Stimulating Ingredients For Catfish Baits

Do you have a problem with your present fishing bait or recipe? Some catfish and carp baits are very limited in their attraction and catch results, due to their high proportion of insoluble ingredients. It is in fact, the soluble proportion which truly stimulates the fish most effectively into eating your bait and getting hooked!

For example, you may have a very basic homemade bait which catches a few fish, perhaps a chicken meal based bait with added garlic and honey, bound together by semolina. So what parts of this bait are doing the real work of attracting the fish?

The chicken meal may be a course grade of unknown age and quality. Adding water to it shows it will not dissolve very well but gives off smells, oils and colours the water which also indicates the leaching of amino acids and protein bait particles suspended in the water.

The amount of water soluble amino acids are very important to the effectiveness of your bait. The freshness and quality and solubility of your protein ingredients such as chicken meal, are very important too. Your stimulating amino acid providing, bait protein content may be any of a variety of fish or shellfish meals, meat meals, etc.

The effects of your baits amino acid leak off and ability to pull fish into your swim and to your hook bait can be vastly improved as this effect is one of the central ones required to attract your fish quickly and effectively.

You might benefit by experimenting with dough and paste baits in contrast to using boilies for instance and experience the benefits of using more soluble baits and their advantages. The advantage of using pre-soaked pellet baits or soaking such pellet baits in amino acid based attractors need to be exploited and expanded upon too!

There are very effective natural flavours which are highly and actively stimulatory, as opposed to using esters and solvent type flavours. Even using predigested fish protein in solution with betaine hydrochloride and added salt, gives an interesting ‘alternative’ very effective flavour.

If your bait contains garlic, which is a very popular choice for catfish and carp, you have a bait which contains actually contains a stimulatory blood thinner with many other interesting qualities and many which are still unknown. The type of attraction or stimulation from the garlic can be enhanced and added to by using other extracts and additives also with such stimulatory properties. Even pineapple powder for instance.

Various mineral and vitamin supplements help here too and the salt form plant extract betaine hydrochloride is another example. You might wish to try celery extract alongside it with yeast extract too. Salts are highly stimulatory too and these have some involvement in to production and success of the popular ‘catfish soaps’ used in the States. (In fact fermentation of bait or bait ingredients is very effective.)

Your bait may contain honey, another very popular choice in homemade baits for catfish or carp. Refined sweeteners and energy sources such as honey, molasses and so on are very effective in baits, although some modern sweeteners and proprietary fishing bait sweeteners are extremely effective even in tiny doses in bait.

You bait may be based on desiccated ground chicken liver for instance. Chicken is a good protein for use in baits because its sustainable production for example, being fed on corn. This is in contrast to the use of fish and shellfish from the sea, or farmed fish fed on fishmeal and not vegetable sources.

In this case, the rate of demand is far outstripping the supply and using these ingredients for fishing bait may not seem that responsible when sustainable and very effective alternatives can be used as whole protein and amino acid sources in baits.

Many bait are severely limited in their fish attraction from range and immediate fish feed triggering capacity! Ideally you need that ‘extra something’ to get the carp and catfish etc far more stimulated into taking your bait and on a far more regular basis.

For example, all fish can actually sample and ‘feed’ on your bait before eating it by ‘filter’ feeding and sensing its water soluble elements in your bait. So in many ways they already ‘feel’ the effects of the bait before actually eating it. The more you can stimulate the fish like this using their own olfactory systems the better and especially at range too.

This way you are more likely to draw numbers of feeding stimulated fish into your swim. Ideally you will have the biggest fish competing between themselves for your bait. This feeding behaviour makes it far easier to hook them of course!

Therefore the real secret of a great bait is to give the fish amazing stimulation and benefits signals dissolved in the water even before the fish are even in your swim or near the bait.

For example: many powerful plant extracts and ingredients can be used, like betaine, chilli oil, salts, minerals, vitamins, liquid amino acids and predigested soluble meals as bait ingredients, all have this effect.

The author has many more fishing and bait ‘edges’ up his sleeve. Every single one can have a huge impact on catches. (Warning: This article is protected by copyright.)

