Hillbilly Hut

I think the most important part of catfishing is simply enjoying it and not overcomplicating it. Baits should be simple. I always take several different types of bait on my trips, try two different ones and switch them up if they aren't attracting the desired level of action.

Some catfish baits I use most frequently are good old fashion nightcrawlers. Nightcrawlers are easy to come by and usually are the good ole stand-by bait for catfish. My second favorite cat bait is clearly the obvious chicken livers. They are stinky, messy, hard to get to stay on the hook, but almost always pull a bite, if not a catfish, a striper or fresh water drum (in the Ohio River).

A bait I've been turned onto recently though is the Skipjack Herring. You can buy them frozen online or some bait shops even carry them these days. I read an article a couple weeks ago that the record Blue Catfish in Ohio was caught on one of these bad boys. I tried some a couple weeks ago, had a nibble, but nothing brought to the bank.

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