Baits for catfish
Best catfish bait: cut bait, stink bait, chicken liver and nightcrawlers
Catfish hunt by scent. Cut bait catches the big blues and flatheads, stink bait and liver the channel cats, nightcrawlers all three.
The lure groups
What for, in which size and colour, and how to work it.
Cut bait
Blue catfish and big channel cats in rivers and reservoirs. The strongest scent, stays on the hook.
- Size
- Thumb-sized chunks of shad, herring or carp on a 3/0 to 8/0 circle hook.
- Colour
- Not relevant. Fresh and oily is what counts, shad and skipjack are the classics.
- Retrieve
- Slip-sinker rig, line tight, do not set the hook with a circle hook, just lift the rod when it loads up.
Stink bait and punch bait
Channel catfish in ponds, lakes and slow rivers, warm months.
- Size
- Dough on treble hooks or worked into sponges, hook size 2 to 1/0.
- Colour
- Not relevant. Cheese, blood and fish are the bases.
- Retrieve
- Light bottom rig or under a float near the bottom, rebait every 15 minutes because the bait dissolves.
Chicken liver
Channel catfish, beginners, kids, banks in parks and ponds.
- Size
- Walnut-sized piece, secured with pantyhose or thread on a size 1 to 2/0 hook.
- Colour
- Not relevant.
- Retrieve
- Cast gently, bottom rig, line slightly tight. Soft bait, bites come fast.
Live bait and nightcrawlers
Flathead catfish take almost only live bait fish, nightcrawlers catch every species.
- Size
- Live sunfish or shad 3 to 6 in where legal, nightcrawlers in pairs on a size 2 to 1/0 hook.
- Colour
- Not relevant.
- Retrieve
- Bait fish at timber and holes at night, nightcrawlers on the bottom at edges and in current breaks.
Through the year
- Spring From water temperatures around 60 F in shallow bays and feeder creeks, cut bait and nightcrawlers.
- Summer Best time at night and on rising water, channel cats on stink bait, flatheads on live bait at timber.
- Fall Blue catfish follow the shad schools in reservoirs, cut bait on edges and creek mouths.
- Winter Blue catfish keep feeding in deep holes, channels and flatheads slow down. Cut bait deep and slow.
Rules of thumb
Do not set the hook with a circle hook. Rod in the holder, wait until it loads up, then lean into it. The hook sits in the corner of the mouth.
Present bait in current breaks behind rocks, bridge piers and timber, that is where the scent collects.
Whether live bait fish are legal is decided by each state. Check the rules on the US licence page before you fish.
Quick questions
What is the best bait for catfish?
Cut bait for blue catfish and big channel cats, stink bait and chicken liver for channel cats, live bait fish for flatheads. Nightcrawlers catch all three.
When do catfish bite best?
At night in summer and on rising water. Blue catfish feed in winter too, in deep holes.
What hook for catfish?
Circle hooks 3/0 to 8/0 for cut bait and big fish, 2 to 1/0 for stink bait, liver and nightcrawlers.
Next
Lures for other species
Lures for other species
Everything here is a rule of thumb from practice, not a guarantee. Lures are named as a group, not as a brand. Sizes are guide values.
Licence, minimum sizes and bag limits are set by each state. Fishing licence USA: agency by state
Know more?
Additions, photos of your catches or a mistake in the text: write to us and we will gladly credit you as a helper.
Send a tip