Best Catfish Bait & Lures That Actually Work

Use our chart showing the best lures and baits to use when you want to catch a catfish:

Blue catfish are the biggest of the catfish family in North America that live mostly in freshwater bodies. If you’re unsure if what you catch is a blue catfish or not, look for these features common to this type of catfish:

• Distinct long and slender bodies

• Whisker-like barbels on their chin

• Slate blue color on their back

Fishing with live bait effectively catches a fish via its scent and appearance. The fresher the bait, the better! Blue catfish generally eat shad or skipjack herring. If you don’t have access to fresh shad, use other fresh live bait like:

Channel catfish are a subspecies of catfish that are found in freshwater areas. They are similar to blue catfish in that they are both long and thin and have barbels around the mouth. Look for gray and green on the upper part of the body to identify them! They may even have black spots.

Channel catfish are scavengers motivated by their sense of smell and taste. They’ll generally eat live or dead bait.

If your goal is to reel in some large channel catfish, then your best bet for bait is live, natural baits. Use live bait that channel catfish typically feed on like cut fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and insects to attract them to your hook.

Flathead catfish feature flat heads, smooth skin without scales, and barbels around the mouth. They tend to be pale yellow to light brown in color on the back and sides and can be flecked with black or brown. They even have a slightly notched tail fin.

Bring along enough bait for a lengthy trip. Flathead catfish are fewer in number, smart, and suspicious (more so than the others). You’re much less likely to be reeling them in quickly.

Best Live Bait for Flathead Catfish

Flatheads feed mainly on live bait that is hearty and lively. Your live bait should mimic those behaviors if you’re going to have success with these wary fish. Some common types of good fish to choose from are live perch, goldfish, bluegill, and sunfish.

Catfish are known as opportunistic feeders in freshwater. They’re not usually that picky about what they eat so long as it’s doused in a strong smell (often foul to us anglers). But that doesn’t mean they’re a simple catch. The season, water temperature, and current can all affect your catfishing success:

These mudcats disperse as the water warms up. They get antsy for a good meal and become more active after a long winter. The water temperature stabilizes around late March. In that vein, spring challenges beginners to learn about a catfish’s patterns to catch it. Meanwhile, advanced fishers can really benefit from their experience and knowledge!

All three types of catfish spawn in early- to mid-summer. For the best results, fishers should learn how to locate prime catfish feeding zones — usually in shallow waters with easy access to deeper dwellings. The best time to plop your line in the water for summer catfish is anytime between sunset and sunrise. Catfishing during the day is certainly possible! Just remember they’ll be lurking and hunting deeper.

In the fall, catfish generally seek out food to prepare for winter. Embedded in their instincts for the changing fall water temperature includes adding a bit more extra weight. You might be surprised how many prioritize a good-smelling meal this time of year! However, you may find yourself frustrated if you’re fishing in the wrong spot. Catfish don’t consistently linger at the same water depths during the fall month due to lake turnover.