Catfish are a major sport fish due to their widespread distribution across the world. Baits made and designed for fish belonging to the order called ‘siluriformes’ (which anglers call catfish) especially have many basic similarities regarding nutritional attraction as for ‘Cyprindae’ (Carp) which we can exploit in our baits to make catching them easier...

The sizes catfish can grow to and their often exciting and challenging fighting performance are irresistible to fishermen. Siluriformes include the European wels, Channel catfish, blue catfish, flathead catfish and a variety of bullhead catfish for example. The most sporting and much sought-after catfish also happen to include many table fish species and are significant food source in countries like the States and parts of Europe and Asia.

Making dough or paste baits, improving or adapting readymade boilies or pellet type baits for catfish requires a useful starting point.

For example; where you know your bait will definitely trigger your fish into intense feeding behaviours - providing conditions are within reasonable catfish feeding temperature pH and salinity regimes. [*Which is where these volumes really come into their own.]

As with carp, commercial aquaculture feeds for catfish make interesting reading for their nutritional values to attempt to discern the nutritional attraction of feed elements when applied to catfish baits but more importantly to look at ingredients that are the most attractive to catfish and to understand why. So you can make some useful conclusions about what to basically use in catfish baits from what these feeds contain, but it is just a starting point and as with carp baits, any one bait ingredient or its effect will be enough to hook fish.

Of course sweetcorn or fermented maize can be used having better digestibility, nutritional value and soluble stiumulation properties than the unfermented corn etc.. However, it may be preferable to take baits a bit further in order to have more control over your bait’s fish selectivity for example. Why not use bait ingredients to maximise your bait’s power of attraction, effects on all the fish sensory systems (especially catfish taste buds in cloudy water for catfish) and have more control over the range of attraction up close and from a distance that your baits potentially offer in different fishing situations.

For example, things may need changing in a river situation where more durable bait with slower leak-off stimulants may be desired rather than a still water pond situation where fast release and highly soluble ingredients may be preferred. Myriad baits catch catfish and so many big catfish get caught on boilies intended for carp (and vice versa) that the 2 fish are drawn by similar stimulatory nutritional essential requirements supplied by baits of a wide variety from meat and cereal baits to purely fish meal based pellets, for example.

Much research has been carried out on channel catfish, being an important table fish in the States. To start with, channel catfish aquaculture feeds appear to have about 28 to 32% protein content for optimum feed digestion and biological conversion for profitable weight gain. This figure is very similar to carp feeds and surely you want your bait digested not wasted using economical ingredients as much as is practical. Catfish need nitrogen and particular essential amino acids and not simply ‘protein.’

They also need an energy source at the correct balance to the nitrogen and amino acids, in a similar way to carp. Fatty acids (oils and fats) apply here, but digestible carbohydrates are a practical part of many catfish baits too. (Distillery ferment and corn steep liquor with grain flours are a good combination.) Soy bean meal and cottonseed meals are considered protein ingredients in catfish aquaculture feeds, and although attractive to carp and catfish are nowhere near the best ‘bulk ingredient’ to use that’s for sure. Certainly when catfish mature their dietary needs change. When small they may feed mostly on aquatic insects and larvae and be more drawn to small live maggots and worm baits.

Adult channel catfish have quite a broad diet taking advantage of more protein us foods supplemented by mineral and vitamin loaded plants for instance. These catfish may feed on fish, crawfish, crayfish, insects, seeds and even aquatic plants. Green algae has been noted as a very nutritional food too… I have personally watched ducks and other wildfowl being taken by large catfish. Adult catfish fish diets may constitute 70% fish. This has implications for making successful baits with a higher level of amino acid and nitrogen.

So baits with a good energy source and higher digestible protein levels seem like a better bet to use when targeting much larger specimens consistently. The incredible success big catfish catches using pellets with these characteristics bears out this point well and baits made with powders of such pellets are an easy and reliable starting point. Catfish baits with added vitamins will be more stimulatory than many lower nutritional value cereal based bait mixes without added vitamins, certainly vitamins added to carp baits benefit catches. As with carp, many minerals are absorbed from the water.

Phosphorus is one important mineral that is supplied only in low levels in most plant ingredients used. However, possibly one of the other attractions of sweetcorn for catfish (which love it!) is high levels of phosphorus in it. If you are baiting up with chum, you want your bait to turn the fish on for more, not fill them up before you can catch them! Baits with digestible proteins do more often produce excellent catches for carp and catfish and many anglers experiment with ways to make their baits more digestible and release more attractive amino acids. The classic method is to ‘mature cut’ type baits, from blood and meat based ones to squid, fish and shellfish based ones.

