i know there are punch and dough baits for catfish and after research i have found dough bait recipes for crappie and bluegill. the bluegill bait recipes i have seen are more or less bread dough and the crappie ones seem to be simular but with worms or minnows added to it. i was wondering if anybody has used catfish bait for crappie or bluegill and maybe added anything to it to make it work better?

Nibbles
Just kidding!

I don't think I've ever caught a crappie on anything other than minnows, shad or a jig.

i tip my jigs and tiny spoons with them sometimes- red flake jig with red flake nibble, or silver spoon with gold flake nibble. Perch love them, sometimes i'll put them on a tiny hook and catch a bunch of perch for bait.

I have never caught crappie with just nibbles or any sort of dough bait.

I have caught bluegill using just nibbles.

I have used nibbles in conjunction with a jig to catch crappie but never by nibble by itself.

I never used homemade dough on them .....but....
I have used some stuff called "LURE FLAVOR" ....
KABOOM

In the past I have bought Baitmate, Berkley Powerbait, Berkley Gulp Alive and Kick'n Crappie. None of them worked on a consistent basis.

If the crappie were biting then you caught crappie when you used them. If the crappie were not biting they did not entice the crappie to bit. Just my experience with commercial attractants.

My wife likes and believes in Nibbles, so I buy Nibbles. They do work for bluegill but I believe bluegill will hit anything if you have it moving in the water. I've caught them with bare hooks before.

Still looking for the bite with "LURE FLAVOR" ..... But I am getting bites with out the "LURE FLAVOR"
BAM BAM LOL.
For crappie I think just a good jig Hand tied or plastic just works
Oh and a minnow works to at times.

I think if you ever consider fishing a crappie tournament You better leave the crappie dough bait at home.

I Google'd for these recipes.




I can imagine what my wife would say if she caught me doing Step 1 and it would not be pretty.

I would not only be doing my work in the garage, I would probably be sleeping in the garage for awhile.

I totally agree! The only advantage I think is they mite make the crappie hold on a tad bit longer giving a little more time to get a hookset. I have some but they have never been opened

I had found that recipe but I used sardines. the wife said I could use her old food processor since I bought her a new one at christmas. the problem is getting the hold together of it just right to stay on a hook. punch and dough bait makers have worked years to get their texture right. I also made a batch of lye soap with sardines and cheddar in it. I had some lye leftover from a project. the little lake (sleepy hollow lake) that we are stay for spring is more bass, crappie and bluegill but we plan a couple trips over to Livingston with the big boat to try for catfish. we are going to give the catfish punch bait a try either way but wasn't sure if we had a chance with it. the boy and I got some crappie jigs last year and I could see putting a little on them to give them a little scent.

thanks for the advice.

a friend of the family said he uses cottonseed cake to attract the fish. he gets it a local feed store by his house. I picked up a cake and plan to give it a try. he said he cuts of a pieces and hangs it over the side of the boat. research shows that some put it on a hook and some chum with it. research also showed it is a way that is fading away since it is getting harder to find. any thoughts on its best use?

Here is an article on making dough balls that will stay on hook by nuking them.

http://www.louisianasportsman.com/stories/las_mag_681.htm

I've heard of using cottonseed cake to attract carp and catfish, but never for crappie. But that does not mean it would not work.

just buy a bottle of crappie nibbles if you want a "dough type" of hook tipper ....
its way easier and they stay on the hook very well
and to be sure I have done very well with crappie nibbles in the past
in some cases beside folks that didn't and weren't ....
scent helps in turbid waters ...there is no doubt in my mind about that

If you want to tip your jig with something for an advantage, use wax worms. Not too many people talk about it, but I have found that crappie love a jig tipped with a wax worm or 2, and in the winter time, just the wax worm on a single size 6 or 8 hook is quite effective on them. Only problem I find is that bluegill love them too!