Before going fishing, it is imperative that you have some fishing bait with you to get those fishes biting. It is not that you have to go to some store to buy fishing bait; you can easily make fishing bait at home. For fishing bait recipes and recipes for catfish bait, all you have to do is to surf the Internet. You will be overwhelmed by the number of fishing bait recipes there are on the Internet.

This is a homemade fishing bait recipe that not only catches catfish but also all other types of fish. All you need is ½ cups of raisins, parmesan cheese, brown sugar and corn syrup. Along with it, ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp. garlic powder. You have to first grind the raisins and then take the parmesan cheese, and add apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, brown sugar and corn syrup. This mixture has to be brought to a slight boil. You then cool it to add raisins and vinegar. This can then be thickened using either flour or corn meal till the desired thickness is achieved.

There are many recipes for catfish bait. You can make catfish bait; by following this recipe for catfish bait. You need some white flour, 3 ounces of water, 2 ounces of b.b.q. sauce and 2 ounces of garlic. All this has to be mixed to which required amounts of flour is added to get the desired thickness. Try this bait and you will find that it makes one of the best bait for catfish!

Another type of homemade catfish bait can be made using tuna, cheddar or limburger cheese, garlic powder, flour and vegetable oil. First you have to mush half of the tuna and cheese in a large bowl and then add oil till the required consistency arrives. Add a tablespoon of flour to every one-fourth cup of tuna and cheese and six shakes of garlic powder to a cup of tuna and cheese. You then freeze this catfish bait to be used when going fishing.

Once you have hooked your prize catfish, use your bait seine net to scoop up your trophy fish.

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Sam Jordan

Tags: Fishing, Baits, Fishing Baits, Fishing Lures, Fishing trips

Obviously you can’t live bait if you can’t keep it alive, and this can often be quite a task. Keeping your baits happy, healthy and kicking can be approached in many ways, so I have put down a few key tips to remember; and some good alternatives to fully plumbed live bait tanks.

I will start with problems that affect even perfectly plumbed tanks and go from there.

COMMON PROBLEMS

If you have a fully plumbed, top of the line bait tank, then you are well ahead of the game but will still have fish dying. If the tank becomes overcrowded fish will start to die.

Remember the bigger the baits the less will survive in your tank. Baits so big they can’t freely swim around the tank will have a high mortality rate. Once fish have died make sure to remove them from the tank as it will affect the remaining survivors.

When you are catching bait make sure to handle them as little as possible. If possible catch bait with long shank hooks then hold the shank of the hook and shake the bait off and straight into the tank. That way you never touch the fish.

ALTERNATIVE TANKS

If you don’t have an inbuilt tank, or room for this, the next best thing is to use an esky. In a good sized tinnie I have even plumbed a good quality esky with great results, the next best thing to an esky is the good old fashioned ‘kill box’ the ones commercial fishos use for storing their catch.

Eskies work very well as bait tanks because one major problem for keeping fish alive is change in water temperature. Not only are fish very sensitive to temperature change but when water warms up it loses its dissolved oxygen killing the fish.

A 50 litre tank of water in summer warms up very quickly, this is very important to remember when you don’t have any circulation in your tank. The temperature problem also relates to colour, try and use white tanks so they don’t attract more heat.

FRESH WATER

Without having the tank plumbed you will have to use a bucket to constantly refresh the water in the tank, its hard work but often worth it. You can also purchase small bait pumps that will help but I’ve found that you still need to use the bucket but just not as often.

When you pour water into your tank don’t try to be gentle, this is a mistake, it is best to do it from a good height and create a lot of foam, this is oxygen mixing with the water and benefits your baits.

OXYGEN

Another key point is the shape of the tank. Ideally a high surface area is great which again is why most eskies work well and so do ‘kill boxes’.

The higher the surface area the more oxygen can dissolve into the water, this is also why little kiddy wading pools are perfect when fishing from the shore.

THE BASKET CASE

One last useful tip for boat fishos is to have a laundry basket that is deep and narrow in shape. Put some weight in the bottom of the basket and flotation around the top of the basket.

When you are at anchor simply put this in the water and tie it of to the side of the boat. Transfer your livebaits from your tank into the basket while fishing at anchor and they will stay healthier than in any livebait tank. Always have a small net for transferring the baits so as not to damage your baits.

Remember the better you handle your livebaits the better baits they’re going to be.

Tags: Fishing, Baits, Fishing Baits, Fishing Lures, Fishing trips

For me there doesn’t have to be a reason to go fishing. Fishing itself is enough I’ll just go at the drop of a hat but for those of you who may need a reason, here are ten. Who knows, when you need an excuse to wet a line one of them might come in handy. So here they are, in no particular order.

1) To get out in nature. We all get caught up in the day to day inertia that we call life, and sometimes just need to get back to nature. It helps restore the soul, as many poets have suggested.

2) To get your mind off of other things. This is what I used to use fishing for, before I learned some other techniques for clearing my mind. But spending a day waist deep in a river still serves me pretty well.

3) To have some fun with your children. If you haven’t done this already, have at it. Kids love to fish. And I know with my daughter, I have every bit as much fun as she does. And in some way, that’s what this whole thing is about.

4) To try to catch a trophy. This is a wonderful reason for me, but some people just don’t want to work that hard. It took me three years of fairly hard fishing on the same river to catch the one trophy rainbow trout that I’ve caught out of said river. And it was worth every minute of fishing and frustration along the way.

5) Practice. In the immortal words of Allen Iverson, “What we talking about here? Practice? Practice?” Yes Allen, we’re talking about practice. And anglers need it just like professional basketball players. If you want to attain any level of skill, that is. It’s just like anything else, the more you practice, the better angler you will become.

6) To get out of the house or office. In this modern world, we can become like animals in a zoo. Just going through the motions, as if there were no real point to being on this earth other than making money to pay bills. At least that’s how it can seem if you spend too much time in the house or office.

7) To get exercise. No many people may be thinking, “Fishing is not exercise, you just sit there.” Not necessarily. If you go fishing with me, you’re going to walk three or four miles and cross the river four or five times. It can be quite a workout at times. Even when I go lake fishing, the areas I fish are a nice walk from my vehicle. So exercise is a great reason to go fishing.

8) To get ideas. I’ve had some great idea’s pop into my head while fishing, that might not have otherwise been discovered.

9) To hang out with a friend. If there’s someone that you haven’t hung out with in a while, and it’s overdue, go fishing. The drive and subsequent walk to and from the fishing area is a great time to catch up.

10) To discover something new about yourself. This one is big for me personally. I’ve discovered a lot about myself while wading in various rivers over the years and you can as well. There’s just something about standing in a river that’s conducive to discovery. Maybe the silence. I’m not sure of much, other than the fact that it is.

There you go. The next time the old lady asks you why you want to go fishing again, and you draw a blank, just drop one of these bad boys in her lap. If you get to go fishing one extra time, then writing this article was worth it.

Tags: Fishing, Baits, Fishing Baits, Fishing Lures, Fishing trips