By Tim Richardson.

For the unique and acclaimed new massive expert bait making ‘bible’ ebook / book:

“BIG CATFISH BAIT SECRETS!” SEE:

http://www.baitbigfish.com

Make Killer Catfish Dip Baits

A very special combination of very powerful fish feed stimulators, when soaked into your baits, can really multiply your catches with ease…

Ground baiting for catfish and carp really can come down to regularity of feeding and the amounts you use to get the fish over their natural caution but it is the stimulatory additives you use that makes all the difference in the world!

When it comes to bait the: Big secret is the large quantity used and the regular feeding of very generous amounts of amino acid impregnated baits whether boilies, pellets, meat baits, fish baits, or ground baits of various descriptions or forms.

With regards dips, you might like to try mixing the “Holland and Barret” ‘Liquid amino acids’ body building supplements (like ‘Minamino’) with Nash ‘Whiskey EE’s’ liquid supplement and Nutrabaits ‘Nutramino.’ Using 3 types of amino acids sources with added attractors can really give your hook baits and ground baits a gigantic boost for big fish used as soaks, dips, ‘outside flavourings’ frozen and defrosted into baits, etc.

Also, adding a heaped teaspoon of fine sea salt per 4 or 500 milliliters of amino acids mixture really multiplies your baits attraction. Try Adding 2 teaspoons of betaine hydrochloride per 4 to 500 milliliters liquid amino acids supplements.

Adding betaine hydrochloride to this salt and amino mixture makes this a vastly superior attractor and really pulls fish in towards your baits and swim in an ideal ‘feeding stimulated’ state ready to feed and get hooked! Betaine is very highly stimulatory to many species of fish, carp and catfish included along with fish like trout, bass, eels and even sea fish like flounders!

You can buy betaine ‘HCL’ from many fishing suppliers especially from specialist fishing bait suppliers, health food shops, chemists, drug stores etc. There is a form of tablets you can get with pepsin and betaine hydrochloride combined and these are great. Many species of fish really get turned even more if ‘digestive juices’ like pepsin have already started to digest their food for them in advance or are supplied in their food!

Try freezing these prepared mixtures into your baits (even into paste, dough or pellet baits) and defrost and refreeze these into your hook baits and ‘free baits’ about 5 times and your baits will be in a different class to readymades without this special preparation.

This process changes the structure for the of the baits for the better and also allows bacteria to build up in them and start to ‘predigest them’ which is very highly beneficial too releasing even more amounts of attractive amino acids, sugars, alcohols and flavours from your baits all of which are highly stimulatory.

The point is to saturate your baits full of freely water soluble amino acids and ingredients that provide these, as these are some of the very best for attracting big carp, catfish and many other species, second to none! If you want to use this method to the extremes I recommend it, you will always catch bags more big fish especially using the above type of mixture. (You do not even need flavours!)

I personally do not advocate commercial flavours not because they do not catch fish, but because the average angler uses them. I’d prefer to use flavours of the naturally distilled kind, you can get these in banana or cranberry for example, or you can natural plant extracts like chilli oil instead.

If you use the above freezing and defrosting method for all your free baits too, you could be top rod everywhere if you fish correctly and keep feeding enough bait.

I never bait up with ‘free baits’ of the ‘whole’ boilie baits description on harder fished waters. In many fishing situations this is pointless. It can often actually make the bigger fish harder to catch for various reasons – so instead, repeatedly soak, freeze and defrost your free baits and chop them up! It may be messy and take time but you will be amazed at the results and how fast they can come in even short fishing sessions…

The author has many more fishing and bait ‘edges’ up his sleeve. Every single one can have a huge impact on catches. (Warning: This article is protected by copyright.)

Tim Richardson is a carp and catfish bait-making expert, and a highly successful big fish angler. His bait making and bait enhancing books / ebooks:

“BIG CARP BAIT SECRETS!” SEE:

http://www.baitbigfish.com

Cat Fishing At Night

Some of the most enjoyable fishing I’ve done in the Inland Northwest has been the times spent night fishing for catfish on Sprague Lake.

