Favorite channel catfish bait

[jayhawkcop]

I use uncooked shrimp (grey ones) pop the head shell off and run the hook through the middle from head to tail area, then expose the point of the hook through the shell, drift or still fished this bait will hammer channels everywhere I have ever fished, I think it mimicks and smells like softshell crawdads to them, always a favorite of channel cats. and easier to come by in some areas than crawfish. it is a summer/fall bait in my area, and very popular cause cats from fiddlers to the big boys will hammer them with gleefull abandon. Some guys dress them up with garlic salt and/or other additives, I have always just let the shellfish smell do the job, try it different ways yourself.

How would you rig this? Suspended or off the bottom? What kind of hook do you guys use with shrimp?

[PaCatfishHunter]

Most time I use cut bait (Bluegill) but I also use shrimp a lot and dip bait.

[ryano]

Livers for Quanity...cut gill for Quality !!!

[Huck Finn]

skipjack followed by night crawlers and grasshoppers

[loop]

Cut bait and large chubs for larger dip bait for filling the freezer with eater size.
Loop

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[GeorgeLand]

I'm new cat fisherman.
I found this bait recipe on the site below.
Just interesting if it works.

1. Mix up a glob of peanut butter with garlic paste and onion powder. Add flour until the mixture is thick enough to roll into balls. Stick these balls on your hooks.
2. Buy some mincemeat or spam. Freeze it. Add some honey to the mince meat. Mix well. Then add flour till the mixture can be rolled into balls. Take some cotton balls and pull them apart. Mix the cotton ball fiber to the mincemeat flour. Refrigerate it for ten or more hours. Roll up the mixture into balls and stick your hooks into it.
3. Fill up some mincemeat in fresh shad gut and tie it up to make miniature hot dog. Stick this concoction on your hook.
4. Buy some really smelly cheese: Limburger will do just fine; And melt it in a pot. Add oatmeal and flour till the mixture thickens. Let it cool. Roll it in balls and stick them on your hooks.
5. Cut up chicken liver into bite sized chunks. Tie each chunk in a cloth mesh. Bait your line with these balls.
6. Mix up peanut butter with animal blood and flour. Add this mixture to melted cheese in a pot. Take the pot off the stove and let it cool. Roll the mixture into balls and use as bait.
7. Try squid or other seafood as bait. Many fishing enthusiasts reckon that this gets them a lot of bite.
8. Try rotting fish or meat baits. The smell will likely get the cats’ attention.
9. Try peanut butter and jelly sandwich for bait. The fish love it just as much as your kid.
10. Mix cornmeal, cornflakes, and chicken liver. Blend it to a paste. Use the paste as a dip for sponge baits.

I have found this recipe here:
The Best Kind of Bait for Catfishing

[richard dunbar]

How come clams arent on the survey. I caught my largest channel on a thumbnail size fresh water clam in CA. Ive tried herring, smelt, anchovies, squid, mullet, and have never had as much success as ive had with clams. Oh and by the way, they're free all you gotta do is dig em up. Most bodies of water in the U.S. have some sort of freshwater clam in them. All it takes is gettin in knee deep water and diggin down anywhere from an inch to 12 inches and in 15 min or so you have enough for the whole day. Give er a try sometime. You just might be suprized. :>

[Philippe]

I only fish for channels right now, lately its been Sonnys Blood dip bait, sometimes i take a half a jar of garlic powder and mix it in there as well, produces really well, gotta add a tad bit of water to thin it back out though.

[bluewaterfisher]

In Ontario we have a lot of bait restrictions, so its cut sucker and chubs for me. I'v had good luck with shrimp too, but I'd rather have free bait so I tend to shy away from them.

[muddymo]

One of my favorites are frogs. I caught a 3lb channel. this spring with two whole frogs in its stomach.