| Have you ever been fishing and witnessed | | | | catfish bait, I will warn you ahead of time |
| someone catching all the fish? I have many | | | | to do your experimenting in the garage or |
| times. When I see someone hauling in | | | | outdoors because some of the ingredients have |
| stringers full of fish I get very curious. | | | | a pungent smell and some create a mess. |
| On occasion, I have asked about their secret | | | | |
| techniques pertaining to equipment and bait. | | | | 1) Uncooked oatmeal - popular as a base |
| | | | (keeps all the ingredients together in a |
| A lot of times I will get the polite smile | | | | doughy mixture) |
| and response such as "just lucky today" or | | | | |
| "you know...same ol' stuff." I'll ask what | | | | 2) Baking flour - another popular base |
| type of bait and that is usually when I will | | | | |
| get the silent treatment. The typical | | | | 3) Corn and wheat flakes or similar types of |
| response, "sorry, secret family recipe" or | | | | cereals - base to keep bait on hook |
| "if I tell you, I'll have to kill you." | | | | |
| | | | 4) Water - required in most cases to help |
| Through the years, I have collected some very | | | | make the mixture workable |
| useful information concerning fishing baits. | | | | |
| The most important realization was that the | | | | 5) Garlic salt - found in most store bought |
| people who were catching the most fish were | | | | baits (probably a good idea if you used it |
| not using store bought baits. It seems that | | | | also) |
| they made their own baits. | | | | |
| | | | 6) Garlic powder - similar to salt but may |
| Some anglers in the past divulged some | | | | alter the fish attractant properties |
| secrets pertaining to their baits. I thank | | | | |
| them for it. I have developed my own | | | | 7) Can of tuna - found in many homemade bait |
| formulas but this is not the time or place to | | | | recipes. Maybe the old timers know |
| reveal them. However, I have compiled the | | | | something. |
| main ingredients found in the most potent | | | | |
| catfish bait formulas. | | | | 8) Anise oil extract - almost a requirement |
| | | | for all types of fishing bait |
| I want to encourage you to develop your own | | | | |
| formulas based on these ingredients found | | | | 9) meats from the meat counter (raw livers, |
| below. You will notice that these | | | | brains, fish parts) - the more blood, the |
| ingredients are easy to find. You can find | | | | better |
| the majority of the supplies at a well | | | | |
| stocked grocer. | | | | 10) canned or packaged meats such as cat |
| | | | food, dog food, spam, sandwich meats, hot |
| When developing your own formulas, do not use | | | | dogs - an alternative to the raw meats |
| all the ingredients listed. Just take three | | | | |
| or four items and see what happens. You are | | | | 11) cheeses - smellier the better - think |
| not bound to the items listed below. Feel | | | | limburger or rotten cheddar |
| free to test others. | | | | |
| | | | 12) miscellaneous - fish food pellets, cattle |
| I have found the most important aspect of | | | | feed pellets, molasses, gelatin mixes, can of |
| making your own bait is testing. You will | | | | corn, strawberry soda, bbq sauce |
| need to test your homemade bait several times | | | | |
| because maybe a certain day, the fish aren't | | | | 13) Zipper storage bags - great for mixing |
| biting, or there are no fish, or some other | | | | your ingredients, storage, and taking to |
| variable that has nothing to do with the | | | | fishing hole. |
| potency of the bait. Bring several batches | | | | |
| of your baits on your fishing outing and test | | | | Remember, if it smells, is bloody, or rotted, |
| several to increase your chances of success. | | | | it might be a great addition to your catfish |
| | | | bait formula. I hope this will information |
| Another tip is to write everything down. You | | | | will get you started in developing your own |
| don't want to develop bait and find that it | | | | secret catfish bait. |
| is successful only to realize that you forgot | | | | |
| how to make it. Also, you can make batches | | | | The most important tip of all is to remember |
| of bait for literally pennies a pound. You | | | | to have fun. Share the experience with your |
| may store the batches in zipper plastic bags | | | | family and friends. Have contests on who |
| in the freezer. | | | | catches the most fish with his or her bait. |
| | | | I guarantee you will remember the fishing |
| Since these ingredients are for developing | | | | stories for the rest of your life. |