Best bait for blue catfish

Hi Rodney! Welcome to the BOC! I'm not sure what type of baitfish swim the waters of Georgia. I can be sure though fresh cut-bait is the way to go. If you have access to shad, herring, alewifes, carp, suckers.etc., definently give those a try. A nice chunk or strip of fresh cut-bait should do the trick on the BLUES. Good Luck!

:0a26::0a18:
Mark

 

Rodney welcome to the BOC you could go to a fish house and get some good innards and such from where they cleaned fish recently that is supposed to be good of course all areas have different luck but a cat is a cat and blood bait is good

 

Blues definitely like fresh cutbait. I like to use bream. I just take a pole, some hooks, and some worms and go to a creek or pond and catch some bream to use for cutbait. You won't catch as many fish with cutbait, but the average size will be larger.

 

If I am not mistaken when I lived in Ga. it wasn't legal to use bream, has that changed and if so they make great cat bait. I always fillet one side but leave it on the fish and hook the bream near the head. If it isn't legal to use bream large shiners, skip jack, I have even used mullet fillets and had good success.

 

I fillet any of my bait, whether it is shad, bream, skip jack, gold fish down one side starting from the tail all the way to the head. I cut the dorsal fin and tail fin off and hook the fish from inside the fillet side with the bone and exit the side that is not filleted. This is how I fish for blues. For Flats, I hook the live bait behind the head just below the front of the dorsal fin.

 

I'd have to go with a good fresh cutbait also. They are going to start stuffing themselves with winter killed baitfish.

 

welcome to the BOC (SHAD in the winter ! )

 

Ive been using Blueback herring. I do like bream/gills but they are a pain to find this time of year where I fish. I think Ive seen 1 gill since last year, lol.

-Jim-

 

welcome to boc:big_smile:

 

Fresh Skipjacks, Shad, and Asian Carp in the summer, with The Skips being my go to bait.

 

Cut bait. Especially bream.

 

Of all the baits that I sometimes use.......cut skipjacks....shad.....bluegils....or livers..... I have caught more and larger Blues on fresh cut Bluegil "HEADS". :crazy:

 

I caught an 11 pounder yesterday on fresh cut freshwater drum (also known as gaspergoo) just stick to cut bait and you'll get them

 

skippies or shad for me now and definitley skippies in the summer

 

Like folks have said, skips or shad, but on some days they seem to bite "gutpockets" best and some days "fillets" and on other days its hard to beat a big "head"! Different presentations of the bait sometimes are the ticket to getting a bite! Big bait or small chunks, I try to use different presentations on different rods to find out what interests the fish that given day!:wink: Some days, NOTHING gets the fish to bite!

 

Hi Rodney, I just joined the BOC yesterday and I am really pleased with the responce I have gotten to my questions. Now about yours, I live in Abilene Texas and right now the blues have started running. My fishing partner and I use trotlines and have caught over 100 lbs in the last week alone. We use live perch or bream. The bigger the better. I put some on last night as big as my hand and took a 21 and 12 pounder off this morning. I hope this helps. Good Luck

 

a big slimy chunk of bleeding shad

 

i would use whatever is local to where you are fishing. here it is shad and i use them whole or in chunks depending on size. cut gills and crappie are good too.