Catfish is a long-time favorite for a delicious fish fry. Nothing beats fried catfish, whether it’s done with a simple dredge of flour, or with a crisp, seasoned cornmeal coating, the crispy outside and moist white flesh with its mildly sweet flavor inside is a true Southern classic. It's also a cajun favorite when served blackened and spicy, or fried up and served in a po-boy sandwich.

Whether you are looking for a couple of fish for a romantic, down-to-earth dinner for two, a large catch for a Sunday fish fry, or the trophy fish of a lifetime, the first thing you need is the best catfish bait to seal the deal. For some accomplished anglers, that’s an odor-dense dough ball, while others feel the cats find dip baits to be extra-delicious. Some experienced experts can eye up a waterway at glance and know exactly what bait style will work best to reel them in.

No matter what kind of bait works for your favorite fishing hole — whether it’s channel cats, flatheads, or blue cats you plan to have come in for the catch — you’ll find what you’re looking for in one of the ten best catfish bait choices available today.

Editors choice

1. Secret 7 Catfish Dip Bait

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Many experienced anglers rave about the mysterious catfish attracting power of Secret 7 Catfish Dip Bait. A long-time favorite of Youtube reviewers, Secret 7 is the best catfish bait in a dip formula for staying power. The creamy, cheesy dip stays in place with a dip tube or dip worm while dispersing a powerful scent and flavor with seven secret ingredients.

This proprietary recipe was developed over a 17-year process by a retired chemist. He worked on refining his secret ingredients to find the most powerful catfish attractors and blend them into one fool-proof catfish-catching dip, now faithfully reproduced by Team catfish with their Secret 7 Dip Bait.

Use Secret 7 Catfish Dip Bait with dip tubes, cloth or mesh bait holders, or with dip-bait worms. The super-sticky formula has a powerful odor that is irresistible to fish. It also blends well with thickening agents such as flour, cornmeal, or oatmeal, to form dough balls to attach directly onto a treble hook.

The resealable 16-oz tub keeps the dip fresh between uses. Store it in a cool location to keep it fresher for longer periods.

Secret 7 produces a powerful scent cloud in channels and streams and is ideal for attracting Blue cats and channel cats in large numbers. The recipe might be a top industry secret, but whatever it is, it’s the best catfish bait for large catches. Secret 7 will be your secret weapon!

Key Features
  • Dip-style bait in a resealable 16-oz tub
  • Formulated for exceptional attraction for channel cats and blue cats
  • Smooth, creamy texture with super-sticking power
  • Strong blend of 7-secret catfish-attracting ingredients
Specifications
  • Form: Dip bait
  • Package Size: 16-ounces
  • Main Flavor/Ingredients: Blend of 7 secret ingredients
  • Brand: Team Catfish
Pros
  • Smooth, cheesy texture texture with sticking power
  • Also attracts trout
  • Best-seller and used in many Youtube videos
  • Use with dip tubes, worm lures, mesh bags, or use to make dough balls
Cons
  • Also attracts turtles
  • Use gloves- it has a powerful stink

Catfish Charlie’s Dough Bait Variety Pack is some of the best catfish bait available in a dough style. Compared to dip baits, dough baits give a decided advantage when fishing in heavy currents when thin dip baits would disperse too quickly. Catfish Charlie Dough Bait has a moldable, doughy texture to more easily mold onto a hook and cling while slowly dispersing the strong scent to attract catfish.

Catfish Charlie’s dough variety pack offers a selection of 4 of Charlie’s best dough-style baits, including Type-A original, known as a favorite old standby by successful fisherman everywhere. Type-A contains a strong tracer scent to attract fish while it clings with a soft, cheesy texture.

Type-B is also clingy with a soft doughy texture and features a strong blood flavor. Pole Cracker dough bait also has a strong, catfish-attracting scent with extra-wide dispersion. It turns white when submerged, attracting fish by both sight and scent to increase your chances of a great catch.

Finally, the Full Stringer formula is a clingy dough in a triple strength formula to cling tightly to your hook for use in water with very strong currents. It sends out ripples of strong fish-attracting scent and flavor.

Each of the 4 dough types comes in a 14-ounce tub with a resealable, stay-fresh lid. If the dough becomes too dry between uses, just add a little milk. If it’s too thin, use a little flour or oatmeal to thicken it back to a dough-like texture.

Catfish Charlie Dough Bait Variety Pack is the best catfish bait to use with treble hooks, worms, and sponges.

