myself as a great fisherman and that is being put to the test, new water is tough! Thanks for the advice y'all, good luck.

dumb question, what are range cubes?

also, we used to throw a couple of cans of dog food in with a few holes in in it (never really killed them, but caught a few)

besides sweet corn are there other canned things that might work?

new to the forum so thanks for any tips

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/search/20%25%20cattle%20cubes?

Good Luck,
Bozz

To help speed the chum process with range cubes, get some of the spray scent from WalMart; most any type works as they usually smell like anise. Spray your cubes before you dump them. If there are cats in the area, they will be there in short order. No need to wait till the next day.
Channel cat come to the cubes better than blues. If you want bigger blues, 3-5 lbs, follow El Gato's advice.

My buddy swears by cheap fish flavored cat food. He cuts open the can, uses a big wooden spoon to chuck out dollops of stinky cat food. I have never been skunked when fishing with him. Next time I go I am going kitty fihsing I am going to get some cat food for chum.