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Post by buttonbuck on Feb 8, 2012 19:53:37 GMT -5
Was just curious if anyone has ever had any decent luck with dip baits? I've tried a couple different ones with no luck. I was thinking about trying some of the Secret 7 dip bait from Team Catfish because I have heard some good stuff about it.
Anyone ever use this? If not, anyone have any dip bait that they have had some good success with? I really would like to switch it up from chicken livers this year to see what I can hook into.
Thanks everyone!
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Post by hunted on Feb 8, 2012 19:57:04 GMT -5
Your best bet other than dip baits or stink baits is fresh cut shad, bluegills etc. I have heard people having luck with secret seven. But bigger pieces of cut bait will bring in bigger fish.
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Post by buttonbuck on Feb 8, 2012 20:01:12 GMT -5
Very true, big bait = big whiskers! There are a couple lakes back home where I can catch 20-30 juvenile catfish every time I go out. I think this year, I'm going to focus on the big boys and go with larger bait.
How do you feel about catching your bait and freezing it for later use? Of course fresher is better and it would be better to catch your bait right before you head out for the night, but I am contemplating stockin up on some good cut bait to last me a couple weeks. Thoughts?
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Post by Smoothkip on Feb 8, 2012 20:02:14 GMT -5
I've never used the dip bait but our sponsor CatTubes swears by the sunnies dip bait. They field tested numerous dip baits and said the sunnies out fished them all.
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Seanstone
Catfish Freak
Multi-Specie Catch and Release Angler
Posts: 1,166
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Post by Seanstone on Feb 8, 2012 20:16:54 GMT -5
In-fisherman has written several articles on dip bait. I believe Sunnies was one of the top brands as well. More often than not you"ll find that dip baits produce smaller fish as mentioned by hunted. It does make for some hot action though. We used to use berkly's blood bait for pond channel cats. We were told that channels that are raised by fish hatcheries are fed a substance similar to the blood bait. Worked fine for us. Most articles also recommend using dip baits/punch baits in warmer months.
Best of luck.
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Post by bobbybobber on Feb 8, 2012 20:30:20 GMT -5
dip baits are ment for small cats,imo your better off with liver then you are with dipbaits,anymore i target the biggest fish possible and you dont need big cut baits for big fish match the hatch,ive had really good luck off of little minnows best money a bank fishermen can spend is on a minnow trap
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Post by skinfish on Feb 8, 2012 22:37:47 GMT -5
Sonny's will catch the hell out of eaters on the Il river. Just as fast as you can bait the worm you reel one in.
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Post by katfish on Feb 9, 2012 0:22:43 GMT -5
I have to go with Hunted on this one.
Mature channel cats have proven they can detect amino acids in fish blood at lower concentrations than any other substance except hormones secreted by other channel cats at spawning time.
Not only do they detect fish blood but they are attracted to them.
If you have ever heard of people catching channel cats on preparation H, then you too might look at the ingredients and discover a high level of fish oils in the lube.
Oily fish such as shad seem to carry the scents farther but any cut fish will exude blood and the amino acids that attract mature channel cats.
Baitfish are readily available at most of my fishing spots. This means I save money and all the fuss involved with dip baits and I catch more and bigger channel cats.
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Post by Skyline1506 on Feb 9, 2012 9:41:27 GMT -5
i agree with robbie. buy a dozen wax worms, save your self some money. and with the wax worms you will catch enough bait for a week
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Post by buttonbuck on Feb 9, 2012 19:21:05 GMT -5
Thanks for the info everyone. That is definitely good to know regarding the amino acid detection in fish blood. I've never really used creek chubs or shad. As far as live bait goes, I've tried smaller minnows with relative success. What I've mostly used is fresh gills and sunfish cut up and to be honest haven't really caught that many on that (I'm sure I was just hitting some really crappy waters). I'll agree that a minnow trap is a definite must for any fisherman's arsenal (especially for catfish).
Just curious, have any of you caught a bulk of live bait and then threw it in the freezer and used it at a later date? I've always wondered if it matters if fresh vs. frozen makes all that much of a difference. For those of you who do freeze and use it at a later date, have you still had decent success with it? If so, what would be the longest you would recommend keeping frozen bait before it becomes non-effective?
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Post by bobbybobber on Feb 9, 2012 20:01:49 GMT -5
i freeze shad and blue gills,the thing with shad is that it gets mushy but i only use big shad which us guys that fish the james and potomac call cutters,i keep bait till trapping season,i give my old bait to so guys that trap our property.something i did last year was set up a 50 gal fish tank and dropped some gills and chubs in it so i would have fresh bait all winter
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Post by hunted on Feb 9, 2012 20:48:17 GMT -5
if you are gonna freeze bait, its best to try to keep it from getting freezer burn, you can add water to the freezer bag and cover the bait in. if freezing shad, use them when they aren't thawed completely, that helps combat the mushiness some. fresh is best, but frozen is the next best thing
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