I have been thinking about carrying some kind of non-perishable catfish bait in case I ever run out of the fresh stuff. Something like Gulp! minnows or along those lines? Maybe PowerBait something? Any ideas?
ive heard of people catching them on the gulp worms but cannot confirm, ive caught a hand full on curly tails, and gulp minnow but not enough to actually go out and throw them in hopes of cats.
**I know a select few folks who swear by the special catfish “dough baits” and dips. But they are definitely in the minority. Most who try that stuff and then use the more natural baits…worms, shrimp, liver, carp meat, white bass, minnows, etc…usually find they catch more and bigger fish on the latter group.
But…Gulp products have a great fish attractant built it. They catch just about all species…including catfish. However, the Gulp Minnows, grubs and worms work better when added to a jighead or spinner than they do if just soaked on the bottom. In waters clear enough to allow catfish to become sight feeders they chase down live prey…and will hit lures…but they hit lures better if there is also some “smell-good” on the hooks. Gulp minnows produce well then.**
Obviosly I don’t fish Utah Lake very often, once or maybe twice a year. But I usually take a package of cheap hotdogs with me and sometimes the biggest cat of the day will come on them. My kids liked to use them. They are also my go to bait when fishing community ponds. The stocked cats will eat these over any other bait that I have found.
A member that use to post on BFT years ago, swore that hotdogs soaked koolaid overnight was the best thing he had ever used.
One option for non perishible bait is heavily salted cut bait. Use medium coarse salt, like kosher pickling salt. Get a 5 pound bag. Cut up your white bass and pack it with lots of salt in a small tote. Drain the liquid a couple times until it is fairly shrivled up and put it in a bag with some more salt.
We used to fish for halibut with salted herring in Alaska. It will last a long time like that. Once you put it in the water it will start to soften up, but stays on your hook well.
Matthew
Several years ago, when I was experimenting with different catfish bait, I used slices of hot dogs soaked in vinegar and also some soaked in vanilla. Both caught plenty of cats at Willard Bay; however, I didn’t like fishing with them because they would often come off during the cast.