Yes, this is true, i dont know how. I was fishing throwing a spinner bait on saturday and caught a couple channel cats. I want to take my girlfriends little brother. Naturally, i wanna go for the big mama, the big kauna..ya know what i mean? Of course, i can put a couple sinkers on a line tie a hook and put a piece of hot dog or something simple on it and catch a couple but what about the ones that are a little more picky. A friend told me sometimes catfish can be very picky. I went to wal mart and picked up some Gulp livers and a package of "liver power bait"...went out sunday and got one bite. WHERE and WHAT is the goodstuff...? is anyone willing to help me and point me in the direction of some good bait that will catch the mama and grandaddy catfish??


Thank fellas

I've caught on everything from crank baits to live minnows. I've always had my best luck on shrimp though. But like you I've never really never landed the "big ones". Mostly 2-3 lb'ers with an occasional bigger one. Which those are fine but I agree it would be nice to grab a monster every once in a while.

Fresh live and cut shad are your best bets. You can use live and cut perch as well. That's for the bigger fish. If you are going for more quantity get a good punch bait.
That's my best advice.

Well my first ? for you is where are you fishing and what kind of catfish do you want to catch?

Use fresh shad the bigger the better. 4" shad or larger is what I like but sometimes you use what you can find. If I catch some big shad I usually cut em up into chunks, half em, or filet a side. I try to use a big piece of bait to catch the bigger fish. Although I have caught some good size blues on a small hooker (2" shad) sized shad.

Pieces of carp will work sometimes but I usually do what I can to catch some shad.

If your fishin your two local lakes Lewisville and grapevine. Cut shad will getcha channels and blues. Sureshot, CJ's punchbait etc. will getcha mostly channelcat.

Shad shad shad. Ha get it?

Fresh cut live bait is the very best for catching blue cat. Blue cat is what u want to target since u said u want the mommas and the papas of all the dish as they can get north of a hundred pounds. Leave the prepaired baits on the shelf if u want a chance at a trophy size fish though
Shad is the premier bait of choice. Fresh shad must be fought using a throw net generally. Then much expensive equipment is needed to keep them alive till time to cut one and use him for bait. If this is news to u then its probably depressing news because its a lot to acquire and learn at first. You can use frozen shad, as some do and have decent success with them but sewage is by far better. Cut perch work fairly good but if your gonna buy bait so u can Jane fresh cut bait when u get out there then I suggest Black Salties. They will stay alive in most anything and out live any other store bought bait you can use for cut bait. Minimal effort and equipment is needed when using them.
Now for where to use them to catch your fish.
Go to the back of the lake and fish in 3 to 2 foot of water around the banks and at the edge of the dead trees if you have any in the lake your fishing. The blues are shallow right now and if your in a clear lake they will probably go to structure like the dead trees during the clear sunny says. Structure is always a good spot to try when looking for them. Spend about twenty minutes in each spot and if you haven't had any boars your boat by then, then move. Stay shallow at around 2 to 3 foot though and you'll find them. Wish you well and good fishing.

I don't know how to catch em either! But then again, I only use stew meat. If you wanna catch them, fresh cut shad is the way to go. If you can't find shad, punch bait or chicken livers will usually get you some channels.

However, all the bait in the world won't catch you a fish if they aren't there. The hardest part is finding them. If you're banking you need to move around if they aren't biting. Sometimes 100 yards is all it takes. Look for submerged brush, flooded grasses, etc. Wind in your face if possible. That's the advice I get from the guys who actually do catch fish.

And lastly, if you're looking for that monster trophy fish, just be patient. You might have to wait til it gets cold again and book a guided trip with Bobby Kubin on Lewisville or Gary or Tex on Twok. They'll put you on the trophies for sure.

Almost forgot....leave that Wal mart mess alone. It's a waste of money. Go to academy and get you some CJ's punch bait on a #6 treble or get yourself a gallon of Sureshot. If the fish are there you will catch them with these.

Check out learntocatcatfish.com, I still read it, I'll catch mysel reading on it
for hours. Packed with info. Also In-fisherman.com, those guys know their stuff. Good luck!

I'm awestruck! Why would someone give advice when they don't know how to do it themselves. Weird.

if you are referring to me, it was mostly a joke. I know how to catch fish, I just get skunked a lot cause i like to go against the grain and fish places where there shouldnt be any fish cuz I'm weird like that.

No matter how experienced you get, you can never stop trying to learn. There's always somethin new to learn about fish patterns