Hey Gurus,

I'm a newbie to catfishing and I tried fresh chicken livers last time out with my kids. Holy Carp, what a mess. Color me a wimp, but there's gotta be a cleaner way, especially for an 8 and 10 y/o. My kids were coated in chicken blood and bugs by the end of the day...lol.

I was wondering if you guys use any of the "processed" chicken livers like Rusty\'s for instance.

Also wondering if anyone knows where to find earthworm bites (wrapped chunk style)? I caught some dinks using real earthworms and about tore 'em up setting the hook, so I'm thinking bigger bait.

Sometimes it seems liver is best. However we use the medium sized raw shrimp that are relatively cheap like 3.88 at walmart. Thread it on a 2/0 circle or kahle hook as if it were a plastic grub. If you are from shore, try a slip bobber with a lot of line let out. This will also catch large panfish and drum. Sometimes we go with the 1.88 small cooked shrimp since its a great panfish bait too.

I bought a bunch of that liver stuff on clearance and it didn't seem to work so well. Too old? Dunnoh.

Yes, or learn to use punch bait, get a gallon of it, and tear them up consistantly with it. It lasts forever.

Or, Shrimp dipped in a good dip bait is killer.

There are tons of the stuff out there that are excellent. Danny Kings, SureShot, Sonny's, etc. etc.

I know I will get a swarming on my head for bad mouthing chicken livers, but I personally don't believe chicken livers in any form can outfish punch bait.

I have never used any of the preserved baits like livers or shad but several have said that they smell like formaldahide. I cannot imagine that is something the fish would be drawn to.

Fishing with livers is very messy. Do as Mike said try some punch bait or even shrimp or frozen shad if you cannot catch your own.

Shad are pretty messy too though everything ends up covered in shad scales.

Thanks for the info. I'll order a gallon of the punch bait instead. How about the soap i see at Redneck's?

Okay, you can get the punch bait, but I don't want you coming back on here telling us how your kids had so much fun taking their punch sticks and flicking punch bait on everyone all day long.

I'm going to go out on a limb and tell you the soap will likely work best for jugliners....Not such a hot R&R bait, even though I have caught fish on it with a R&R. And, it actually smells good. You might want to order a bar and use it to wash the punch bait odor off you and your kids hands at the end of the day.

Danny Kings punch bait is awesome stuff man!!! I've never tried the sure shot or Sonny's, but when I run of of DK's I may try some. I've heard great stuff about Redneck's Bait Soap, but I don't think it's really meant for rod/reel. It's more for jug lines and trotlines, but several have used it on a rod/reel. I've used the DK's punch bait on Pines and Martin with great success. We normally use a #4 treble hook and either setup a carolina rig or more less a drop shot setup. Either will work great. No need for sponges or anything else.