Fermenting cereals like corn and wheat really turns on many species of fish. Obviously the alcohols, sugars and more digestible nutrition make a big difference. This is pretty useful when targeting catfish. The smaller food fish can congregate and feed on the cereals while the catfish sneak up on them and then take your higher protein hook bait! Apparently in contrast to carp feeds, cereal based feeds can replace whole fish based feeds after catfish reach about 7 inches long (in the case of channel catfish.) Oilseed type ingredients form the base for many aquaculture feeds for catfish, including cottonseed, soy bean meal, and peanut meal. Significantly, these are attractive to carp too.

Non-protein food sources are also used and these are not only added for binding effects but provide a very important energy source so that the protein foods in feeds can be maximized for growth and repair and so on (and not ‘wasted’ by used for energy by the fish. Protein foods and ingredients cost more, so it’s good to be able to ‘bulk-up’ your baits with other more economical ingredients. Examples are: Corn, wheat middlings, rice bran, and fish oil, animal fat (spray dried) corn screenings and milo (and soy bean and cottonseed meals too.)

The proportions of different ingredients in feeds are important to the fish farmer, and in respect of the health and growth maximization of farmed fish with little other supplemental food. But wild catfish can supplement their diets with anything from algae up to the biggest prey fish, and all the anglers’ free baits too. So the main aspect of catfish bait that is of concern generally is ‘instant’ and nutritional attractiveness. Aquaculture feed ingredients also need to be attractive and nutritious to a degree, to maximise returns on feed costs; here are a few examples:

* Soy bean meal.

(Attractive to catfish and a bulk protein provider having around 35- 48% plus protein content.)

* Cottonseed meal.

Again an attractive protein provider, but used in much lower levels than soya at maybe 10% in a feed mix.

* Peanut meal.

A protein provider having about 25% to up to 60% protein for defatted versions. Only used at 10 or 12% in feeds. This meal and its roasted versions are very effective for carp too.

* Fish meal.

Great for digestible energy and the closest ti ideal nutritional profile especially of essential and feed stimulatory amino acids. Many types available for bait use, some are very economical and much less attractive having less digestible protein, and poorer quality unsaturated essential fatty acid content. They have attractive amino acids, soluble and insoluble proteins, phosphorus and ideal amino profiles for attraction of carp too. A feed and bait mainstay.

* Meat and bone meal.

Great especially for phosphorus and calcium content. These are essential for both carp and catfish good health.

* Blood meal.

Very significant as it is a great source of lysine which carp (and ourselves) are normally deficient in due to diet. Most foods and bait ingredients are low or very deficient in lysine and its supplementation on its own or using blood meal for example can make all the difference to catches. The addition of blood meal and various blood components have great attraction effects and are well proven for carp and catfish. (Fermented shrimp ‘Belechan’ has significant lysine plus glutamic acid too and being 70 percent protein with 20 percent salt plus 3 percent palm oil is excellent.)

* Poultry by-products.

Poultry products are very attractive to catfish. They have a good proportion of digestible protein and lots of attractive oils and fats and other goodies.

* Hydrolyzed feather meal.

Significantly high in methionine and cystine and well proven in carp baits. Methionine especially is an extremely important amino acid in catfish and carp baits and many other species besides, like bass and trout for example. Although it is deficient in lysine putting blood meal with it helps ‘balance’ things out for attraction and nutritional purposes. The phosphates are significant too.

* Canola meal.

Attractive to catfish and carp. A nutritional replacement for fish meal. Perhaps it would be good in a bait with spirulina powder too as its nutrition is not as well suited as fish meal. Canola oil is a good additive.

* Corn, corn flour, cracked corn, corn flakes, corn syrup and corn steep liquor.

Corn is high is phosphates which may be part of its attraction. Corn has low nutritional value and is best when fermented to release its nutritional attraction as many fishermen have discovered. Corn or maize flour is a useful binding ingredient and makes a bait harder. It has a bland taste. Adding wheat middlings improves nutritional value in economy baits.

* Corn and wheat gluten.

Good nutritional protein content, binding too. Corn gluten can be used up to 50% of a bait or feed with no harm to the fish according to the Mississippi State University extension service.

* Fish oil.

A very well known energy source used in baits and highly attractive. Different grades of quality are available. The most attractive are often both fresh and pure. Examples are tuna oil and salmon. Cod liver oil is an old favorite.

