The Best Homemade Catfish Bait Recipes are for all you serious fishermen, being an angler myself in my younger days inspired me to write this article.
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River fishing in the state of Pennsylvania for catfish gives me fond memories, and as I was remembering those days it inspired me to provide you with some catfish bait recipes.
Simple Catfish Bait Recipe
We are going, to begin with, my favorite easy and simple recipe, nothing difficult about this one. Even as a young boy I prepared this one time after time, until I was on the Boatsafe website I had forgotten all about this.
What We Need
- 1 package of hot dogs
- 1 package of sugar-free cherry Kool-Aid
- 1 jar of chopped garlic packed in oil
How To
- Chop the hot dogs into bait-sized pieces
- Put the hot dog pieces in a large, zipper-sealed freezer bag
- Dump in the Kool-Aid
- Add 3 or 4 large spoonfuls of garlic
- Fill the bag with enough water to cover the hot dogs
- Allow it to sit in the fridge overnight
- Use chunks as they are as bait
Now you must admit this is an easy and simple catfish bait you can prepare all by yourself, so share this one with your fishermen friends. Then maybe you prefer to keep this a secret from them, which one do you think you will do?
Catfish Bait Recipe Easy Version
If you thought the one above was easy and simple to prepare, Catfish Hedge provides us with even an easier version. Now if you liked the first recipe, you might like this one even more.
How To Make
- Jelly jar (wide mouth) and slice hot dogs in 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices.
- Put hot dogs and crushed garlic into the jar.
- Store in your fridge
- Fresh crushed garlic works the best and adding salt is optional but recommended.
You must admit this is a great quick catfish bait ready in no time at all, so every serious fisherman should add this one to their favorites. How many times do your buddies decide to go fishing on the spur of the moment, possibly having a portable fridge just for this would be a good idea?
Velvetta Cheese Catfish Bait Recipe
Velvetta cheese is like no other to offer to catfish, and honestly, that is the only one I used when fishing for these monster fish. Sticks onto the hook better than any other, any experienced angler knows what I am talking about. Not just for catfish, I used Velvetta for trout fishing as well with success.
What We Need
- 1 lb. Velveeta
- 2 cans of wet dog food
- 4 tbsp. garlic salt
- ¼ cup used cooking oil, bacon grease, or similar
- Cattail fuzz optional
How To Make
- Microwave the Velveeta to soften it to a runny consistency, like nacho cheese.
- In a bucket, stir the Velveeta together with the other ingredients, slowly adding the thickening agent until the desired consistency is reached.
- This bait can be used fresh, but it typically gets much better with some careful aging.
US Angler shared this bait in one of their blog posts, cheese has been a favorite for catching fish for as long as I can remember. Gizmo feels educating people is an important part of this website, if you found this information worthy please share it with your fishing buddies if you dare.
Catfish Love Peanut Butter
Many of you might have never considered using peanut butter while fishing for catfish, but the Hook n Bullet website shared how to use this ingredient to catch more fish. The thicker the better, so consider this when shopping for this recipe.
What You Need
- ¼ cup of water
- 3 beef bullion cubes
- 3 ounces of expired lunch meat, chopped
- 3 tbsps of garlic salt
- 3 tbsps of onion powder
- 5 slices of bread
- 4 tbsps of peanut butter, melted
- 20 stale crackers, crushed
How To Make
- Boil water in a pot over medium heat.
- Once the water starts boiling, add the beef bullion cubes.
- Chop up the expired lunch meat.
- Once the bullion cubes dissolve, add in the lunch meat.
- Add garlic salt and onion powder to the pot.
- Pick out chunks of the bread, and add them to the pot, occasionally stir the mixture.
- Lower the heat, and add in the melted peanut butter.
- Stir the peanut butter until it’s fully worked.
- Take the pot off the heat and slowly add in the crackers, stirring as you go.
- If your mixture needs thickening, add more crackers or flour. Or, if you need to loosen it up, add in more water.
- Once your bait reaches a dough-like consistency, you’re all set.
As you will notice this one requires more ingredients and preparation, but if you wish to be adventurous maybe you will want to give it a try. The love for fishing is something I know about very well, and preparing my own homemade catfish bait was always something that I enjoyed.
