What is a Catfish Bait?
Nightcrawlers for All Around Channel CatfishOtherwise known as earthworms, nightcrawlers are popular bait across the fishing world. It’s not just because of their convenience (you can find them right outside in your garden). It’s also because many species, including catfish, love nightcrawlers
Best Catfish Bait In Kenya
1. Nightcrawler
First on the list is the ubiquitous nightcrawler, the favored food for all fish species. Channel cats bite worms everywhere, making them a top pick. Their availability tilts the scale–on sale at all bait shops and even most convenience stores in catfish country.
They also attract lots of small, eating-size flatheads and blue cats, as well as white catfish of coastal rivers and bullheads, which are always a hit with the younger crowd. Worms are easy to rig, sliding seamlessly onto a circle hook. Thread one on a hook, rig a slip-sinker, and you’re on your way to fun times and good eating. For jumbo cats, be generous, threading several juicy ‘crawlers onto a hook stout enough to boat these battlers.
2. Gizzard Shad
Few species of baitfish are as widely distributed and popular with catfish anglers as gizzard shad. With their blunt nose and wide body, they’re susceptible to cast-netting and dip-netting.
And bait shops offer live shad in many areas. But they work nearly as well when frozen, just a bit mushier, so bring plenty. Their distribution extends from the East Coast to the Great Lakes and west to Arizona.
3. White Suckers
This common northern species is a top choice of anglers who readily catch their own in creeks with small hooks and garden worms. This tubular fish yields prime cut chunks along its entire length and catfish across the Midwest can’t get enough of their delicate flavor.
Moreover, the fish’s bony skeleton helps it cling to the hook when only shreds of meat remain. Don’t discard the nose or tail sections, as big cats gobble them up. Suckers also work better than other baitfish after being frozen, due to their solid consistency and long-lasting flavor.
4. Skipjack Herring
This migratory river species originated in coastal waters but is now found in many reservoirs as well. Though not widely available compared to other baits, skippies make up for it with their undeniable allure with jumbo blues, the ones that threaten to give you a hernia when you haul them over the funnel.
No self-respecting tournament stick would be without them in competition, as they have no equal for those trophy-size bites. These slender silvery fish are easily chopped or sliced for smaller blues and channel cats, while 8- to 12-inch baits call for a double-hook rig, not like a quick-strike rig to tempt giant blues.
5. Stinkbait
This stuff would rank higher on the list if it wasn’t so aptly named. If the label doesn’t scare you, best turn your head when you crack the cover. Stinkbaits make it clear that catfish’s sense of smell differs drastically from that of humans. But channel cats of all sizes eat it up, smaller blues as well.
Even die-hard carmen use a stick to push a stink bait carrier into the jar, typically shaped like a ribbed plastic worm or hollow teardrop to enclose the tasty goo. Its aroma washes off rapidly, which improves the bite, as cats hundreds of yards downstream detect the flavor and follow it like sharks on a blood trail.
Is corn good for catfish?
Different Types of Corn for Catfish
There are basically two types of corn that you can use to catch catfish: feed corn (also called maize or deer corn) and sweet corn. Feed corn is tougher, less sweet, cheaper, and has larger kernels. Sweet corn requires no preparation and has small sweet kernels that catfish love.