One of the reasons that I wanted to do an article on catfish fishing on Sprague Lake is that I recently learned of proposed plans by the WDFW, (Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife), to rehabilitate the lake this fall. It seems that the fishing angler density has fallen off the past few years to one of the lowest in the state. WDFW surveys say that the lake attracts fewer than five anglers per acre a year. You can read the whole story by Rich Landers of the Spokesman-Review at their website.

While Catfish can be caught during the day at Sprague Lake, I’ve always had the best results and experience at night.

I, for one, would miss the magic of Catfish fishing at night on Sprague. My son and I usually head out with plans to be on the water prior to sundown. The best times for us are the hot nights of summer when the air temperature stays in the high 60’s and above after dark. Far enough from the city lights, the stars overhead shine brilliantly and the band of our Milky Way Galaxy can be clearly seen. The stars seem close enough to reach out and touch them.

Another part of the magic are the multitudes of bats, feeding on flying insects, swooping so close that they often tick your line as it leaves your rod tip to the water. Besides being harmless to humans, bats eat their weight in mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects nightly, which might otherwise be feeding off of you. Despite this benefit, I still recommend the use of a good spray or lotion repellant containing “deet”. The best I’ve found is the Avon product called, “Skin-so-Soft”. It is far and away the best smelling repellent I’ve used that was still highly effective.

Harper Island on the southwest end of the lake is an extremely active bird nesting site and even at night the sounds of gulls and other waterfowl fill the air. I have often wondered if the birds on the island ever sleep. If they do, you wouldn’t know it from the noises coming from there, even well after dark.

Since it is the nature of Catfish fishing to be a waiting game… a lot of that time is spent talking, telling stories of past fishing trips and anything else that comes to mind. We usually bring along a small propane barbecue and cook burgers and hotdogs. Good flashlights are essential, and one of the foam mounted headlights that can be hooked up to your 12 volt battery can be pretty handy for navigating to and from the boat launch, along the shoreline, and around Harper Island (see map above) on the southwest end of the lake. Usually one angler holds the light for the person fighting the fish or head-mounted lights can be great also. The east side of Harper Island has been our preferred spot for night cats, but I have heard from other people that the creek mouth, (Cow Creek), at the far southwest end of the lake is quite good also. Either spot is just a short distance from the public launch at that end of the lake.

Now let’s get down to the equipment you will need for these monsters.

Rods: First you will need a good stout rod. Any heavy to medium heavy rod in 6 to 7 foot length will probably suffice. Ugly sticks will do the job well enough.

Line: Line requirements too, are fairly simple, 15 to 25 pound monofilament or braid or heavy test fluorocarbon. If you’re fishing for trophy’s that get much bigger than 20 to 25 pounds you might want to up your line to 30 or even 35 pound test.

The Right Hook: The right hooks just may be the most important factor to consider. Since practically every bite you get your bait is swallowed, you want to make sure that when you set the hook that you don’t gut or throat hook your fish. A circle hook will slide back up the throat and then usually hook in the jaw.

In addition to setting without rod action, circle hooks are favored in commercial fisheries because they hook and retain fish, even on slack lines. They also tend to hook fish in the jaw, causing less mortality than standard J-hooks. Make sure to use a heavy-gauge hook. Cats have been known to straighten thin-wire hooks.

The Hook-set: Using circle hooks requires some attention to your hook-set. With reels with a clicker you would set your drag light and turn on your reel clicker. When the clicker starts to click, (indicating that the bait has been taken), tighten up your drag and slowly bring back your rod tip with a gentle sweep. Too early or too aggressive a hook-set can pop the bait out of the catfish’s mouth.

What Bait to Use? I have the best luck with a golf ball size chunk of fish on a 3/0, 4/0 or even a 5/0 size circle hook. Trout chunks work great, (but you didn’t hear it from me), and some people persist in using earthworm, chicken livers, stink baits and even cornflakes, oatmeal and flour concoctions. The truth is, just about anything edible with a strong scent is likely to attract and entice a catfish to bite.