Watch To Learn
Possibly YouTube videos are your cup of tea, I have learned so much simply by watching them. Let us browse some that might be of interest to you, and this is something I love to share with you.
- How to Make the Best Catfish Bait in the World
- Fishing for Catfish with Jello
- Homemade Catfish Bait that Works
- Kool-Aid Chicken Bait that Brings Tons of Catfish
- The Trust About Strawberry Jello Chicken Catfish Bait
- Best Catfish Bait Ever
- Best Catfish Baits from Grocery Stores
- How to Make Catfish Bait
- Super Powerful Catfish Bait Recipe
- Killer Catfish Bait
- Four Catfish Baits to Avoid
- Watch YouTube Videos and Learn
Watching often helps us learn easier than any other method, so that is the reason I include these in many of my articles. Browse all my self-help guides in one place, why waste your time when you can find them all with one click?
Catfishing Fishing Tips
Now that you have the best recipes, let us learn a few fishing tips for catfish. Some you might already know, and some might be brand new to you. Providing you with information is an important part of this website, helping you is my priority on every topic that I write about.
- The best time of day to catch catfish is from sunrise until 10 am, but from my own experience night fishing was my most productive time.
- Nightcrawlers are still rated as your top bait to catch more of this fish species than any other.
- Orange and red are the colors they see the best, but they use scent as their main method of finding their meals.
- Between 15 and 20 feet, deep is the best depth to catch the most catfish but depending on the time of the year shallower depths can be productive as well
- Catfish tend to be found in shallower water at night because in part their forage moves shallower. However, catfish are still active during the day; they’re just found in deeper water.
- Fresh baits such as peeler or soft crab, shrimp, squid, chicken liver, processed catfish bait, hot dogs, and cut fish are good baits
- 15 to 25 pounds are good inexpensive choices for all-around use, but when hunting the big boys, you may have to upgrade to a 30-, 40-, or even 80-pound-test.
- A number two hook is a good size treble for very large catfish and the largest you want to go with. A number 6 hook is a reliable, standard size.
Above are some tips that I thought might be useful to fishermen, if you have any of your own you wish to share feel free to post them in my comments section at the end of this guide.
Best Catfish Fishing Rods Guide
Everyone starts out as a beginner, so for those of you new to catfishing, I am including the best fishing rods. When I was fishing with my buddies, I often experienced these fish actually breaking their fishing rods. Never underestimate their strength, below is a list of the best ones to consider.
- Berkley Shock Rods
- Shakespeare Ugly Stik
- B’n’M Poles Silver Cat Elite
- Team Catfish Thunder Cat Casting Rod
- KastKing KatTech Catfish Rods
- Browse Best Catfishing Fishing Rods
Once I tried the ugly stick that is the only fishing rod that I ever used, now that does not mean it is the only one for you to consider. We all have our own personal preferences in everything including fishing equipment, what about fishing reels for catfish?
Best Catfish Fishing Reels
I have seen these fish ruin many reels over the years, they are capable of actually just stripping the line from the reels. The best rod is not going to do you much good without a reel to go with it, so that is what we are going to learn about next.
- Abu Garcia C3 Catfish Special
- Ugly Stick Catch Ugly Fish Catfish Spinning Combo
- Team Catfish Gold Ring 5000
- KastKing ReKon
- Zebco Omega Pro
The fishing reels on the list above are recommended by the website Field n Stream, you will find them available at the Bass Pro Shop stores. If you are interested in getting started or upgrading this is the place recommended by Field and Stream. Feel free to shop around for the best deals, that is what I would do if I was you.
Gizmos Resources
Providing you with high-quality information and resources is important to me, and at the end of every article, I share some resources that you might find valuable. That is my way of thanking you for reading my entire guide, if you desire to sign up for my Auto-Notifications you will never miss one of my publications that might benefit you.
- Florida Bass Fishing Tournament Guide
- Top 10 Bass Fishing Rods
- Fishing Waders at Walmart
- How to Catch Monster Catfish
- Catfishing Clubs Directory
That is all Gizmo has for you today, but as time goes by my guides are becoming better and better with my topics to learn from. Free education and resources are the names of the game here. if you are seeking information this is one website to add to your browser favorites.