I have always had good luck using chicken livers for catfish bait. If you’ve ever used them, you know the challenge of keeping the tender bloody mass on your hook. So, when I saw this idea for stabilizing the chicken liver presentation I wanted to give it a try.
The opportunity arose when I had friends coming over to fish and they were willing to give up their regular targets in favor of catching some whisker fish. For those of you that know Robert Montgomery (The Activist Angler) and Dave Burkhardt (TrikFish Premium Lines and Leaders) chasing catfish is not part of their normal fishing itinerary.
We met up at Ed Stone Park on the St. Johns River on an absolutely beautify Florida day. The river level was up and producing a pretty good current. That current was bringing various kinds of lily pads floating down the river. It was a bit of a struggle to keep the lines cleared of the floating debris.
Our first two spots did not produce a cat so I turned to a recommendation from a friend and local guide (Steve Niemoeller) to try a spot south of the Highway 44 Bridge. Although I had not fished the location before, it looked promising.
The method I had observed is not new, and certainly not my idea, but it did work pretty well. The first thing you need is a product called Surgilast. It is best described as a tubular net, first aid product. It comes in different sizes; you want size 1.
I found Surgilast (there are other brands) at a medical supply pharmacy. I later found it cheaper online. A good pair of kitchen shears will work for cutting the mesh tubing as well as making nice clean cuts on the chicken liver if you need to separate it.
Start by pulling out a length of tubing appropriate to the size of bait you want to create. Tie an overhand knot and pull it up really tight. Cut the tubing just below the knot and turn the knot inside the resulting stretchy basket. That basket will hold the liver. A little trial and error will reveal just how long the piece of Surgilast should be before knotting.
Once the basket is created the stretchy mesh tubing opens easily by placing your fingers and thumb inside the net and expanding the opening. Start filling the basket with liver.
Once filled place the hook (a Daiichi Circle Hook connected with TrickFish leader material) through the mesh at the top and kind of sew the basket shut by hooking various portions of the mesh over the hook.
Give the basket a couple of twists around the hook and push it all the way up to the eye of the hook. At this point you can either bury the hook into the mass of chicken liver or hook it all the way through to leave the hook exposed.
That’s it. You now have a single circle hook baited with chicken livers. This presentation will last through several casts and sometimes through multiple bites.
Both my anglers were impressed with the result of what I am calling liver in a bag (LB). “I really like using liver that way,” offered Montgomery. “You still get your hands messy, but it stays on the hook so much longer and better. You just have to make sure the hook is properly exposed.”
I don’t think that I convinced either angler to switch from bass to catfish, but Burkhardt agreed. “I think it’s wonderful. It works!”
Editors Note: You can view Montgomery’s Activist Angler at www.activistangler.com and his various books are available on Amazon.com. Burkhardt’s Trikfish lines and leaders can be checked out at http://www.trikfish.com.
