What passes through the tiny brain of a catfish sitting in a hole on a river bottom, as the current passes along its streamlined form? Prior to the spawn, it might consider finding a fine mate with long barbels and a sleek tail. At all other times, though, a catfish uses its uniquely powerful sensory systems to sample the water for potential prey.

Scientific studies show that channel cats can detect several amino acids (which comprise all foods) at concentrations of just one part per 100 million. This sharp sense of olfaction also occurs among bullheads, whereby they can identify and remember other bullheads through unique odors emitted by their mucous coating. So, catfish can smell and taste the difference between a creek chub and a baby carp at 50 paces. In rivers, current carries both attractive and displeasing scents and tastes to cats. In still water, cats tend to move more, sampling the water for potential food. They disregard most sensations, just as our ears, eyes, and noses tune out most incoming stimuli.

What grabs their interest are preferred prey or certain flavors that may hold innate attraction for certain catfish species. Channel catfish are omnivores, consuming nearly all forms of animal and vegetable matter of appropriate size. Yet all savvy catmen know that the right bait can mean the difference between a few fiddler cats and loading the boat.

In our travels around the country, perhaps the most constant rule for bait selection is to use live or cut fish native to the river or reservoir we’re fishing. That’s what the cats are accustomed to feeding on. Yes, at times hot dogs, chicken livers, soap, and Uncle Stinky’s gua-run-teed formula outproduce nature’s own, and we can’t, from a scientific or angling perspective, say why. But knowing about natural baits and how to present them is essential to being a well-rounded catfisherman.

Cutbait versus Livebait

When choosing natural baits, one constant question is whether to use a whole live critter or cut sections. Many predators at times clearly prefer active livebait. Among catfish, flatheads, particularly big ones, often prefer livebaits that live for hours on the hook and struggle to escape. Bait like that attracts the big bites.

Sure, we’ve caught flatheads on deadbaits and cutbaits, but some of the season that’s a low-percentage call. Channel, blue, and white cats, however, seem to prefer baits that are easy to catch over those that are lively. Channel cats dine on the stenchiest of winterkilled shad and carp, in addition to artificial formulas that imitate those aromas.

Cutting a baitfish frees the proteins and amino acids in the flesh, along with blood, a sure attractant. Similarly, inserting hooks in worms, frogs, crickets, crayfish, and maggots lets natural juices seep out to be sampled by the olfactory and gustatory organs of nearby catfish. Cats, sensing something they like, approach the source, then use taste buds located on their barbels and throughout their skin, as well as in the mouth, to make a final assessment of edibility.

Catfish accustomed to eating a particular prey type quickly detect its scent and taste, readily accepting it as food. They seem to innately prefer certain baits, though—cats raised in ponds on artificial feed quickly turn to goldfish, suckers, and other unfamiliar prey, if made available.

Anadromous Baits

On Atlantic and Pacific coast rivers, each spring brings a fresh influx of prey from the sea. Anadromous species live their adult lives in saltwater, returning to freshwater to spawn. When their eggs hatch, fry and fingerlings may spend from a few months to a couple of years in the river or estuary before entering the ocean.

American shad ascend rivers from Nova Scotia to Florida in spring when water temperatures rise into the mid-50°F range. A similar migration occurs in the Columbia River on the West Coast. Adult shad, which run from 3 to over 6 pounds, may run many miles upstream, or spawn where obstructions block the migration.

In the Cape Fear in North Carolina and other rivers, giant flatheads and blue cats eat adult American shad, while spawning mortalities provide forage for smaller blues, channels, and white cats. Cut shad is a prime bait in coastal rivers through spring and summer, and young-of-the-year shad, which migrate to the sea in fall, are fine though delicate baits.

Blueback herring and alewives, which follow a similar pattern, also are prime baits. Skipjack herring aren’t truly anadromous since adults don’t move into saltwater, yet their spring upstream migration is a focus of catfish feeding. Large 10- to 15-inch herring attract the big guys, while chunks call in cats of all sizes.

Eels follow a reverse migration, called catadromous, as adults live in freshwater and migrate to the sea to spawn and die. Our contacts on coastal rivers assure us that catfish love eels, either young (10- to 18-inchers) that striped bass cherish too, or chunks of large eels.

When cut, the eel’s nervous system continues to produce movement, a turn-on for flatheads that like live prey. Eel skin also exhibits excellent motion in current, so leave an extra flap on the chunk. For big fish, try chunks 3 to 4 inches long and 1 to 2 inches in diameter.

Certain marine fish also have a strong appeal. Atlantic mackerel roam nearshore waters, and cuts of these bloody, oily fish make prime baits for cats of all kinds. Mullet also make fine baits in southern rivers, where they occasionally stray from the ocean or the Gulf of Mexico.

Stream Smorgasbord

North American rivers contain hundreds of native and introduced fish, ranging in size from tiny shiners to buffalo, carp, and the big cats themselves. Nearly all are fair game for catfish, depending on the habitat they occupy. But catfish seem to savor some over others. Young carp, for example, are gourmet fare for big flatheads, who may follow them onto flooded pastures at night.

