hey all!

finally going to be able to go fishing again after a month long hiatus... still havent gotten my hands on a cat yet. Last time i used cut bait (frozen buffalo) and i was reccomended to use shad. I dont have a cast net (though i plan on getting one) nor do i have much experience finding shad off the shore. I do ,however, have a good bit of experience in minnow traps and catching bluegill. I was wondering if the two would make good bait for eating sized channels/blues... also, are the catfish going a little deeper with the ongoing bipolar weather at lewisville?

appreciate the advice!

Stubby and I caught about 80 eater channel cat on Stubby’s Cheesebait. No cast net needed

Small bluegill and minnows are fantastic bait for channels and eater blues, cut bluegill works great too and bigger bluegill are great for big blues and flatheads. When the fish are on the rocks like they are now, I love to use small live baits and cut bluegill, I have great luck and catch a lot of fish, just nose hook them with a small octopus hook. It’s personal preference, but I’d much rather use minnows and bluegill than prepared baits.

" I was wondering if the two would make good bait for eating sized channels/blue"

yes a replacement but usually won't work as well as shad. Blue cat make their living on shad. Here again just a personal opinion from a few limited years experience.

Right now, I love using small live bluegill. Large minnows are ok, but not as good as bluegill. I've had a lot of folks tell me they've caught big fish on black salties. But, I have yet to even have a fish take a swipe at one yet, and I've tried them a lot. They're extremely hard to kill and seem to be almost just like a small carp.