Secret Catfish Fishing Baits - Recipes that catfish can't resist

It's no secret that catfish go wild for foods that stink. This bottom-feeding fish relies on a keen sense of smell to find food, but unlike the anglers who are after them, catfish don't care for an aromatic, savory meal. They just want food that smells. Follow these strategies and experiment on your own to create a secret catfish bait recipe that will have you hauling in monsters from the lake bottom.

Chicken Liver Lovers


Catfish love chicken livers. The trick is getting and keeping the slippery livers on your hook. Making stink baits the size of meatballs is the solution.

Cut the livers into four pieces of equal size to make more bait. Be sure to save the chicken blood in the plastic container when you have removed all the livers.

Old Cheese


Somewhere in the back of your refrigerator you'll probably find a package of molding cheese. If it stinks, so much the better. This is the glue that will hold your secret catfish bait together.

You'll probably want to open the kitchen window so your spouse doesn't file for divorce, then melt the old cheese in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Melting the cheese thickens it up and makes it more rubbery.

Pour in the chopped chicken livers while the cheese is warm, then add about 1/2-cup of corn meal and 2 to 3 tbsp. of cornstarch to thicken the bait. Add extra stink by stirring in a couple of tablespoons of fish oil.

Add more cornmeal if necessary until you have a mixture the consistency of cookie dough. Now you can form catfish baits about the size of meatballs. When you've made all the baits you desire, drizzle the leftover chicken blood over each bait so it absorbs into the cornmeal. The blood will slowly release into the water when you go fishing, adding an extra attractant for a big catfish cruising for a meal.


A Recipe for Results

Refrigerate your baits if you're going out on the the water tomorrow, or freeze for later use.
Catfish have thick, leathery mouths, so you'll want to bait up with a sturdy 4/0 barbed hook. Bury the hook completely in one of your bait balls so that only the shank and eye are exposed for you to tie on your line.

You'll need at least an ounce of lead sinkers to get your bait to the lake bottom and hold it there. More weight may be necessary if you're after big channel catfish and need to secure a bait ball to the bottom of a river. You'll also be replacing baits more often when river fishing, as the current will disintegrate the bait ball faster than the still waters of a lakebed.


Commercial Catfish baits like Secret-7 are proven the best. But who says you have to buy them? Click here to get this guide that will teach you how to make these commercial catfish baits.