Have you ever been fishing
and witnessed someone catching all the fish?
I have many times. When I see
someone hauling in stringers full of fish I get very curious. On occasion, I have asked about their secret
techniques pertaining to equipment and bait.
A lot of times I will get
the polite smile and response such as just lucky today or you knowsame ol
stuff. Ill ask what type of bait and
that is usually when I will get the silent treatment. The typical response, sorry, secret family
recipe or if I tell you, Ill have to kill you.
Through the years, I have
collected some very useful information concerning fishing baits. The most important realization was that the people
who were catching the most fish were not using store bought baits. It seems that they made their own baits.
Some anglers in the past
divulged some secrets pertaining to their baits. I thank them for it. I have developed my own formulas but this is
not the time or place to reveal them.
However, I have compiled the main ingredients found in the most potent
catfish bait formulas.
I want to encourage you to
develop your own formulas based on these ingredients found below. You will notice that these ingredients are
easy to find. You can find the majority of
the supplies at a well stocked grocer.
When developing your own
formulas, do not use all the ingredients listed. Just take three or four items and see what
happens. You are not bound to the items
listed below. Feel free to test others.
I have found the most
important aspect of making your own bait is testing. You will need to test your homemade bait
several times because maybe a certain day, the fish arent biting, or there are
no fish, or some other variable that has nothing to do with the potency of the
bait. Bring several batches of your
baits on your fishing outing and test several to increase your chances of
success.
Another tip is to write
everything down. You dont want to
develop bait and find that it is successful only to realize that you forgot how
to make it. Also, you can make batches
of bait for literally pennies a pound.
You may store the batches in zipper plastic bags in the freezer.
Since these ingredients are
for developing catfish bait, I will warn you ahead of time to do your
experimenting in the garage or outdoors because some of the ingredients have a
pungent smell and some create a mess.
1) Uncooked oatmeal
popular as a base (keeps all the ingredients together in a doughy mixture)
2) Baking flour another
popular base
3) Corn and wheat flakes or
similar types of cereals base to keep bait on hook
4) Water required in most
cases to help make the mixture workable
5) Garlic salt found in
most store bought baits (probably a good idea if you used it also)
6) Garlic powder similar
to salt but may alter the fish attractant properties
7) Can of tuna found in
many homemade bait recipes. Maybe the
old timers know something.
8) Anise oil extract
almost a requirement for all types of fishing bait
9) meats from the meat
counter (raw livers, brains, fish parts) the more blood, the better
10) canned or packaged meats
such as cat food, dog food, spam, sandwich meats, hot dogs an alternative to
the raw meats
11) cheeses smellier the
better think limburger or rotten cheddar
12) miscellaneous fish
food pellets, cattle feed pellets, molasses, gelatin mixes, can of corn,
strawberry soda, bbq sauce
13) Zipper storage bags
great for mixing your ingredients, storage, and taking to fishing hole.
Remember, if it smells, is
bloody, or rotted, it might be a great addition to your catfish bait formula. I hope this will information will get you
started in developing your own secret catfish bait.
The most important tip of
all is to remember to have fun. Share
the experience with your family and friends.
Have contests on who catches the most fish with his or her bait. I guarantee you will remember the fishing
stories for the rest of your life.
Darren Takenaga is an
outdoor enthusiast, and avid angler.
Visit http://www.CatfishBaitAndTips.com
to discover secret fish bait recipes to fill your stringer full of fish. Email:
darren.takenaga@gmail.com You may also join my Free Ezine called Fish
Bait & Lure. It is a monthly
publication delivered via email and contains a fish bait recipe and anything
else of interest to fishing enthusiasts. http://www.MakeYourOwnFishBait.com/subscribe.htm