# Zote soap for catfish bait



## Spirit (Nov 19, 2008)

Seeing the cotton seed cake thread made me think of Zote soap. I was in the grocery store a good while back and a lady was loading her cart down with Zote soap. Curiosity got the best of me and I had to ask if the soap was really good. She laughed and said she wouldn't know, it was for her husband, he used it for catfish bait.

Kinda took me by surprise when she said that, I'd never hear of using soap to catch fish.

Any of ya'll ever tried it? What other off the wall kinds of products are used for catfish? They must not have very discerning palates! lol


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## redduck (Jul 26, 2006)

I have seen people use Ivory soap for catfish and did so-so.


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## Louisiana Longhorn (Nov 12, 2010)

Spirit,

We use Zote over here in Louisiana when we can find it for catfishing....works very well....


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## SSST (Jun 9, 2011)

I river fish for catfish during the spring every year and we make our own soap, a mixture of lard, lye, and anise oil for scent, pretty cool process and yes it works great fir channel and blue cats during the day.


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## James Howell (May 21, 2004)

I know an old commercial fisherman who used to use carrot slices on trotlines for reds. Cut it on the oblique (this makes an oval carrot slice), put it on the hook, make sure the hook/carrot stays near or on the surface of the water. Supposedly looked like a small crab to the reds. He caught a bunch of 'em back when that was still legal.


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## That Robbie Guy (Aug 11, 2009)

Now that would be crazy interesting to see.



James Howell said:


> I know an old commercial fisherman who used to use carrot slices on trotlines for reds. Cut it on the oblique (this makes an oval carrot slice), put it on the hook, make sure the hook/carrot stays near or on the surface of the water. Supposedly looked like a small crab to the reds. He caught a bunch of 'em back when that was still legal.


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## ComeFrom? (May 21, 2004)

Dad once told me a bar of Ivory cut in 6 equal pieces worked just fine back in the '30's and '40's! LOL! CF?


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## flatsmaster14 (Mar 25, 2011)

That Robbie Guy said:


> Now that would be crazy interesting to see.


I know I drum fisherman who uses wooden dow rods for bait cut them up and drill a hole, I use catfish soap on jug lines, it seems like it takes a bit longer to get a bite but it works everytime


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## goatchze (Aug 1, 2006)

I use Zote for catfish bait, especially on trot lines. It stays on very well and, if given enough time, is effective.

Pork/chicken livers get a bite faster, but you're constantly having to rebait as every critter than comes along wants a piece.


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## salty redneck (Jan 20, 2012)

We use Zote, and works great on blues and channels. Wieners work good too. As for the carrots on the trot-lines.....works like a champ. We caught many-a-red when I was a kid on carrots, radishes (cut skins off 4 sides - one side red - one side white) and probably the best was oleander leaves. Never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!!


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## beaucp (Apr 8, 2011)

When you say Zote soap you mean that pink bar right?


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## goatchze (Aug 1, 2006)

The stuff I use is pink, although I think that they make white as well.


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## sea ray (Mar 15, 2006)

yep, works good and when you catch one he is already cleaned. LOL


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## beaucp (Apr 8, 2011)

I'll give that a try. BTW, home depot sells that stuff cheaper than the dollar store. The porter HD anyway.


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## MarkA70 (May 3, 2011)

******* Texan makes and outstanding catfish soap, find it here:

http://www.catfishbaitsoap.com/


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## wet dreams (May 21, 2004)

Yrs back my dad made up a soap bait useing P&G, asphitity n anise oil, would shread the soap in a pot, heat it up and add the other stuff...pour in a cake pan to cool...cut in 3/4" squares, stays on a hook pretty good. I do know some guys that murder the catfish in the backwater on soap....when we used to have backwater....WW


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

pretty cheap at fiesta

squeeze the bars first and get the ones that aren't dried out

cuts best w a small fillet knife an make them look like a small domino and hook fairly deep thru center

we used it in the trinity river and had mixed results, but it is worth a shot

always heard to and used pink

cut it up ahead of time on a solid table, not in the boat and ziplock bag it


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## mark07 (Dec 6, 2005)

I knew a guy who used dowel rods and sprayed Wd-40 on them. He used to catch big drum on the lines he ran.


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## Bobby (May 21, 2004)

peeled cig butt sprayed with WD-4 works too


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## Smackdaddy53 (Nov 4, 2011)

We used it for years for bluecat in the guadalupe river. My dad and his dad ran lines all their life and taught me to do the same. That soap works better than anything besides earthworm or live perch. We used to take a few bars and bait all the lines we had left after we ran out of perch and cut bait or worm. Caught plenty of catfish on it. I promise it still works...3/0 eagle claw hook and a 1 inch cube of pink zote soap


-mac-


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## Super Dave (May 26, 2004)

redduck said:


> I have seen people use Ivory soap for catfish and did so-so.


My Mother was born and raised on Bayou Lafourche in south La. She and her 10 bros and sisters often fished in the bayou and used Ivory soap for bait, as did the black families that worked and lived on the plantation. After catching a few cats they would use the fish for bait in home made crab traps. It was not unusual to catch a bushel of crabs and a couple dozen catfish in an afternoon and that night the menu would be gumbo and fried fish with fresh baked bread. I can remember as a kid visiting my Grandparents and one of the workers had a house right on the Bayou with a line out a window on many days hooked to a can that would make noise when a fish hooked itself. Funny the things you remember about your childhood.


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## Red3Fish (Jun 4, 2004)

A few decades ago, we used to set out several short trotlines (~12 hooks) on the Guadalupe, and tie a bell to the shore end. Build a campfire, light a couple of colemans, set up a card table, and play poker all night til we heard a bell. Of course we had a #3 washtub full of iced down beer, with a tarp over it! LOL

I have used Zote soap, and it works, just seems to be a lot fewer bites with it, than other baits. For a line set out for a week or so, they do stay on, without turtles and other critters bothering them. A LOT less rebaiting.

Old time trotliners in saltwater, used to use the colored plastic streamers like go on hand grips of bicycles, cut into about 2" strips. You had to pay attention!! At a real low tide, the trotlines would be about a foot and a half above the water, with the hooks hanging down, waiting for you to run your boat under them!! Especially at night! After it was illegal, I did turn some into spaghetti!! LOL I have seen some with rotting RF and drum on nearly every other hook!

Later
R3F


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## goatchze (Aug 1, 2006)

I've tried using ivory soap once when I ran out of Zote. The big problem with it was it was too soft and didn't stay on the hook long enough. It seemed to dissolve way too quickly.

Done right, Zote will stay on the hook for days.


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## Super Dave (May 26, 2004)

goatchze said:


> I've tried using ivory soap once when I ran out of Zote. The big problem with it was it was too soft and didn't stay on the hook long enough. It seemed to dissolve way too quickly.
> 
> Done right, Zote will stay on the hook for days.


the trick with Ivory was to bait the hook properly. Most folks just pierce the chunk of soap with the hook end. I was taught to pierce the soap with the eye end so as not to move the soap through the turn. Then tie on the hook.


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## Chief5x5 (Apr 25, 2005)

salty ******* said:


> We use Zote, and works great on blues and channels. Wieners work good too. As for the carrots on the trot-lines.....works like a champ. We caught many-a-red when I was a kid on carrots, radishes (cut skins off 4 sides - one side red - one side white) and probably the best was oleander leaves. Never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!!


Careful, Oleander is toxic to humans.


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