Answers

What Is The Best Bait For Channel Cats (Catfish)?

To answer the question, there are many good baits for catfish. Let’s be honest the channel catfish is not a finicky eater. They have been known to bite on everything from hot dogs to ivory soap. I know people that will swear shrimp sprayed with WD-40 is the way to go. Trying to identify the best bait for channel cats is difficult and will be different depending on your local, time of day, season or personal preference. Every one of these below has worked for me and every one has left me without a fish. I will list them here in the order I prefer and some of that has to do with ease of use.

CUT BAITS

Cut baits cover a wide variety of fish baits. The most common ones are: shad, bluegill, anchovy, sardines, mackerel and minnows. Make sure it is legal to use them in your area. I know that bluegill is not legal in some states but is ok in others. I cut them into chunks depending on the size of the bait. I believe cut baits to be the best bait for channel cats and all other types of catfish.

SHRIMP

You can purchase shrimp at your local grocery either with or without shell. I leave the shell on but most remove it. Depending on the size of the shrimp and the size of the bait you want you can use them whole or cut them in half. Many also soak them vanilla extract to enhance their appeal. I am particularly found of the cut baits and shrimp because they stay on your hook and can be fished in fast currents when necessary.

CHICKEN LIVERS

These can also be purchased at you local grocery store and are a very good bait. I do suggest you take an old nylon stocking and cut it into small squares. You can use these squares to wrap around the chicken liver and attach it to the hook. They will stay on the hook much better. Fish on the bottom and check your bait every 20-30 minutes. If all the blood is gone replace the bait.

WORMS

Night crawlers, garden worms and Catawba worms are all included here. These are the old standby and will catch catfish but are best used where they are likely to find them. Places where creeks and drainage ditches feed into the lake or river seem to be best.

PREPARED BAITS

These can and have been made out of just about everything you can think of. I have tried many different kinds and have had some success with power baits. I am sure others do but I prefer the more natural baits. I think they are the best bait for channel cats and occasionally you will catch their larger brothers, the flathead and the blue catfish.

What Fishing Line To Use For Catfish

Catfish aren’t line-shy, so matching your line to the size fish you’re going after is easy. For this book the channel catfish is our target.  Most are in the 2 to 10lb. range but the world record is 58lbs. High-strength, small-diameter monofilament rated 10- to 20-pound test is a good inexpensive choice for all-round use and is my recommendation for the beginner.

Braided lines have a much smaller diameter for the same test weight and do not stretch like the monofilament line when the fish takes the bait. Because they are thinner they also allow longer casts which makes them ideal for fishing from the bank. Braids can be purchased in 8 to 250 pound test. Most anglers that want the big fish will use braided line but I do not recommend it for the beginner. The braided line works best with a bait casting reel and is much more expensive.

What Size Hook For the Beginning Catfish Angler

What size hook you should use depends basically on what size fish you want to catch.   The size breakdown from smallest to largest looks like this:

 32, 30, 28, 26, 24, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 11, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1, 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 4/0, 5/0, 6/0, 7/0, 8/0, 9/0, 10/0, 11/0, 12/0, 13/0, 14/0, 15/0, 16/0, 17/0, 18/0, and 19/0

 All of these hooks come in a short, regular, or long shank version. The shank of the hook is the part between the eye of the hook and the bend. In general, when you are going after small cats, use a small hook.  When you want to catch the big boys, go for a bigger hook.

I haven’t really told you what to use yet. There are so many choices as those above are just the sizes. There are also several different types depending on the bait you use, the water conditions and the setup of your rig.

If you are just starting catfish fishing I would suggest a number 2 to 1/0 bait holder. They are good for the smaller catfish and can still catch the big ones. This gives you much more opportunity than the larger hooks. Once you have become a better angler you can move up in size.

Also after you get used to using a regular hook, you can go fancy with a treble hook (three pronged hook) or a circle hook.  These are popular ways of catching cats, and they make it easier to put the bait on there.  Circle hooks are good for catching big cats, because they’re bigger and heavier.