[Bill in SC]

In the old days, I would always hear the oldtimers speaking of using grubworms and crawfish for catfish bait. I have used both, and had very limited success with grubworms. In fact, I can't remember ever catching too many with grubworms. I have had much better success with crawfish, but not having a crawfish trap, it was always quite an effort to wade the ditches with a net scooping them up. I have found that stink bait and nightcrawlers run about neck and neck with productivity, and thus prefer nightcrawlers over stink bait because stink bait is so nasty. Generally being a flathead fisherman, I mostly used live and cut bluegills, but certain times of the year when the flatheads are not feeding and the blues are downstream, the above mentioned alternatives must be considered for channels. My question is, when not fishing for flatheads, what are you folks preferred bait? I know I probably ask a lot of crazy, mostly common sense questions, but I am always curious to hear other's opinions. Plus I figure my questions may help some of the newbies on the forum who've never fished much get a handle on what is the best thing to do.
Bill in SC

 

[Threadkilla]

I pretty much stick with shrimp and cut bait. If I am fortunate, I will leave the landing with white perch, gizzard and threadfin shad.

However, I always carry shrimp with me just in case I get skunked trying to catch bait.

 

[RiverratSC]

I haven't had any luck with grubs or crawfish either but I'm looking for big fish so I don't use either of them often.

 

[Bill in SC]

Yeah, I heard that. Sometimes the bigguns ain't feeding though, and alternative baits are necessary to get some action going for smaller fish. Basically fishing a small stretch of the Big Pee Dee, much of the time the blues are away downstream and the flatties are sleeping! Sometimes you have to change plans and just have fun like Bellymeat did the other weekend.
BB in SC

 

[uttatoo]

TRy using some sand toads i like to step on them get the guts driping out and then throwing them in my favorite hole
channels just love them and it seems right since they eat them all summer long
good luck

 

[Bill in SC]

When I was a kid, I frequently used shrimp with pretty fair results. Pretty much proves that the cats don't have to have food that comes exclusively from their waters. I always get tickled when folks ask if the bream they use as live or cut bait have to come from the same waters as you are fishin' in. The river bream are certainly a different color than pond bream, but I'm sure it makes no difference to Mr. Whiskers. I guess they will eat ANY meat if dangled in front of them. I'm still befuddled why grub worms don't produce more. My theory is that they don't have much odor, and what little odor they have is quickly washed away in the water.
Bill in SC

 

[Bill in SC]

Never heard of sand toads around here. Our common toads make the dogs foam at the mouth when they mess with them. I guess the cats might not go for the way our toads taste. But then.... maybe they would. I love the toads and am fascinated with them. For some reason their numbers have been dwindling through the years. I would never put one on a line and kill it.
BB in SC

 

[dudley-1]

Bill,I prefer cut shad,a lot of floks prefer the gizzard over the threadfin but my biggest fish came off of two small cut threadins on the hook togather.I have heard 'old timers" say just the gizzard out of big gizzard shad was # 1,I have used them but with limited success,on both catfish and stripers.Saw some old guys at the wateree river have a cooler full and running over with catfish(while we had five or six and felt good about them) say,boys you gotta use CATAWBA worms,Well I have tried them also with limited sucess.Had an old friend that fished lynches river and swore by them.mostly caught bream,redbreast and small catfish,and even suckers.I have seen ivory soap on trotlines at santee,and read where grapes(I think) were legal bait,so I guess they eat grapes,never tried any though.Ive caught blues on everything mentioned here except the Ivory sopa and grapes.I have caught some nice 10 pound class bluse trolling plugs for stripers,and small ones trolling 2 in. crappie jigs.I guess if I could use only one bait,it would be shad,eithier cut or live.

 

[captinparker]

I have cought catfish that would have a belly full of muskedines when in season

 

[rivercatsc]

They will be Full till there guts are going to explode with those muskidines soon. I will tell you that cut eells are by far the most productive for me but I think if you can catch channels on stink bait turds oughta work too.LOL


Shrimp taste intirelly too good to me for me to be feeding them to catfish.LOL

 

[dewboy24us]

when their not hittin the standards, shad, cut bait, sonny's. i'll try just about anything for bait from licorice to hot dogs.

 

[JimmyJonny]

I use the same bait for all cats. Herring, shad, perch or gills all work. Different types of cats might be found in different places but they all eat the same thing...fish. My bait stays the same, the methods and areas change depending on the type of cat I'm going after. I see lots of folks changing bait for channels a lot but I do just fine dragging a dead herring around.


-Jim-

 

[orion_xxvx]

(Leopard) Grass frogs are my bait of choice for channels if I can get them also small 2 to 3 inch shad and in mid to late summer big grasshoppers out of the corn field.

 

[mariofish]

welcome to boc:big_smile:

 

[mariofish]

i like mudsucker the best for flathead for me:wink:

 

[primitivefrn]

Looks like the grub worms should work, We use to have a neighbor that trot lined a lot and he would get the grubs by the 5 gallon bucket where dad fed cows hay, May just been a changed up bait. no body, used shad, then.
I've never done very good on crawdads for cats have never caught a flat., on them, few small blues.
Jim

 

[JAinSC]

My standard bait for smaller stuff - or just for blues and channels in general - has always been cut baitfish. Since I usually fish the coastal rivers, that usually means mullet, but I prefer menhaden when I can get them, or shad and herring in season.

 

[Indigo Flats]

I pretty much stick with shrimp and cut bait. If I am fortunate, I will leave the landing with white perch, gizzard and threadfin shad.

However, I always carry shrimp with me just in case I get skunked trying to catch bait.

One day while fishing all my wife and I had for bait was stink bait and shrimp. We ended up catching 17 nice fillet size cats for eating. 16 were caught on stink bait and 1 on shrimp. I haven't used shrimp since.

I also believe cut bait is the best if available.

 

[catfisherman_eky3]

Yea i like using cut bait and shrimp and my flavored chicken breast

 

[NABO]

my brother and my friend went catfishin at Pee Dee River last year with deer meat as bait. They caught a 30lb blue and many good eating size blues too.