How to Make Catfish Bait

Co-authored by Kyle Hall

Last Updated: September 15, 2021

Catfish rely on their sense of smell and touch to look for food because they spend most of their time at the bottom of waterways, where visibility is poor. Baits with a strong odor appeal to catfishes’ particularly powerful sense of smell. Many anglers have favorite homemade recipes for making catfish bait. The key is to try different recipes and see which one works the best for you. :)

Ingredients

Sardines

1 cup (240 mL) of flour
1 cup (240 mL) of cornmeal
1 tin of sardines
1 fluid ounce (30 mL) of anise extract

Stink Bait

2 cans of tuna
2 cans of sardines
¹⁄₂ pound (0.23 kg) of chicken liver
1 box of stuffing mix
1 box of stuff bread
Flour to thicken

Cheese

1 pound (0.45 kg) of cheese
8 ounces (230 g) of chicken liver
1 can of wet dog food
1 tablespoon (15 mL) of garlic powder
Flour to thicken

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using Sardines

1
Combine 1 cup (240 mL) of flour and 1 cup (240 mL) of cornmeal in a bowl. Use a large bowl so the dry ingredients don't spill over the side. Mix the flour and cornmeal thoroughly with a whisk.^{[1]
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2
Open a tin of sardines and use a fork to cut them into small pieces. Sardines will give your bait a strong smell that will attract catfish. You can cut up the sardines right in the tin they came in. Just peel back the lid on the tin and use the fork to break up the individual fish.^{[2]
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3
Dump the sardines in the dry mixture and whisk everything thoroughly. Use the whisk to mash the sardines into the flour and cornmeal mixture so they blend more easily. You’ll know you’re finished when the dry mixture has absorbed all of the juices from the sardines.^{[3]
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4
Pour 1 fluid ounce (30 mL) of anise extract into the mixture. Anise extract is a strong-smelling extract that you can find with the spices at your local grocery store. After you pour in the anise extract, stir the mixture thoroughly with the whisk.
5
Add water to the mixture slowly until it’s the consistency of playdough. Be careful not to add too much water at once or your dough will be too thin. Pour a little water in at a time, stir, and then check the consistency of the dough.^{[4]
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6
Make the dough into golf-ball-size balls and boil them for 3 minutes. Boiling the balls of dough will make them harder so they’re easier to fish with. After 3 minutes, carefully take the dough balls out of the boiling water with tongs or a slotted spoon. Place them on a paper towel to dry and cool off.^{[5]
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7
Store your catfish dough in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. Once they've cooled off, place the dough balls in a sealable plastic bag or container and keep them in the fridge. When you’re ready to use your dough, all you need to do is hook a ball on a fish hook and toss it in the water.^{[6]
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- The longer your catfish dough sits in storage, the smellier and more attractive to catfish it will become. However, you eventually may need to throw away your dough if it becomes dry and crumbly.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Making Stink Bait

1
Combine tuna, sardines, and chicken liver in a container. 2 cans of tuna and sardines each should be enough. Any kind of small, plastic container will work, as long as it's sealable.
2
Place the sealed container outside for 1 week. Leaving the fish and liver mixture outside for a week will give it time to spoil and develop a pungent smell that catfish will love. Make sure you put it in a spot that wild animals can’t get to.
3
Add stuffing mix and bread to the mixture until it becomes doughy. Add the stuffing mix and bread gradually so the mixture doesn’t get too thick. The fish and liver mixture will have a strong, rotten smell, so it’s a good idea to do this outside. Stir the mixture with a utensil that you won’t mind throwing away afterward.
4
Form small balls with the doughy stink bait. You may want to wear gloves as you’re making the balls so you don’t get the mixture or smell on your hands. Make the balls small enough to fit on a fishing hook, or about the size of a golf ball.
- If the smell is too overwhelming, wear a dust mask while you make the dough balls.
5
Store your stink bait outside until you’re ready to fish with it. If you have an outdoor fridge or freezer, you can store your bait in that. Just keep in mind that the bait may stink up wherever you store it.
- You can store your stink bait for as long as you can handle the smell. Just keep in mind that over a long period of time it may dry out or deteriorate.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Cheese

1
Melt 1 pound (0.45 kg) of cheese in a large pot. Any kind of cheese will work, but the smellier, the better. Catfish are attracted to strong, intense smells.
2
Chop up 8 ounces (230 g) of chicken liver and add it to the melted cheese. Use a large spoon to stir the chicken liver into the cheese.
3
Add a can of wet dog food and 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of garlic powder. You can use any flavor of wet dog food. Once the dog food and garlic powder are in the pot, stir the mixture thoroughly.
4
Blend all the ingredients together. Pour the bait from the pot into a blender and blend it thoroughly. Blending the mixture will make it easier to turn into a dough later on.
5
Pour the mixture into a bowl and gradually add flour to thicken it. Stop adding flour once the mixture develops a dough-like consistency. Don’t add too much flour or you could make the bait too thick.
6
Separate the dough into small balls. Use your hands to form the balls so they’re small enough to fit on a fishing hook. They should be about the size of a golf ball.
7
Store your bait in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready to use it. Place the cheesy dough balls in a sealable plastic bag or container and stick them in the fridge or freezer. When you’re ready to use your bait, all you need to do is attach one of the dough balls to a fishing hook and you’re ready to go!
- Your bait can stay in storage for as long as you want, but the smell may become overwhelming after a while. If the bait becomes dry or crumbly, you'll need to throw it away and make a new batch.

Community Q&A

Question

Which one of these two methods are more effective?

Community Answer

It depends on a wide variety of variables, from water temperature, to depth, to time of day. The best things to do is experiment with the different baits and take notes on what's the most effective or ask other fisherman what they find to be effective.