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How to Make Your Own Catfish Bait Out of Crawdads

How to Make Your Own Catfish Bait Out of Crawdads

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Catfish are bottom feeders, accustomed to eating a wide variety of different foods. Catfish eat live crawdads and also enjoy the crayfish flavor in several types of baits. Different cat fishermen have different opinions, with some preferring cut bait while others think dough or stink bait gets the best bites.You can make your own catfish bait out of crawdads.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:
  • Crawdads
  • Blender
  • Corn meal
  • Red pop
  • Anise oil
  • Freezer bag
  • Chicken livers
  • Chicken blood
  • Frozen shrimp
  • Raw fish
  • Cheese
  • Sardines
  • Bread
  • Flour
  • Crackers
Step 1
Bait a hook with crawdad meat for a simple, effective catfish bait. Completely strip the shell off the tail, and bait the hook directly to catch channel cats. Use this bait for fishing in still or slow-moving waters, since it can easily slip off the hook. For faster waters, bait a live crawdad by piercing it through the tail. The hard shell prevent the crawdad from slipping off the hook, giving you a better chance to attract catfish.
Step 2
Use a bait that combines sweet and fishy scents to increase your chance of landing a catfish. Grind crawdads in a blender, or dice them into small pieces. Combine 1.5 cups of cornmeal with 20 ounces of red pop in a pot. Add a teaspoon of anise oil and your diced or ground crawdads to the mix. Cook the entire mixture over medium heat while stirring. When the mixture is sticky and fairly stiff, place a layer of flour on a cutting board or counter, and lay the dough on top of it. Kneed the dough for 10 to 15 minutes, adding more flour until the bait is no longer sticky. Freeze the dough bait until you need it.
Step 3
Catfish stink bait isn't pleasant, but it gets the job done. Mix crawdads with chicken livers and chicken blood, frozen shrimp, leftover raw fish, stinky cheese, sardines and other pungent ingredients. Grind the mixture up in a blender, and add some type of bread ingredient such as flour, crackers or ordinary white bread. Keep adding the bread until you get a thick, doughy bait. Place the bait in a freezer storage container, and keep it in the refrigerator until you need to use it. For an extra pungent, stinky bait, leave it sitting out in the sun for a few hours to allow it to get rancid.

Article Written By Isaiah David

Isaiah David is a freelance writer and musician living in Portland, Ore. He has over five years experience as a professional writer and has been published on various online outlets. He holds a degree in creative writing from the University of Michigan.

Write for Trails.com

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