Great Baits for Winter Catfishing Story and photos by Keith “Catfish” Sutton

You can use almost any bait imaginable and sooner or later you’ll hook a catfish. But some baits work far better than others for enticing the whiskered warriors of our lakes, ponds and streams, especially in the wintertime. Among the best are baits like these, which cold-weather cats find hard to resist.

Skipjacks, shad and other herring family members. Savvy anglers know cats of all kinds love these oily-fleshed baitfish, which usually are caught with cast nets, small lures or sabiki rigs. Use live baits to quickly garner the attention of trophy flatheads, blues and channel cats. Or cut freshly dead ones into chunks or fillets to create catfish-attracting scent and taste trails of bloody proteins.

Tip: When these baitfish are plentiful, chum your fishing hole with small chunks. Then impale an inch-square portion on a rig with only one or two split shot for weight. Allow the bait to flutter slowly down through the strike zone while gripping your rod and reel tightly. Smashing hits often result.

Live sunfish, suckers and chubs. Savvy anglers should have little problem catching at least a few of these small fish even in the dead of winter. They are hot catfish baits on many waters, staying active and hardy on the hook, good traits for cajoling hungry giants. Most anglers fish them on bottom, but floating one under a bobber makes it look more natural, allows you to better control the bait’s positioning and may result in more hook-ups.

Tip: Improve the attractiveness of these baits by snipping off the spiny dorsal and pectoral fins, causing the baitfish to bleed and flounder in the water. Hook in the upper tail, just behind the soft dorsal fin, and prepare for action. Dynamite!

Crawfish. Call them catfish candy. Crawfish are relished by trophies and eating-size fish alike. Collect them by turning rocks and leaves on stream bottoms and catching them with your hands, a dip net or a seine. Crawfish traps baited with fish parts or bacon also work. Or see if your local bait dealer can obtain some for you.

Tip: To mimic natural action, rig live crawfish for a backward retrieve. Thread the hook up through the tail and work the mudbug across the bottom with a slow, stop-and-go retrieve. Before casting, break off the pincers. This makes the bait more enticing and less likely to hang up.

Night crawlers. Channel cats, small flatheads and small blues relish these big juicy worms. In southern areas, you might be able to gather your own by raking through damp leaf litter, even in winter. Or purchase some at a bait shop. Keep them cool, but not cold, for longer life.

Tip: Use a syringe or “worm blower” to inject a shot of air in the body of a big crawler. This makes the worm float above bottom so cats can more easily find it.

Grocery Baits. Natural baits like those above are hard to beat, but if you have difficulty obtaining them during cold or inclement winter weather, you can substitute baits you can buy at the grocery store that catfish find hard to resist as well. Among the best and least expensive are fresh chicken livers and cheap hot dogs. The livers can be used as is—the bloodier the better. You’ll just have to carefully lob them out so they don’t fly off the hook. The best hot dogs are the cheapest brands, prepared using this tip.

Tip: For extra attraction, soak bite-sized chunks of hot dogs in a zip-seal bag to which you’ve added 1/2 cup water, 3 tablespoons minced garlic and 1 package of unsweetened strawberry Kool-Aid. This gives the franks a bright red “blood” color and garlicky flavor that gets winter cats attention quick.

(Keith “Catfish” Sutton lives in Alexander, Arkansas with his wife Theresa. He has written four books on catfishing, including the latest, Hardcore Catfishing: Beyond the Basics. In 2022, he was one of the inaugural inductees in the American Catfishing Association’s Catfishing Hall of Fame.)