Going on a hunt for such a giant as catfish, many inexperienced anglers have many questions. They relate to gear and fishing method. At the same time, it is not always completely clear which bait for catfish is best used. What does this giant peck at?
Catfish is an omnivorous fish. Its main diet changes with age. At first, worms and shells are the food. As the fish grows, the habits of the predator appear. Catfish goes to crayfish, fry and frogs. Large individuals feed on
waterfowl, small animals and
large fish. Therefore, bait for catfish are selected in accordance with the size of the estimated catch.
In addition to all of the above, this species is a real health professional of water bodies. In addition to its living inhabitants, he does not disdain "carrion". In these cases, the catfish relies on its sense of smell during the hunt . This fact is successfully used by anglers. For successful fishing, bait for catfish with a bright and persistent aroma is used. This will attract fish even at a great distance. But this bait is not popular due to the nauseating smell of rotten meat, so most anglers carefully try to avoid it. But all the assurances that a fish does not peck on such a bait are baseless.
In general, catfish bait uses the following:
1. A large bunch of creeps or worms. This is the most popular bait, it is time-tested and has helped to get more than one good trophy.
2. The living frog. Also a great bait, but inferior to worms in the number of bites.
3. Crayfish. They do not use it as often as the capture of this bait is very problematic. But if crustaceans are still available, then we can hope for a rich catch.
4. Live bait. Almost any fish that lives in the same reservoir is suitable for the role of such a bait. Its effectiveness is lower than that of a bunch of large worms, and is comparable to a frog.
It is safe to say that the best catfish bait is a large bunch of lively moving worms. Both large and small individuals will regularly peck at it. Of course, there are many other lures, but their effectiveness is quite low. The thing is that catfish, although a predator, but still a scavenger. Therefore, he will never pass by creeps or worms. It was noted that it doesn’t matter what size they are. There were times when a whiskered giant fell on a hook, seduced by small
earthworms. Therefore, it is better for all novice fishers to begin acquaintance with this fish, using just such a bait. Maybe you won’t be able to catch the giant trophy right away, but you can try out the tackle and observe the habits of the catfish during biting and fighting.
Worms cling to the hook, while there is free space, only the sting should be open. In addition to the expected catfish, the catch can include bream, ide, and any other white fish. In order not to miss this prey, as a rule, a not very large hook is placed. The only significant minus of this bait is its extreme attractiveness for various "trifles". Fry eat it in a matter of minutes, not disdaining even large creeps. In general, you can talk for a long time about what kind of bait to catch catfish, the main thing here is the experience that comes with practice, so you need to experiment and constantly try something new.