# What is the best catfish chum?



## kcross

Going to toledo bend in July with my boys. We will be at a house on the lake and fishing off the bulkhead. Just looking for a good chum recipe to throw out from the bank.


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## Nwilkins

congealed blood, pm me if you want the recipe


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## Sunbeam

Soured grain. Maize, wheat or my favorite is chicken scratch. Do not use whole kernel corn. The small cats eat it and then can not pass it though their system. It clogs them up and eventually they just starve to death. The fishes digestive juices will not break down the starch.
A five gallon bucket about 1/3 third full of scratch, one cup sugar and a tablespoon full of dry yeast. Add warm,not hot, water to within a few inches of the top.
In two days it will smell musty. It is ready to use. The longer it sits the worse it will smell but it does not need to be gag a maggot stinky.
A blood hound has a sense of smell millions of times a human. Cat fish are millions of times stronger than a hound.


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## Jeff G

I don't know what the "best" is but I can tell you a few to try that stink pretty bad . Place Milo/maize or corn half full in a 5 gallon bucket , add water , and some yeast or a couple of beers . Place the lid on tight . Allow room for expansion and place in the sun for a week or so . 

Also , range cubes are popular for baiting holes . If you buy some , throw a few in your chum bucket . Good luck ! Let us know how it works .


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## hiram abiff

it all stinks. has anyone ever let range cubes get wet and sour? its the worst thing i have ever smelled


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## huntnetime

I prefer soured maize...but, range cubes and soured chicken scratch also do the trick.


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## Sunbeam

Saw this on TV. 
Take a 4 ft section of 2" or 3" pvc pipe. Cut or drill many 3/8 holes from end to end. Fill the bottom 12 " with a weight such as ready mix or old scrap nuts and bolts. Enough weight to make the pipe sink.
Glue cap on bottom end. Tie small diameter rope to top end. Enough for max water depth you fish.
Fill the pipe with chum. Place another cap on top. do not glue. use tape to hold in place if the cap is a loose fit. 
Hang pipe over the side down to the depth required. Or hang it on a pier, snag or bulkhead.
Ensure that the holes are slightly larger than the chum particle so that the fish can manage to get chum through the holes. Allowing the fish to eat is chumming but placing the chum in a enclosure that the fish can not get into is considered baiting which is illegal in some states.
This will disperse the scent through the water column but prevent the little dink cats from eating up all the chum in the first 15 minutes.


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## mudcat hunter

Depends on where im fishing but one thing ive done not already mentioned is used range cubes in a crawfish sack, drop it off side of the boat and you can give it a shake every now and then and make a cloud that will spread over a big area that will last a long time. And you dont have to presoak, just grab and go.


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## polecat ridge

I've used range cubes for chum as well as for baiting perch traps. I have also used old cheese soured in water, it will blow the lid off a 5 gal. bucket. If you have a honey hole try sinking a bale of alfalfa hay, seemed to work pretty good.


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## Sugars Pop

We use range cubes at Limestone off our dock because it's easy, clean,doesn't stink and works fine.

Alot of the guides on Conroe talk about using range cubes on the Outdoor Radio Show.


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## redneck

Soured wheat. I have written a bunch of articles on my blog that should tell you everything you ever wanted to know and more. You can check them out here chumming information


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## Procrastinator

Sunbeam said:


> Soured grain. Maize, wheat or my favorite is chicken scratch. Do not use whole kernel corn. The small cats eat it and then can not pass it though their system. It clogs them up and eventually they just starve to death. The fishes digestive juices will not break down the starch.
> A five gallon bucket about 1/3 third full of scratch, one cup sugar and a tablespoon full of dry yeast. Add warm,not hot, water to within a few inches of the top.
> In two days it will smell musty. It is ready to use. The longer it sits the worse it will smell but it does not need to be gag a maggot stinky.
> A blood hound has a sense of smell millions of times a human. Cat fish are millions of times stronger than a hound.


X2


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## pipeliner345

******* said:


> Soured wheat. I have written a bunch of articles on my blog that should tell you everything you ever wanted to know and more. You can check them out here chumming information


X 2 !!!!!!!!!!!!


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## ComeFrom?

Its been said that in some cases you can fill your wifes old used pantyhose with the soured maize, tie it up and toss it out. In some other cases, you don't need to fill the pantyhose with anything. Just put in a couple rocks in each foot, toss it out in a general area, let it sink and wait. You won't even need a line and a hook. When the cats get close enough, they'll just float to the top and you scoop 'em in with the landin' net. ComeFrom?


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## RiverRat1962

ComeFrom? said:


> Its been said that in some cases you can fill your wifes old used pantyhose with the soured maize, tie it up and toss it out. In some other cases, you don't need to fill the pantyhose with anything. Just put in a couple rocks in each foot, toss it out in a general area, let it sink and wait. You won't even need a line and a hook. When the cats get close enough, they'll just float to the top and you scoop 'em in with the landin' net. ComeFrom?


LMAO! :rotfl:


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## RiverRat1962

What works best for me is this, I fish in the river and use the current to my advantage. I net a bucket full of thread-fin shad and gizzard shad and fillet the gizzard shad and keep the fillets (cut up in strips 1/2" wide X 1 1/2" long) and thread-fin for bait. 

Take the heads and guts/skins and stuff them an old yellow and white floating minnow bucket that has a few RR spikes in the bottom so it will sink. Hang the minnow bucket over the side and let it touch bottom. The smell from the chum gets dispersed downstream and in an hour or so the blue cats come in droves. 

It calls in the Stipers, Goos and Gars as well, Cast your bait (carolina rig) downstream about 30' and hang on! I mostly fish at night.


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## C'est Bon

Jeff G said:


> I don't know what the "best" is but I can tell you a few to try that stink pretty bad . Place Milo/maize or corn half full in a 5 gallon bucket , add water , and some yeast or a couple of beers . Place the lid on tight . Allow room for expansion and place in the sun for a week or so .


x2
We tore 'em up this past weekend using soured milo. We just used old bread instead of buying yeast or wasting beer...it worked great! The catfish and bass bellies were FULL of milo!

Also, didn't need a week for it to sour...just a couple of days closed up in the heat of the sun took care of it. Pour ya a few cups full around where you'll be puttin your lines...
Good luck! Happy fishin'!


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