The Giant Collection of Catfish Baits and Rigs: Catfish Baits: Homebrew Recipes and Other Baits and Rigs That Really Work

Preliminaries

Copyright, Legal Notice and Disclaimer

This publication is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws, and all rights are reserved, including resale rights. You are not allowed :

To give or sell this treatise to anyone else. If you received this publication from anyone other than the author, Dr. Ron Milliman (AKA Dr. Catfish), you have received a pirated copy. In which case, please contact me via email at [email protected] and let me know.

In like manner, all images or information in this treatise may not be duplicated or redistributed in any form without the express written consent of Dr. Ron Milliman, and any trademarks, service marks, product names or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used only for reference. There is absolutely no expressed or implied endorsement if I include any given brand or term.

In addition, much of this publication is based on personal experience and anecdotal evidence. Even though I have made every reasonable effort to be completely accurate in the content of this treatise, I assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Also, you should use this information, including all of the Catfish bait recommendations and recipes, as you see fit, and at your own risk. Your particular situation may, and probably will, vary from the situations and examples covered in this treatise. Therefore, you should adjust your use of the information and recommendations accordingly.

Copyright © 2021, Dr. Ron Milliman. All rights reserved worldwide.

About the Creators of This Book

The author, Dr. Ronald E. Milliman, is a retired Professor of Marketing from Western Kentucky University. His students used to call him Dr. Ron, but now he’s just plain Ron and is often referred to as Dr. Catfish.

He learned to fish about as soon as he could hold a cane pole. His mom started teaching him how to fish on the lakes in Michigan, first for Perch and various Sunfish, and later for Northern Pike and other varieties, including Bullhead caught out of his uncle's farm pond. He has fished in the lakes of several states and Canada and especially enjoyed fishing off the southeast coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico and off the shores of Florida for all kinds of saltwater fish. But over the years, his consistent favorite has been Catfish, especially the big Blue Cats. 

Ron and his son, Brad, the book’s graphic illustrator, have been a fishing team practically since Brad was old enough to walk. Brad, too, has fished many lakes in several states, but he got his start in Michigan and the salt water of the Gulf of Mexico. While he has caught many different species of fish, both freshwater and saltwater, like his dad, his consistent favorite is the big Blue Cat. They frequently team up to fish for the varieties of fish caught in the waters of Lake Barkley in southwestern Kentucky, focusing primarily on Catfish and Stripers.

Dr. Catfish (right) and his son, Brad, June 19, 2010

Introduction

In this book, I am going to cover some of the various baits used for catching the three more common kinds of Catfish: the Channel Cat, the Blue Cat, and the Flathead Cat. I am going to talk about all kinds of baits, including Creepy Crawler Things, Live and Cut Bait, Pleasant Smelling Catfish Baits That Really Work, Home Brew Recipes and Concoctions, Commercial Dough, Punch, and Dip Baits, Chumming Techniques and Recipes to Bring ’Em In, even artificials that are known to have caught Catfish, and then, I wrap it up with Rigging Up For Striking Results and video suggestions full of catfishing action.

Though I discuss the most commonly used rigs and setups, what I do not get into is a detailed discussion of the many choices and considerations pertaining to rods, reels, and tackle, e.g., line, hooks, etc. There are entire books written on just these topics alone, and that is beyond the scope and intent of this treatise.

Instead, I am going to focus on the kinds of things that most affect a Catfish’s olfactory or exceptionally keen sense of smell. One thing I must delineate right up front is that what smells good or bad to us has very little correlation with what smells good or bad to a Catfish. What we do know for certain is that Catfish have an exceptionally keen sense of smell, and they have olfactory sensors in their barbs and along the entire length of their bodies, unlike us humans, who have olfactory sensors just in our nose. Therefore, Catfish can smell and taste the difference between a creek chub and a baby carp at over 200 feet. In rivers, current carries both attractive and displeasing scents and tastes to Catfish. In still water, Catfish 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.

The Catfish baits that grab 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 Catfish anglers know that the right Catfish bait can mean the difference between a few fiddler Cats and loading the boat.

When choosing the best Catfish bait, one constant question is whether to use a whole live critter, cut sections, or some type of artificial bait. Many predators at times clearly prefer active live bait. Among Catfish, Flatheads, particularly big ones, often prefer