Baits for wels catfish
Wels catfish baits: worm bunch, bait fish, pellets and lures
Wels catfish eat anything that smells and moves. Big baits, strong tackle and patience on warm nights bring the bites, from the Ebro to the Po and the Rhine.
The lure groups
What for, in which size and colour, and how to work it.
Worm bunch
The starter bait for wels of all sizes, river and lake, static fishing from the bank.
- Size
- 5 to 15 lobworms on a 2/0 to 6/0 hook, on a worm hook or with a clip.
- Colour
- Not relevant. Scent counts, a bunch smells a long way.
- Retrieve
- On the bottom or under a sub-float just above it, at edges, holes and groyne heads. Set at night and wait.
Big bait fish
Big wels in rivers and lakes, static fishing with a tight-line rig or a U-float.
- Size
- Bream, roach or crucian 20 to 40 cm, live only where legal, otherwise dead or as strips.
- Colour
- Not relevant.
- Retrieve
- Present the bait fish on a sub-float a metre above the bottom. On a take let line go, then strike hard.
Pellets and boilies
Still waters with angling pressure, day sessions, waters stocked with wels.
- Size
- Catfish pellets 20 to 30 mm, fishmeal boilies 24 to 30 mm, on a hair.
- Colour
- Not relevant. Fishy scent matters more than colour.
- Retrieve
- Ledger rig with a fixed lead, prebait the spot. Fish quietly, wels come to the feed at night.
Soft plastic and crankbait (active)
Vertical from a boat over holes, lure fishing at groynes and channels, wels in summer.
- Size
- Soft plastic 20 to 30 cm, jig head 50 to 150 g depending on depth and current.
- Colour
- Dark with contrast or loud, wels locate by pressure and scent.
- Retrieve
- Vertical: hold the lure just above the bottom and lift slowly. Casting: drag slowly along the bottom.
Through the year
- Spring First bites from water temperatures around 12 C, shallow bays warm first.
- Summer Best time on warm nights and in thundery weather, wels also hunt by day at edges. Mind spawning time in June.
- Autumn Good into October, then wels move to deep holes. Big bait fish now.
- Winter Wels sit in winter holes and feed little. Vertical from a boat or a break.
Rules of thumb
Rod with 200 to 500 g casting weight, braid 0.50 mm and up, hooks from 2/0, a net or a glove to land.
Wels hunt by scent and lateral line. Anything that smells and pushes water works.
Live bait fish are banned in Germany and elsewhere, closed seasons and minimum sizes apply by region. Check the profile.
Quick questions
What is the best bait for wels catfish?
The worm bunch to start, the big dead bait fish for huge wels, pellets on pressured waters. Actively, a big soft plastic fished vertically from a boat.
When do wels bite?
On warm nights from May to October, especially in thundery air and after rain. In summer also by day at edges and groynes.
What tackle for wels?
A strong rod with 200 to 500 g casting weight, a heavy reel, braid of 0.50 mm or more, hooks from 2/0. Nothing works without a net or a glove.
Next
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.
In Germany, closed seasons and minimum sizes are set by each state and can be stricter for single waters. All German rules by state, with the legal source. Outside Germany, the local rules apply: licence and agency by country.
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.
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