Catfish bait

Lure channel cats through the nose

While many diehard catfish anglers make their own concoctions of stink baits, veteran catfish guide Chris Simpson’s tried and true favorite is a product called “Sonny’s Super Sticky Channel Catfish Bait,” which comes in either 15-ounce jars or 45-ounce tubs and is designed especially for catching channel catfish.

All species of catfish get lumped together as scavengers; when, in truth, specific baits all have different appeals depending upon the type of catfish you’re after. It’s a well-known fact among veteran catfishermen that flathead catfish will turn up their nose at anything other than a freshly cut bait or a whole live bait. Blue catfish tend to be more opportunistic feeders but still depend largely on fresh fish, mussels and crayfish for their diet.

If there is a true scavenger in the group, it’s the channel catfish. But the label “scavenger” is mostly a misnomer, owing largely to the channel cat’s highly developed olfactory senses.

Catfish have olfactory pits on each side of their head. Each pit has two nostrils. Water comes in one nostril and goes out the other. The olfactory pit has folds inside that are lined with sensitive tissue for detecting food. In comparison, a rainbow trout has about 18 folds while a largemouth bass has roughly a dozen. Channel catfish have 140 of these folds in each nostril granting it the capability to detect one part food in 10 billion parts water.

“I don’t know what’s in it but it smells good to channel cats and it sticks really well to a piece of swim noodle when you dip it in the jar,” said Simpson. “I can always rely on it in warm weather to catch channel cats.”

For more information on Sonny’s Super Sticky Channel Catfish Bait follow them on social media at www.facebook.com/pages/Sonnys-Super-Sticky-catfish-stink-bait.

Buying prepared baits is obviously an option, but for those do-it-yourselfers among us, there’s nothing better than whipping up a concoction from scratch. Here’s one that has proven effective.

Step 1: Cut 3 pounds of overly ripe cheese — most prefer an orange cheese such as American or cheddar.

Step 2: Place the diced cheese into a large plastic bucket or trash can that has an airtight lid.

Step 3: Cover the cheese with hot water and mash the cheese until a paste forms.

Step 4: Pulverize 2 to 3 pounds of raw chicken livers and blood in a blender (buy chicken livers in a small tub, which includes the most blood).

Step 5: Add pulverized chicken livers to the cheese paste, mixing thoroughly.

Step 6: Put the lid on the container, removing as much air as possible before closing the lid by depressing the sides of the container. As the mixture ferments, it will create gases, and removing the air from the bucket will keep it from blowing the lid off.

Step 7: Mix in enough flour and cod liver oil to the fermented mixture to form a thick paste, which can be spread over a small holder like a piece of a swimming tube on a hook.

Step 8: Cast to the bottom, keep a tight line and reel in the channel cats.