Catfish Baits

We use a variety of baits depending on what river we are fishing and what specie we are fishing for.We also use some of the baits live and or for cut-bait.Most of the panfish you see we use live, but if the Flatheads are on a cut-bait bite will use them for cut too. We catch our panfish by rod and reel from ponds, strip pits and lakes.The suckers we use come from streams using cast nets.The shad we catch mostly in the Ohio river using cast nets, but we have a few spots around our area that produce lots of shad too.The skipjack Herring is one of our favorie baits along with shad on the Ohio river.We catch Skipjack on rod and reels and have a blast doing it, but i wont talk secret baits or tricks for them. For big live bait we mostly use suckers, but a 1lb. buffalo sucker works very good too.Panfish work good in most rivers for Flatheads, but Channel cats can be caught on them also. For Flatheads in summer and fall big live baits the way for us.If we are fishing for channel cats "fresh" cut-bait out produces all other baits like dips, chicken livers and night crawlers in our opinion!( we dont use those baits for cats!) Make sure these baits listed below are "legal" in your area and good luck.

COMMON NAME: PUMPKINSEED

OTHER NAMES: PUNKYS SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lepomis gibbosus RANGE AND HABITAT: Widespread throughout the Lake Erie drainage, only scattered populations in the Ohio River. Prefer still waters with dense submerged vegetation. FOOD: Insects and insect larvae, some snails and fish ADULT SIZE: Normally 5-8 inches IDENTIFICATION: A very colorful, deep-bodied, slab-sided fish with a small mouth. Breast and belly are orange to yellow, with lighter colored sides in a variety of bright colors. The ear flap is black bordered with an orange-red spot. FISHING TIPS: As with other sunfish, a small hook baited with worms or wax worms will catch pumpkinseeds. Small artifical lures and flies also work well.

COMMON NAME: LONGEAR-SUNFISH

OTHER NAMES: NONE SCIENTIFIC NAME: RANGE AND HABITAT: Clear streams and lakes throughout Ohio; common in the Scioto River drainage. Prefer sluggish clear streams of moderate size with beds of aquatic vegetation. FOOD: Insects, insect larvae ADULT SIZE: Seldom exceeds 6 inches IDENTIFICATION: Back is olive-green with blue-green specks on sides; belly is orange or yellow. Ear flaps are longer than those of other sunfish, and are black, occasionally with a white border. FISHING TIPS: Due to their small size, few anglers pursue longear sunfish and most that are caught are accidental. Small hooks baited with red worms or wax worms are effective.

COMMON-NAME: GREEN-SUNFISH

OTHER-NAMES: SUNFISH SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lepomis cyanellus SCIENTIFIC-NAME: Lepomis cyanellus RANGE-AND-HABITAT: Most lakes and streams throughout Ohio; tolerant of turbid water unlike other sunfishes. Usually associated with structure such as brush, vegetation, rock piles, etc. SPAWNING: Similar to other sunfish; eggs laid in a shallow nest near shore. Spawning occurs after the water temperature exceeds 68F. FOOD: Insects, mollusks, and small fishes. Their relatively large mouth allows them to eat hard-bodied insects and mollusks. ADULT-SIZE: Normally 3-7 inches IDENTIFICATION: Moderately compressed body, but not as deep-bodied as other sunfishes. Mouth is relatively large, with the upper jaw reaching back to the middle of the eye; back color is bluish-green with emerald and yellow iridescence and the belly is yellow to white in color. Has short ear flaps with light colored margins. Anal fin has 3 hard spines. FISHING-TIPS: Most green sunfish are caught accidentally while fishing for other sunfish spe-cies; they are aggressive and bite readily on red worms, wax worms or minnows.