bait?

[synergyboy10]

best cat bait?

[camo_fish]

a fish that is native to the waters that your fishing.
bluegills, suckers, shad, herring, heck I've used small smallies cut in half down in VA on the rivers. 
Catfish aren't to picky, they'll eat about anything, heck did you see the big flathead that got the basketball stuck in it's mouth last year. 

[Pasquatch]

Catfish aren't to picky, they'll eat about anything, heck did you see the big flathead that got the basketball stuck in it's mouth last year. 

Now that was funny.

[Mackdaddy21]

For channels I think fresh chicken livers kept cold on ice are the best bait, and blue cats love them too. For Blues it's either liver or fresh cut oily baitfish. For flatheads, live bullheads in the 6 - 10" range. And cutbait works for all three species, though better on channels and blues.

Tyler

[archbishop]

i hear alot of people mention livers for cats     now do you just attach the liver to the hook or net it like an eggsack?

[wormwigglr]

tie eggsack mesh around it so it stays on the hook longer. live4r falls off the hook easily if it is hooked without mesh. i like cut bluegills or sometimes shad.

[treed942000]

Pantyhose are cheaper to wrap your chicken liver in, exspecially if you steal them from the wife.  Beef liver also works well and you don't have to wrap it in anything.

[Trophy Hunter639]

a fish that is native to the waters that your fishing.

You said it bud

[grumpymoe]

okay.....no one has mentioned blood dip.....you can purchase it at Lockport for cats...gotta be the most vile smelling stuff on the face of the earth....can't remember the brand name....someplace out of the mid north.....possibly Illinois? great stuff to use as a prank too!!!....just smear on a toilet seat to get a buddy to toss his lunch... ....Grump

[wormwigglr]

has anyone ever used creek chubs with any success? nobody has mentioned them but i figured it would be something well populated for fishing for cats in the rivers

[bigredfishing]

funny you mention creek chubs.   A few years back, my father and i caught a couple dozen with the intention of using them for big toothies.  We rigged them up on slipfloats and drifted them through some prime territory. When we fished this one current break, our floats kept getting pulled under, and the baits came back all crushed and beat up   Happend four or five times before we finally got one...it was a big white cat. We ended up using up the rest of the chubs on cats, and even got a small tiger muskie too.

[Mackdaddy21]

i hear alot of people mention livers for cats     now do you just attach the liver to the hook or net it like an eggsack?

Wrapping it in mesh works really well, and panty hose works in a pinch. Also there is a contraption called Sarge's Bag A Bait. It's a soft mesh bag that has a large hook in it, and it was designed specifically for blood bait and liver. I have never used it but it looks like it would be worth a try.
Another good solution is this. Cut your chicken liver into smaller chunks with a very sharp knife. Then lay it out inside a house where it's not exposed to sunlight, on top of WAX PAPER for about four hours. One side will dry out and firm up, and the other side stays soft, oily, and bloody. Works great.
If you don't have this or have time to prepare liver, just keeping the liver very cold and fresh on ice helps keep it firm better.

Tyler

[Hookset]

do you just attach the liver to the hook or net it like an eggsack?

I cut the liver in thirds or quarters, thread it on the hook a couple of times and in she goes.  I fish primarily from a boat so I'm not trying to set any casting distance records.  I give it a nice flick of the wrist and get the bait out there 40 or 50 feet.  If you are casting as hard as you can from the shoreline, you'll definitely need the mesh, or better yet, some cut bait, it stays on through hurricanes.

[Soggy Sauger]

In the carp topic some guys were talking about the carp powerbait.  I told them that when I used it, all I caught were cats.  I'm not really surprised... the stuff sure smells bad!

[Stink Bait]

For channels and blues the best bait I have found is hands down cut bait native bluegills. I seem to catch more fish on liver but I have always caught my biggest fish on cut bluegills. Be sure to check the regulations where you fish, it is not legal to use bluegills everywhere. I have had better luck with night crawlers for flat heads, although I have caught a couple on cutbait. The flatheads seem to prefer live bait. I have heard that live bullheads are best for them too, I just can't seem to catch any where I fish (bullheads that is). I use pantyhose to wrap my liver in as well and fishing with a treble hook seems to hold the liver better. Another good bait is fresh chicken breast marinated in anise oil (smells like black licorice). I can't seem to find pure anise oil anymore but wally world sells a spray on fish attractant with anise oil in the ingredients. Just cut you chicken breast in 1 inch cubes, put in a zip lock baggy and pour the anise oil or fish attractant over the chicken and let it soak in the refrigerator overnight before you go fishing. Something I learned about using this bait is the cats don't seem to like it if there is any fat or skin on it so trim all the fat and skin away before you marinate it.