How to Bait a Catfish Hook
- 1). Catch shad the day before you fish for catfish, using an inexpensive cast net. Keep the shad in a cooler filled with ice. You can usually find shad in lakes, rivers and creeks. Use a sharp hook through the tail of the shad or under the dorsal fin. You can also thread the shad on a hook like you would with a worm. If possible, use live shad as bait.
- 2). Capture bullheads, a smaller relative of catfish, for use as bait. Bullheads attract large catfish such as the large channel and flathead catfish. Use a hook and line to catch bullheads, then keeping them alive, run a hook through the lips or on the top of the bullhead's tail.
- 3). Thread live night crawlers on a hook securely, hooking them more than once. Small blues and channels find the wriggly night crawlers irresistible. Keep the night crawlers in a bucket.
- 4). Hook through the tail of a crawfish when using whole ones as bait. You can also remove the tail and thread just the tail onto the hook. Sutton recommends you use "peelers", i.e., crawfish that have shed their outer shells.