T

he closely related exotic goldfish also makes a fine bait on setlines or rod and reel. Surprisingly, cut carp doesn’t rank nearly as high for channel, white, or blue cats. As a caution, be sure to check state regulations on which baits are legal and how they may be obtained. Rules vary.

Across North America, white suckers are a can’t-fail bait, as this most common species is suitable in size for yearling channel cats and up to 40-pound flatties. Slice ’em and dice ’em for float or bottom rigging for blues and channel cats, or tail-hook a 2-pounder to lure a mother flathead from her lair.

Note the difference, though, between pond-raised bait suckers and wild ones. Cultured baits don’t flee, a movement which often triggers a lethal attack from a predator. Seine baits or catch suckers on live worms, instead. We’ve found that keeping pond-raised suckers in a tank with a big flathead quickly trains the suckers in survival, making them better baits.

Smaller members of the catfish clan—stonecats, madtoms, and bullheads—make excellent baits. Indeed, studies of catfish show this species to be quite cannibalistic. In some waters where flatheads have been introduced, bullhead populations have plummeted.

Some prey preferences come as a surprise. Big blue cats often chomp bowfin before they sample more tender morsels. Observations in aquariums show that the big fish love 3- to 4-pound dogfish. On the other hand, freshwater drum (sheepshead) make a poor snack, despite the drum’s fine white flesh and relative defenselessness.

Wherever gizzard and threadfin shad abound, catfish prey on these aromatic, abundant species. Catfish guides on Santee-Cooper and many other southern reservoirs use cast nets to gather a tank full of livebait to start the day. Skewering several 4-inch threadfins through the eye socket provides a tasty bait for channel cats, blues, and flatheads. Cutting larger gizzard shad in half and rigging them on the bottom also brings action.

In early spring and fall, 3-inch shiners and redtail chubs from bait shops make fine baits for channel cats. These selections follow the general rule: Smaller baits in colder water, big stuff for summer nights.

Sunfish make great baits, remaining lively on the hook or when cut. Toughest and liveliest of all is the green sunfish, a prime flathead bait on line or

rod and reel. Bluegills, pumpkinseeds, redears, and the rest of their clan are appetizing, too.

Invertebrates

Flathead catfish share with bass an innate love of crayfish. Often just rubbing a cat’s belly reveals their lumpy remains. Tail-hook live craws and bottom rig them. But as flatheads grow, they’re less likely to take these smaller baits, or maybe they have a harder time beating their 5- to 10-pound kin to the forage.

For channel cats, craw tails make a fine bait for bottom drifting or float-fishing in summer. When using a whole craw, try crushing the head a bit to release those tasty brain morsels that Cajun crawdad fans can’t resist.

Catfish eat clams—freshwater mussels, Asiatic clams, snails of various sorts, even zebra mussels. Blue cats are notorious for foraging on mussel beds. Shake their bellies and you can almost hear the shells rattling.

Success with clams as bait is less than spectacular, however. Crushing the shell and impaling it just isn’t natural, and the cat’s preference for clams may be linked closely to abundance and location of other prey or seasonal availability.

Larvae of the dobsonfly, commonly known as hellgrammites, stay in small rocky streams throughout North America. After hatching, they remain in these streams for 2 to 3 years before moving onto land for their metamorphosis into adult flies. They are ferocious predators, using their two strong pincers to prey on worms, insects, and small fish. Gamefish, including bass, walleyes, rock bass, and catfish, turn the tables by rooting for these meaty morsels. Rig hellgrammites by hooking them under the collar and drifting them on a split-shot setup or on a floater head.

Nightcrawlers remain a great bait for all cats, sometimes unequaled for channel cats. Even the biggest cats can’t resist worms. Drift ’em, float ’em, or bottom rig ’em. A ball of about six crawlers on a 3/0 hook is a fine bait for flatheads early in the season. The aroma and wriggling action seem to attract the big cats. In Kansas reservoirs, catmen dabble treble hooks adorned with several juicy crawlers for spawning flatheads, targeting undercuts and rock crevices along riprap walls where cats have holed up.

Catalpa worms are a highly regarded bait in parts of the South, where they’re common. These meaty green worms apparently become a focus for many fish species, where they feed on lakeside trees and tumble into the water. Freeze ’em for future use. The worm’s flavor is said to be so irresistible that several artificial bait manufacturers use essence of catalpa or crushed worms in their pastebaits.

Throughout the northcentral U.S. and in southern Canada, walleye and panfish anglers treasure leeches for bait. These flat worms swim with an undulating motion on jigs and plain hooks when hooked through their large sucker.

Bait leeches, collected in ditches and swamps, also make good catfish bait when drifted in small streams on floats or bottom rigs. Cats also eat larger bloodsuckers and horse leeches that inhabit northern lakes.