# Your favorite bait for catching BLUE CATS?



## CHUM STAIN (Sep 2, 2009)

Just as the title reads. What are yalls favorite baits for catching big blue or good quantities of blue catfish? My friend says that cut mullet is the only way to catch them in the Sabine River right now, so I just wanted to get some other opinions.


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

It is the old fly fisherman's adage, "Match the hatch" What ever is the predominate forage food in the body of water you fish is of course the best bait.
Now that being said I like just about any fish or crustacean that has some toughness and a good fishy smell.
In fact why not start a list on this dreary wet day:

Shad
crawfish
clams
shrimp
cut perch (bream to some folks)
cut gou
cut buffalo
1 inch section of a hot dog weeny
shad gizzards
earth worms
beef liver
beef heart


OK guys keep adding on.......


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## amazon (Dec 12, 2006)

Warmer weather with a lot of bait in the river = fresh shrimp, or cut mullet.
Cold winter, early spring = Jug's hand squished "river cheese" can't be beat!


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Liver perch


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## james79 (Nov 30, 2010)

mussels creekside worm cataga worm


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## bubbas kenner (Sep 4, 2010)

my wifes cooking will stay on the hook .


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## wshniwasfshn (Oct 14, 2010)

Cut buffalo soaked over night in chicken blood
Worms
Heck fathers will chase a deep diving crankbait thinking its live


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Can anyone find the post with the liver perch?


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## catslayer (Dec 12, 2010)

Myself i perfer either sunperch or fresh cut up mullet


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## dignlevel (Jul 26, 2010)

By and large, I would say bream and crappie heads catch the biggest. Filleted bream and perch close second and cut gizzard shad third.

Out of the last 100 or so caught over 20 lbs, 60% on heads, 20%on fillets, and 20% on cut gizzard shad.

Exclusion would be in the heat of summer when they are feeding on clams, stink bait is killer...used with floating bait pods.


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## Jeff G (May 18, 2010)

I'm pretty sure in Texas that those " crappie heads" will get you a $250 per head ticket from a GW because they are a game fish .


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=106353&highlight=liver+perch&page=2

On this post is the best cat fish bait ever, just scroll down a little to see,.....
the LIVER PERCH


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## Mr. Mario (Oct 5, 2009)

Wow how can you get a ticket for using the head of a game fish that has a daily bag limit of 25? I eat crappie but not the head. Please elaborate more.


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## Nwilkins (Jan 18, 2009)

My grandfather would stop at the slaughterhouse and get a 5 gallon bucket of blood, He would then congeal it thru the use of gelatin. Trotline with treble hooks and his blood bait and you'd get sick of cleaning blues or at least I did.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

The law states that no part of a game fish can be used for bait.


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

How is the best way to cook those liver perch? Rolled in meal or smothered in onions and brown gray.


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## HGX_Fisherman (Feb 26, 2009)

My favorite catfish bait is J. Pigg punch bait. I have never caught anything bigger than 2 pounds on it, but in the ponds I fish in, there probably aren't any catfish over 2 pounds.

I tend to like J. Pigg more than CJ's punch bait because it's shad oil and blood based and I catch a lot more blues on it than CJ's, which is minnow and cheese based.

Or if you ask my brother, a live 5 inch sunfish will work on a trot line in a pinch. :biggrin:


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

It is against the law to eat liver perch in most states, bait only!


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## great white fisherman (Jun 24, 2008)

We fish lakes and the best bait is gizzard shad. We like the larger gizzard shad. I like the head part most as it holds the guts. Smaller gizzards seem to catch smaller blues but you never know. I once caught a 5ft 2inch blue with a 42 inch girth on a small gizzard shad on a jug line on a new year day.


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## tngbmt (May 30, 2004)

during november, we get shad schooling on the coast (flounder spot) by the millions, 3-5 inches, would they work if i freeze them? i can freeze them and they will thaw without getting soft like the bait stores frozen shad. would the coastal shad and mullet catch freshwater fish?


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

You can try, no, yes.


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## jamesgreeson (Jan 31, 2006)

*saltwater bait*

Not quite as good as freshwater bait,i don't know why!


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## great white fisherman (Jun 24, 2008)

My son and another guide caught 1,200lbs of shad last weekend for Academy. He made $800.00 helping the guy. They are going again this weekend for a guy that makes punch bait.


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

shadslinger said:


> Liver perch


Of course....:rotfl: The picture is to come next.


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

tngbmt said:


> during november, we get shad schooling on the coast (flounder spot) by the millions, 3-5 inches, would they work if i freeze them? i can freeze them and they will thaw without getting soft like the bait stores frozen shad. would the coastal shad and mullet catch freshwater fish?


Yes they would work fine. Only thing is after you freeze them they will get really mushy. You can try salting the **** out of them then freezing them. I have heard that works well. Fresh bait is by far the best though. Don't leave your shad floating dead in warm water either. If you are not going to use them live throw them on ice.


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

great white fisherman said:


> My son and another guide caught 1,200lbs of shad last weekend for Academy. He made $800.00 helping the guy. They are going again this weekend for a guy that makes punch bait.


They need anymore help? lol


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## great white fisherman (Jun 24, 2008)

They did not even want me to help them. I wanted in on some of the money. Last weekend they started around 3:00pm and finished around 8:00pm two nights. In the mornings they bag the shad.


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## Snapper Snatcher (Jun 2, 2010)

Danny King Bloodbait


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## John3:16 (Aug 27, 2010)

double0soul said:


> Wow how can you get a ticket for using the head of a game fish that has a daily bag limit of 25? I eat crappie but not the head. Please elaborate more.


Doesn't matter that you don't eat the head. Read the rule book. You can not use ANY part of a game fish for bait.


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