Years ago, most of us believed that softbaits weren’t a legitimate alternative to cut or live baitfish, or even attractor baits like dipbaits. Recent developments, however, have redefined the softbait lure category. In the bass and saltwater arenas, some of the hottest softbaits no longer contain synthetic plastisol, for one thing. Rather, these third-generation baits, including select products from the Berkley Gulp! line, FoodSource Lures, and Fishbites, are formulated with ingredients that begin dissolving the instant they’re submersed, and eventually they biodegrade completely. Some of them even provide nutritional value to fish.

Third-generation softbaits are proving effective on catfish because they offer an appealing balance of taste, scent, shape, and texture. They likely won’t replace natural cutbait—arguably the best all-around bait ever. Yet, the more we experiment with softbaits and identify situations in which they excel, and as bait formulas for enticing cats continue to improve, softbaits have earned a legitimate spot your catfishing arsenal.

Presentations and Bait Options

Softbaits excel when coupled with a jighead or beneath the same float riggings you’d use with traditional baits. They could be effective alternatives to cutbait while drift-fishing reservoirs, too. In many ways, these baits are the most efficient options for catfish, and when you’re actively casting and retrieving them—a fairly exotic approach for catfish anglers—softbaits also are a lot of fun to fish.

Even though some of them, such as those labeled as “cutbait alternatives,” were designed to be fished stationary on bottom or under a float, most work better when you add action, particularly the case with channel cats. Choose baits that resemble something alive and provide some action when you pull them through the water. Thin, flat baits work better than thick, rigid ones. A thinner bait worked on a jig imparts a swimming, undulating action that appeals to catfish. Under a float or on bottom, current provides a subtle waving action.

Berkley Gulp!—Gulp! baits reportedly have 400 times more scent dispersion than regular soft plastic baits. They’re 100 percent biodegradable and composed of all-natural ingredients. When kept out of water for extended periods, however, it’s vital to return Gulp! baits to their ziplocked package, or they harden and become unfishable.

Several varieties and sizes of Gulp! have proven appealing to channel cats, chief among them the curlytail varieties like the Minnow Grub and the Jigging Grub (a Cabela’s Gulp! exclusive). The Jigging Grub has the traditional curlytail grub shape, while the Minnow Grub has a fatter body. Rig grubs on a 1/8- to 1/4-ounce jighead and deadstick or retrieve them slowly over bottom. Ultra-slow crawls with 20- to 30-second pauses can be effective. When catfish strike a jig-and-grub combo, you’re reminded that they really are hunters.

Some of the Gulp! Saltwater products, including the Shrimp and Peeler Crab, have produced nice catches of channel cats, as well. We’ve caught some good fish on these baits drifted under slipfloats in rivers. Catfish should also find Gulp! Cut Bait appealing. It comes in precut strips that mimic cut fish, something to try on drift rigs.

The newest addition to the Gulp! line of softbaits is Gulp! Alive!, packaged in livebait-style tubs filled with Gulp! Alive! attractant. Reported to absorb 20 percent more Gulp! scent and yield a more natural swimming action, Alive! baits can be recharged by placing them back into the tub of attractant. In limited trials on a small river this summer, Gulp! Alive! Squids produced several channel cats fished beneath slipfloats. Berkley’s new Gulp! Alive! Swimming Mullet looks like another catfish catcher.

FoodSource Lures—Developed through a 3-year cooperative partnership between Auburn University fishery researchers and food scientists, FoodSource says their lures are the only ones made of 100 percent real food. In laboratory trials, fish not only ate these baits, but also grew and thrived on them.

Also unique to FoodSource is that even after baits are left out of water, they can be re-softened and recharged. Simply place them in water or a water-based solution for a few minutes and return them to a bag of unused baits.

Of interest to catfish anglers are the 3-inch Saltwater Shrimp Tail, Catfish Bites, Big Cat Meal, and the Goliath Grub. Fish the Shrimp Tail on a classic set rig or drift one below a float. Rigid, non-action baits, such as the Big Cat Meal, reportedly work well during summer, particularly when dipbaits and other prepared baits are producing catfish. Chunk-style baits might work fine in pay lakes or other settings where cats frequently encounter a wide variety of discarded baits, such as doughbait or cheese.

The FoodSource Goliath Grub, a giant 9-inch curlytail, can be productive, but you need to modify it to get it working right. Tear the flat tail section from the tube-shaped body. The tail from this bait is as close to an ideal piece of imitation cutbait as it gets. Hooked once through the base (torn-off side) of the tail with a 1/0 Eagle Claw 84, this little flap of scent and taste waves and flutters in current.

There’s something catfish find attractive about these thin, flat strips. Scent and taste remain fundamental attractors, but in many instances, the elements of visual appearance and natural action in the water make a positive difference. Catfish not only detect minute movements and vibrations, but in many environments they can visually discern familiar cues in their natural food. When set-rigged on bottom, interspersed drags or short rod-tip sweeps activate these “flappy” softbaits to trigger cats.

The cube-shaped chunks of cut baitfish that we often use sprout thin, fleshy strips of skin that subtly flutter and flap in current. This is a trigger but an easy one to overlook because built into natural baits, so we don’t often think about it. Still, catfish likely respond to this as part of the overall food package. Even if they can’t always see it, they can feel it.

Fishbites—Developed through decades of study by marine researcher and University of Florida professor Dr. William Carr, Fishbites are a synthetic alternative to natural cutbait. Carr’s research has led him to conclude that, when it comes to the chemical stimulants fish use to detect and track prey, what humans smell in the air and what fish detect in the water are very different, because fish sense and react only to chemicals that are dissolved in water. Moreover, even strong, airborne odors (strong to us) do not necessarily dissolve in water so they may not attract fish.

Fishbites baits consist of nearly odorless (to us), highly water-soluble ingredients. This is a radical idea in the catfishing realm that might represent one the biggest advancements in catfish baits in decades. Originally designed as an alternative to live- and deadbaits for saltwater applications, Fishbites now offers Yeh Monn! Freshwater Catfish Bait, a 13-inch long by 5/8-inch wide ribbon of bait that anglers cut into desired lengths and shapes.

Yeh Monn! flavors include crayfish, liver, shad, and worm, and Saltwater Fishbites products contain additional flavors such as shrimp, clam, and crab. Fishbites are “physically right” for cats, too. Strips come in thin slices, so they offer a natural flapping motion underwater, particularly in current. The bait is attached to a fine, light mesh backing, so the strips stay on the hook well and are durable. These biodegradable baits hold good potential as cutbait alternatives.

In addition to being biodegradable, these third-generation softbaits are highly appealing to catfish on both an olfactory and a visual level. So long as development dollars continue to support further research into the realm of natural lure alternatives, the potential for newer, even more desirable catfish softbaits is high.