Hi.
I "enlisted" here a few months ago and have read some valuable info for which I am truly grateful. I'm 58 and have bass fished most of my life, but have recently started branching out to crappie and catfish in the last few months since retiring, but know next to nothing about these fish. Last time I catfished was in my early teens in rice canals around Beaumont. Live in Lufkin now so Sam Rayburn is my primary fishing hole.
My grandson (8) is coming to visit in 3 weeks or so and I want to do everything I can to put him on some fish. I got some milo to sour and a bag of range cubes also. Do I mix them and sour both, sour them separately,or just sour the milo and throw the cubes out dry?
Also, is 3 weeks long enough to get good results, and how long will the stuff last before needing to start a new batch?
Read on here to find wind blowing into bank, rocky if possible, scatter the chum, anchor back off it and use punch bait under cork. He should be able to handle that easier than something more complicated like drop shotting or ripping a rattletrap thru the top of moss for bass.
Again I appeciate the info you guys have taken the time to post and maybe I can contribute something someone else can use.
Thanks, Danny

my first batch of milo has been brewing 2 weeks and I think another week or so it'll be good. they say 3 weeks- add yeast and sugar to speed up process, keep it covered in water all time.
I've never used range cubes but guys on here say get 20% protein so they will sink, use two seperately. live perch/shad best bait next to punch bait.

I don't have a boat so I bank fish- in boat u should be able to find cats on Rayburn. one guy on here says he chums about 3-4 different areas with milo/cubes then heads back and starts fishing first area for 45min or so if not biting heads to next area. might wanna take boat out and scout a few areas before grandson arrives.

It sounds to me like you have been reading the right posts! If I have soured milo I wouldnt even mess with the range cubes but others may have a different opinion. Channel cats should be spawning up on the rocks or will be soon. I would have some good punch bait and some fresh shad handy. Dont spend too much time in one spot, if u arent getting bites frequently, move down. That might help put you on some fish faster. Good luck! Take pictures and let us all know how you did.

ya post pics/results

dont mix the cubes and grain

I would use the milo if you are targeting cats. The range cubes will bring in a bunch of carp and buffalo. You might put it out in two different spots. Milo one location and range cubes in another. Try it out. If using the range cubes i would use a cottonseed meal doughball for bait on 1 or 2 hooks. It's a universal bait cats, carp, and buff will hit it. Rayburn has a huge population of big buffalos. Could be alot of fun to the TFF

Don't stay in a hole too long-if nothing bites in 20 minutes move to one of the other holes you previoulsy baited-til you find the fish

Thanks for the tips, guys. Got a trap and the pond has lots of perch. I have managed to catch a few shad recently with the cast net but haven't found a good supply/spot yet to load up on them. What I have caught has done fairly well on drifting the noodles I made up a couple of weeks ago, after I found out the cats were not in the deeper water. I started drifting them over river/creek banks and the flats next to them. Couldn't catch a fish deeper than 10 ft. and most came from 7 or less. I always thought cats were bottom feeders in deeper water. Blew my mind when I found out you could catch them on a floating noodle with only 4 or 5 ft. of line on it!
I have caught from 1 to 12 fish on a drift of 24-30 noodles using shad and dead minnows, from just legal to about 4 lbs.
Approx. 60% blues and 40% channels.

Grandson is really excited. He told me he gets out of school on the 28th at 3:30 and could I pick him up then at school in Bridge City and bring him up here! Doesn't even want to go home first!

Got a couple of bottles of Dead Red spray yesterday, and have some CC blood and cheese dip baits. Gonna try and pic up some TC baits before then too. Everybody on here says they are great. Was gonna order some but the shipping is pretty steep. Going to see in-laws on Tawakoni this weekend and check the dealer in Quitman for some.
I will definitely try to find some fish before grandson comes. I have been going 1 or 2 times a week lately, mostly by myself. (If anyone is in the Lufkin/Angelina river area and wants to go I would like the company.) I haven't noticed many posts about Rayburn on here though.

OK. I got some yeast and sugar. Is a pound of yeast and 5 pounds of sugar for a 5 gal. bucket enough, or do I need to add more?


Seriously, is 1 packet and a cup enough? My wife, Five Horses, gave me a packet and some sugar but I want to do it right.

(Her name has a tribal significance. Translates to Nag,nag,nag,nag,nag.)

should be- I put 6 packets and 1 lb sugar on 100 lbs of milo in 50 gallon trash can

your not makin moonshine, put it in the sun and it will ferment in this 95 degree heat. add a little yeast if you want and dont worry about it.

I own a feed store and used to sell a really good catfisherman hen scratch that he would put out right out of the sack. He did that one afternoon by pouring out 5 lbs. per site and then went back to the first one and started fishing. He never moved from the first one. He brought in 3 spackling buckets, that are about 7 gallon size, the next morning full of catfish remains.
I also would think scratch would sour faster what with the corn chops and wheat that are in it.
We didn't use either this past Monday morning in the calm wind on RC and caught almost our 3 limits by 11 o'clock just on frozen shad.

Thanks for the post on hen scratch. I bought some a few weeks ago, as the store didn't carry milo...had to be special ordered. It's good and nasty now, but I've been wondering if it will work as well as the milo. I'm going to try it this weekend.