* Animal fat.

(Spray dried.) An excellent and attractive energy source used in feeds and baits. Chicken fat is one example. Only use at low levels from 2 to 5%.

* Distillers ferment grains.

As with corn and wheat offering better attraction and nutrition when fermented. This is the distillers ferment residue left after the alcohol is removed from the fermentation of yeast using cereals. These are proven nutritional fish attractors. In fact enzymes in the ferment residue are highly attractive in themselves. Barley malt and other such by-products like yeast extracts e.g. (‘Vegemite’ and ‘Marmite’) are great for carp and catfish alike as is ‘corn steep liquor or ‘CSL.’

Significantly, the feeds generated from such processes and ingredients are highly nutritious and attractive. Very importantly they are soluble and highly digestible and these factors are proven in making great baits. The above ingredients list is based on examples of catfish aquaculture feeds and is limited by cost factors. But it is a short introductory guide to some of the effects and nutritional attraction that a good catfish bait often has. The overlap between carp and catfish bait ingredients is massive and so many ingredients made famous for carp are seriously effective in stimulating feeding response in baits made for catfish too. The bulk protein providing ingredients in feeds tend to be around 30 to 40% protein and this protein figure is reduced by additional use of other ingredients with less protein but other necessary nutritional content and or practical function.

According to research done on channel catfish from the University of Mississippi, catfish eat less feed with 18% protein compared to one with 28% protein. Not only this, but the higher protein containing feed was digested more fully and converted into body tissue more efficiently too. Carp appear to be similar in these things. The high content of predigested fish protein in halibut pellets and halibut pellet powder in part explains its attraction and effectiveness with catfish and carp alike. The high level of quality fatty acids in the pellets must be very significant in the attraction too. The olfactory organ’s role in catfish food detection by ‘smell’ is perhaps not as important as smell (as shown in channel catfish) although eyesight is important at close range and in cleaner water environments.

Movement in the water and electrical discharge from prey and baits too has some part to play (as with carp) and barbels are extremely delicate parts covered in taste buds and pare pretty much essential for catfish survival. Care when handling these is essential and it has been noted with wels catfish that their health can decline rapidly if these food detection parts are both damaged. The role of food detection is mostly by taste buds which are all over the body of a catfish. Most fishermen are familiar with taste buds in the mouth (and the ‘smell’ olfactory glands in the nose) but like carp, there are also taste buds on the external body too and are more concentrated in various locations such as the face, pharynx and fronts of the pectoral fins.

Again, like carp taste buds are extremely concentrated on the barbels and gill arches and these can be exploited by how your bait performs in the water in a variety of ways. In regards to amino acids in triggering catfish, like carp, ingredients, supplements and additives that especially provide methionine and lysine make baits that much more attractive! There is an important relationship between methionine and cystine and similar relationships between other pairs of amino acids that are significant too (e.g. regarding first and second limiting amino acids for example) but especially in the way pairs of amino acids excite olfactory receptors for example.

Like carp feeds, the balance of calcium and phosphorus are critical and so are supplemented by the addition of dicalcium phosphate. But other ingredients can be used like bone meal. Many vitamins, minerals and trace elements are important as feeding triggers and like carp these are also supplemented in feeds too. Like carp, many are essential, for example vitamins B6, B12 and niacin. Even these few are significant in your bait, but a well designed bait will contain most of these requirements and then some anyway, but it is wise to cover these requirements for added bait attraction to provide for and exploit any deficiencies and perhaps achieve more takes.

Carotenes have an essential role in vitamin A provision and certainly are good carp feeding ‘triggers,’ creatine ethyl ester is very much more potent in this regard to vitamin A. In feeds, xanthophylls are added. Personally I find I catch more carp than catfish when using the additive “Robin Red” but that has only been my individual experience. As with carp feeds and baits, crude fiber is a dietary necessity.  In feeds this is at about 7% using rice bran in catfish feeds. Vegetable fiber is often composed of cellulose which carp and catfish find difficult to digest so this amount needs to be kept to a minimum. Some courser fishmeals offer a different source of fiber but from superior nutritional type ingredients to vegetable based ones.

In colder water catfish feed much less frequently, apparently carp metabolism can at least double with every 20ºC rise in temperature whereas catfish metabolism can double for the same 10 degrees. Feeding activity increases with a raising of metabolic rate.

Channel catfish growth is optimal at around 30ºC (section continues…)

By Tim Richardson. (COPYRIGHTED)

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