Great Bait for Texas Catfish

Texas is well-known for many great things and catfish fishing is one of them. The catfish is a popular species in Texas and they can be found all over the Lonestar state. There are different types of catfish such as the bullhead, flathead, blue cat and the channel cat. All of these can be found in Texas. If you have just moved to the area or if you're visiting and enjoy fishing, take advantage of the great catfish fishing this state has to offer. You'll be glad you did.

The catfish is a bottom feeder that tends to lurk around the bottom of the water and wait for their prey to swim by. Therefore, anytime you go fishing for this species you need to get your bait down on the bottom where they are waiting.

There are several good methods that can be used successfully. Getting the bait to the bottom is not as big of a concern as which baits would be the best to use.

It's well-known that the catfish will strike at just about anything and try to eat anything that will fit into its mouth. One reason for this is because this species is very curious by nature and they are drawn to anything that captures their attention. Still, some bait will be more effective than others.

Many factors will determine which bait you should use when catfish fishing in Texas. The weather, water condition, location and time of day or night you go fishing are some of the things that you will need to take into consideration. As a general rule, the baits listed below are some of the best that you can use for catching catfish and they will work in most circumstances.

Most Popular Catfish Baits

Out of all the different types of bait that the catfish will be attracted to, one stands out as being the best in most any situation. It's called stink baits.

In fact, this bait is so popular that there are many anglers that refuse to use anything else when fishing for cats. The strong sense of smell that the catfish is so famous for draws them to anything that has a smell. The stronger the smell the better!

You can buy stink bait at your local bait and tackle shop, some grocery stores and retail stores or you can make your own. You can find some great recipes by searching the Internet. Most of them are easy to make, very effective and most all of them involve using some type of cheese. If the temperature of the water is above sixty degrees it's recommended that you don't use stink baits. The water is simply too warm for these unless it's below this temperature.

The second most popular catfish bait used in Texas and other areas is live bait. When using live bait it's important to make sure you have someway to keep it fresh. Live catfish baits include shad, minnows, grasshoppers, night crawlers and crawdads. Look around to see what type of baitfish is in the area where you plan to go fishing and this will give you a good idea of which one would be the best to start out using.