Reels: Hands down, large bait-casting style reels have the cranking power to move these big fish. Spinning reels can and do work and many catfish fishermen swear by them. Just for fun, my 31 year old son hooked and played one large catfish with a child’s Scooby-Doo pole and even its inferior reel might have brought it boat side had the line not been broken off on the outboard motor.

Other tackle: Some people use weights to keep their baits on the bottom. With a large chunk of fish on your hook I haven’t found it necessary. Besides, the rocky bottom of Sprague can cause your weight to hang-up in the rocks. Some cats do like to roll when hooked, so a good ball-bearing swivel can be an advantage. Bobbers can be a good idea both from the standpoint of being a bite indicator, and, (if it is being slowly blown across the surface), it can drag your bait along with it presenting it to a larger area. I prefer to watch my line and rod tip. There isn’t usually much doubt when you have a catfish on. Last, but oh so important, a good large net is an essential item to boat these behemoths.

The Fight: I have heard some people say that catching a large catfish is like pulling in a large log, or some other such nonsense. These comments are usually made by someone who has never caught a large catfish. I can bear testimony that a Sprague Lake catfish of good size usually puts up one heck of a fight.

Getting there: The town of Sprague is just 37 miles from Spokane, WA. After leaving I-90 go through the town to the South shore road following it to the public access road near the southwest end of the lake.

David Wright has been a resident of the Inland Northwest, (Spokane, WA), for more than fifty years. He has fished the area since childhood and knows the waters of Washington, Idaho and Montana well. He is the Editor and Publisher of the Monthly On-line Fishing Magazine, “Max-fishing”, (http://www.max-fishing.com). Dedicated to providing current fishing information by printing articles, providing a fishing forum, free classifieds for used fishing gear, boats and finding a fishing buddy. The site also provides product and video reviews, an events calendar, area fishing reports and a section for visitors to post pictures of their catches.

Follow Up To Cat Fishing Baits…..

As promised here is a picture of them green worms I mentioned in my post Cat Fishing Baits That Work .

The baits shown below are just an example of natural baits that work for cat catching cat fish, the picture was taken just foot steps away from the shoreline of the river and they are a natural food for not only catfish, but also just about every other species of fish in this specific river. They STINK and they work! Using the worms in the picture below I have never been outfished by another angler fishing for catfish, using some dip bait or packaged garbage! Anyway check em out!

Hopefully this and my last post will motivate you into getting out there and finding some baits that are native to the body of water you are going to be fishing.

Cat Fishing Baits That Work

I know many anglers that swear by there dip baits and baits like chicken livers and what not to land big Catie’s. They all may work, but there is something else you should try and I will give you one excellent example. In these parts along the river banks you can dig and find these worms that are a deep dark green color. These worms a relatively small about quarter the size of a night-crawler, but boy do they work! You stick a bundle of em on a 1/0 hook and your sure to catch cat fish!

The worms I am talking about are not the worms that have been dyed. The worms I am talking about are naturally green and naturally stink to high heaven once you get a hook through em. Its to my understanding that they feed off the roots of itch weed and other native plants along the river here. Ill post a picture later.

But anyway, these green worms are a natural food for catfish in the river. When the river goes up the catfish will move into the shorelines feeding on the ones the get flooded out of their holes. They absolutely love them!

So here’s the point I am trying to make, try something natural, something the catfish are use to eating in their habitat and you will catch more fish! Using baits which are a natural food source for catfish will spark a bite when nothing else is working and produce more fish when they are biting.

Here’s another example, Helgramites which are also found in the river system here. They will consistently out perform any non-native bait you throw at these catfish.

Just a quick tip from me to you, put down that pre-packaged dip bait and go do some foraging for natural baits, do some research to find out what it is the cat fish in your parts dine on and you will be that much better off.

You can thank me later, but seriously this is probably something you have all heard before, but I am betting only a handful of you have actually taken the time to do. Its much easier using pre-packaged baits, whether it be chicken livers, non-native shiners, dip baits and so on.

Tight lines everyone, Im off to do some fishing!