Key Features
  • 4-pack variety catfish dough bait
  • Includes 4 14-oz tubs
  • Includes tracer scents
  • Hook-clinging formula
Specifications
  • Form: Dough
  • Package Size: 4 14oz tubs
  • Main Flavor/Ingredients: Variety Pack- Original, Blood, Pole Cracker, and Full Stringer
  • Brand: Catfish Charlie
Pros
  • Versatile use with treble hooks, dipping worms, sponges, and cloth
  • Soft, clingy formula
  • 4-varieties so you can find what works best for your fishing location
Cons
  • Not for use in deep water

Berkley PowerBait Catfish Bait Chunks may be the best catfish bait to get fish to bite and hold on without letting go. They feature one of the most advanced formulas available, with powerful flavor and extra-strong scent to attract catfish, and a clinging formula to keep them hooked.

Catfish are able to smell and find Berkely PowerBait much faster than typical dough bait thanks to a powerful scent dispersion formula that’s 185-percent stronger than previous formulas, typically resulting in a catch at 1 ½ times the rate of competing brands.

Berkeley PowerBait Catfish Bait Chunks in 6 fish-loving flavors including chicken liver, cut shad, chicken blood, blood and cheese, liver and cheese, and liver and blood. The pre-formed chunks are soft and pliable to easily mold and cling to a treble hook. They are perfectly weighted to sink to the bottom and remain in place while dispersing scent and flavor that lasts longer and spreads more quickly than competitors. The clinging formula keeps catfish on the hook as they bite and don’t let go.

If Berkley PowerBait Chunks harden, kneading them will quickly soften them for easy molding onto hooks. If desired, use the bait in mesh bags to prevent smaller fish from nibbling them away.

Berkely’s PowerBait Chunks are the best catfish bait with research-backed results. Berkley’s team of researchers has spent 25 years creating the most irresistible formulas to catch the most fish.

Key Features
  • Preformed catfish bait chunks in 6-oz bag
  • Chicken liver flavor with new, stronger formula
  • Chunks are sized for treble hooking
  • Clinging formula helps keep catfish hooked
Specifications
  • Form: Chunks
  • Package Size: 6-oz
  • Main Flavor/Ingredients: Chicken Liver
  • Brand: Berkley
Pros
  • Pre-formed chunks for easy rigging
  • Powerful scent lasts 18-times longer
  • Sinks to the bottom without requiring sinkers
  • Helps keep catfish on hook
Cons
  • Gloves required for handling or expect smelly hands for days
  • May requiring kneading to gain pliability for molding onto hook

Catfish love sweet corn. Unfortunately, real sweet corn is difficult to use with a hook. Xhope TPR Scented Simulated Soft Corn Bait is the best catfish bait to attract catfish, carp, bream, and other fresh and saltwater fish with the look and scent of real corn. Perfect for rivers, ponds, lakes, streams, and reservoirs, this 30-piece set features individual “kernels” to easily attach to a hook and remain firmly in place while dispersing a powerful sweet corn scent.

Xhope uses only eco-friendly TPR material. Each piece is reusable and long-lasting. Using artificial sweet corn has many advantages over smelly dips, doughs, and paste baits. Instead of attracting fish with the unpleasant odor of dead fish and blood, Xhope bait has the fresh, sweet scent of real corn and doesn’t leave your hands, gear, or vehicle smelling bad.

TPR corn bait attaches quickly and securely to a hair rig and fish are not able to tear it off easily as they do real corn. It also gives an advantage in those states where fishing with real corn is illegal due to the negative effects it may have on other fish in the ecosystem.

Xhope simulated corn bait is also effective when blended with real corn in pack bait. The real corn falls apart but the Xhope Soft Corn Bait stays in place to attract fish visually as well as with sweet corn scent.

Xhope TPR Scented Simulated Soft Corn is the best catfish bait for those who like the fish-attracting scent and appearance of real corn but prefer the convenience and staying power of artificial bait.

Key Features
  • Artificial corn bait with dispersing scent
  • Catches catfish, bream, carp, and more
  • Reusable, environmentally-friendly TPR material
  • 30 reusable kernels
Specifications
  • Form: simulated soft corn kernals
  • Package Size: 30 pcs
  • Main Flavor/Ingredients: Sweet corn
  • Brand: Xhope
Pros
  • Preserved for long-term reuse
  • Stays on a hook much better than real corn
  • Corn bait has a pleasant fragrance unlike smelly fish-based dips and doughs
Cons
  • Can't be left in a car or anywhere there is prolonged heat or they lose effectiveness

One of the best catfish bait choices in a loose chum style is Magic Bait Dinner Bell Fish Chum. This large, 2-pound bag of loose chum is formulated for use in multiple ways to lure in catfish, panfish, and baitfish, for a great catch. It is moist, powerful, and ready to use.

Just as commercial fishermen have known for centuries, nothing attracts fish more than chum — a powerful blend of odorous fish parts and other natural materials that release a scent and flavor that fish find intensely appetizing.

Magic Bait Dinner Bell Fish Chum quickly attracts fish in their natural habitats in shallow areas such as brush snags, reeds, rocks, creek channels, and flooded vegetation. These are perfect places to use chum.

