YOU MIGHT TRY ADDING SOME CATTAILS (WHICH I HAVE SOME DRYING NOW)OR SOME COTTON!!OR USE SOMETING THAT YOU CAN PUT ICE IN ..OR JUST STORE IT IN A COOL PLACE..HAVE YOU EVER SEEN CHEESE PRODUCTS IN A BAG PUT IN THE HEAT ??SOMETIMES THE GREASTEST THINGS WE DO TAKES A LITTLE MORE EFFORT..YES IF YOU LEAVE DANNYS BAIT IN THE SUN OR HEAT IT WILL GET A LITTLE SOFT ...BEEN USING DANNY KING BAIT FOR 6-7 YEARS AND IS ALWAYS THE SAME..BUT THIS BAIT WILL CATCH FISH ...GOOD LUCK LARRY

Bozo, all punch baits I have ever encountered are cheese based. You can get punch baits with various additive, but all are cheese based.

Keeping it on the hook consists of two or three things.

Keeping it cool as we mentioned is number one.

I get [censored] all the time because I recommend a 1/2" dowel rod for the push stick, but I can take that big dowel rod and squeeze most of the oil out of the punch bait as I use it to roll my treble hook around the edge of the bait bucket. Thus technique is something you have to develop.

And, a binding agent. Cattails being the best I think there is on the market. Oatmeal will work in a pinch. I really don't like flour our you will turn it into a dough bait. I have heard some recommend toilet paper, but I can see some problems with using toilet paper unless you shred it very thin! I have heard some recommend drier lint. I say this might be okay so long as all the cloths you been drying are cotton, not rayon!

Like I say above....I think the secret to punch bait is being able to detect a very slight bite.

I can generally help this by trying not to get in a situation where I have to fish straight over the side. Get to where you can cast out away from the boat. The fish tend to be a bit more aggressive if you do. Make sure you are using as light a weight as you can possible get away with. Use a small treble #6 is my preferred (I know they will swallow it, but that is what I intend on doing to them anyway), and as light an action rod as you can stand to fish with.

I, like Jason almost fish punch bait exclusively. My preferred kitty is the eating sized channel, or I would likely use more shad as bait.

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Mike
www.WhiskerKitty.com

I may should revise my last post on this topic. Mike S. pointed out that I should try the mixture with the blood. I've been using the Original mixture without the blood. Maybe that's what's happening to the others that have posted with lack luster results.
Jay Gentry
Shotgunworld.com

Cattails?????????? I see this all the time, WHERE can you get'em, are they sold commerically, in West Texas we dont got no stinkin cattails!

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Thanks and Gig'em, Mark Fairchild

Good question on the cattails.

I was going to try looking a one of those stores my wife goes to that has all the dried flowers and stuff.

Micheals, Hobby Lobby, ect...

Maybe they will have some cattails in the flower section.

Mark, I found a pretty good source of cattails is your local golf course ponds. Now this means you won't likely be able to collect any before about October or November though, so you gotta plan a year ahead.

Oh that's right, I am talking about the golf course at Seymour, Tx and you don't consider that to be West Texas do you? :-D

Are they cultured enough to even know what a golf course is as far west as Lubbock?? :-)

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Mike
www.WhiskerKitty.com

LAST NIGHT I PULLED THE HEADS OFF OF ABOUT 20 NORMALLY JUST LET THEM STAY IN THE SUN FOR ABOUT 3-4 WEEKS ..CHECK THEM AND SEE IF THE FIBER PULLS OUT EASY.THEN PUT THEM IN PANTY HOSE ,AND HANG THEM IN YOUR SHED...LARRY GOODLUCK..

If everyone would use a slip weight system in calm water and set your reels to frespool with the bait clicker on you would increase the # of fish you net. Just let them have a good run and then set the hook. If they drop it just let it sit there for a few mor min and they will usally come back for it. As for the bait being gone after a few min, that is just the small chanels or more likely the pearch or sandies nibbling your bait off. I suggest that you get some rubber gloves and load cheesecloth balls with your favorite commercial bait. The small fish have a harder time getting your bait. Also 3 to 4 days before you fish that special spot go out and throw about 5 lbs of chum in cheesecloth "weighted of course" in your hole and you will be suprised in the results.

Dumb question....where can I get the cheesecloth? More dumb questions....
Could you use the little square netting that they use at weddings for the rice?
Could you use cut up old pantyhose?
thanks,
Jay Gentry
Shotgunworld.com

I only saw one indicator that flagged an alarm in my feeble brain. You said you waited 30 minutes. WHY? Jason is a smart cookie, cause he learns this stuff quick. Like he said, you put that stuff in a spot, and if it aint bit in a few minutes, put in in a different spot. In the heat of the summer, some cats will not move from the shade. Get you a slip bobber and get rid of the sponges. Get some #4 or #6 trebles and small splitshot (usually I don't use any weight when bobber fishing). Move that bait around a little. Catfish are predators, not just scavengers. They will attack a moving bait. Also, find you some shade trees in shallow water and fish beneath them. I have found that I have to cast damn near on the bank sometimes to get these cats to bite. It works. I generally take 40-50 cats a trip from Calaveras. Others there at the ramp might have three or four from a full day of fishing. That means I am doing something different, something effective, and have been for about 12 years there.

I use 20 pound test line on my baitcasters, but sometimes I go to a 10lb test on a FinNor spinning reel and 7 foot All Star rod, just to give me the ability to cast a treble full of bait, with no weight.

Oh, and when I am fishing alone, I am not sitting down waiting for a bite. I am on the front deck, working the trolling motor and flipping shad or punchbait under overhanging trees and jerking these 1-4 pound channel cats out faster than a good bass fishing day. Catfish are not sluggish creatures, at least these aren't.

[This message has been edited by Kat-man-do (edited 07-13-2002).]

SHOTGUNWORLD, you can get cheesecloth at any local feed store, walmart, BPS, hunting store, or sometimes local butcher shop. As for the lace squares for weddings, no they fall apart to easy and will break up when you cast. The old pantyhose is a good idea but I have found that NEW pantyhose works much better because there is no human smell on them already. When you are using such bait holding systems cut a square about 2", then load the sed holder and run your hook through all four corners of the cloth. If your bait is still to runny you can stiffen it up with flour, cornmeal, bread crumbs, or grain. I hope this awnsers your questions. Everyone remember that there are no dumb questions, only dumb awnsers. Good fishing and good luck.

I have to wade in on this one for just a moment. The panty hose issue has me a bit concerned.

The cheese cloth (which is available at all Wally worlds and at most major grocery stores) is made of cotton fibers.

Panty hose are made of nylon. If a fish ingests nylon I am very concerned with him being able to pass it.

So, I highly recommend y'all stick with the cheese cloth.

Just my two cents.

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Mike
www.WhiskerKitty.com

MikeC, The pantyhose will break up quickly in sun or water. It is so tough I have not seen a case where the hose has come off the hook. If you are concerned about the fish passing it if they swallow it don't be. I have seen cat's pass bottle caps and they also can pass crawfish shells, so I don't see it as being a problem for them. It has been a widely used system for many years and they even talk about using it in many fishing mag's.

a bottle cap??? yikes.

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here kitty kitty. bad kitty.
www.whiskerkitty.com
www.whiskerkitty.com

Yes!