Use Magic Bait in any of several ways, including by frequently throwing cupfuls or handfuls into likely areas to keep fish populating those locations to make them available for fishing, or in minnow buckets weighted and thrown into your fishing area to attract fish before you cast in that area. It is also ideal for mixing into thickeners like flour, cornmeal, instant potatoes, or oatmeal to make dough balls or dip bait.

Magic Bait Dinner Bell Fish Chum has a powerful odor and strong dispersion properties to quickly spread through the current to attract fish. The concentrated scent attractants work quickly — perfect for bank fishing, dock fishing, or trotline fishing.

This is definitely the best catfish bait available for year-round use. Toss it into your favorite fishing area periodically to keep the fish hanging around right where you want them.

Key Features
  • Loose chum bait for multi-purpose use
  • Use by throwing into fishing area to attract fish or form into balls for lures
  • Large, 2-pound bag
  • Semi-moist, ready-to use formula
Specifications
  • Form: Loose chum bait
  • Package Size: 2-pounds
  • Main Flavor/Ingredients: Fish Chum
  • Brand: Magic
Pros
  • Powerful scent
  • Formulated to be used in multiple ways
  • Can be used year round to keep fish attracted to your fishing area
Cons
  • Bag is not resealable

If you hate the horrible odor of typical catfish baits, Yeh Monn! Freshwater Catfish Bait Fishbites will be the best catfish bait for you. Known as the bait with a scent that melts in water, not in your hands, Yeh Monn smells appetizing to fish, but the scent is barely noticeable to humans and will not leave an odor on your hands, in your tackle box, or in your car or truck.

Yeh Monn! Freshwater Catfish Bait comes in a package of two 13-inch bait strips. Use scissors to cut about a one-inch piece to place on your hook before casting. This is the best catfish bait format for slip-proof casting.

The strips stay firmly in place even with hard casts and are reusable for multiple casts without replacement. The fool-proof formula stays hooked even in rough water or strong currents. It holds tight during fish bites to minimize the chance of loss once you hook a fish.

The mesh formula holds up to multiple casts, strikes, and nibbles, while the powerful scent slowly and steadily dispurses into the water to strongly attract fish, ensuring a great catch every time.

Yeh Monn Fishbites are the easiest catfish baits to use. They are mess-free, odor-free, and contain proven scent formulas with powerful dispersion properties. They are available in liver, shad, or crawfish flavors so you can find the one that works best for your favorite fishing location.

Yeh Monn! Freshwater Catfish Bait is 100-percent biodegradable and comes in a resealable bag to retain freshness. It’s the best catfish bait to keep on hand with your fishing gear for odor-free storage.

Key Features
  • Strip-style freshwater catfish bait
  • Intense liver scent and flavor dispersion
  • Biodegradable liver alternative
  • Includes 2 bait strips at 13-inches per strip
Specifications
  • Form: Strips
  • Package Size: 0.8-ounces
  • Main Flavor/Ingredients: Liver
  • Brand: Yeh Monn
Pros
  • Formulated for scent to disperse in water, not on hands
  • Also great for bass fishing
  • Contains no fish parts or extracts
  • Super hook-staying power lasts through hard casting
Cons
  • Requires cutting into one-inch strips for use
  • Only available in three flavors

The best catfish bait from the expert anglers at Berkley with 25-years of research is Berkley Gulp! Catfish Dough. Engineered with the aim of catching more fish in mind, this 5-ounce bag features individual, pre-formed dough nuggets with strong, natural scents and flavors to quickly disperse and attract a feeding frenzy of fish. It is fortified with Gulp’s exclusive flavor chunks with natural bait scents and flavors for the most effective attracting properties.

Berkley Gulp uses only the highest quality materials and comes in three flavors, including bloody shad, bloody chicken, and bloody-bloody flavors. Each flavor includes the most effective scents known to attract catfish as well as panfish and baitfish.

These enticing odors ripple outward from the bait to draw in fish, while the moldable formula lets you attach the dough directly to treble hooks or with mesh bags.

Berkley Gulp dough is designed to move in the water current to look, feel, and taste alive to attract more fish. Each 1.5-inch chunk is more durable and has a more intense scent reaction than livers, chum, and other bait types so it attracts fish from further away.

It is 100-percent natural and biodegradable. Choose the flavor that works best for your fishing location or try them all and use a variety.

Berkley Gulp! Catfish Dough may be the best catfish bait in a pre-formed dough for lasting quality. If the bait dries out in the bag, just add a few drops of water and knead the dough to soften. If it is too moist you can thicken the dough with natural ingredients like flour, cornmeal, or oatmeal.

Key Features
  • 5-ounce bag of pre-formed dough baits
  • Creates a strong, lasting scent field to attract catfish
  • Fortified with flavor chunks for effective dispersion
  • Available in Bloody Shad, Bloody Chicken, and Bloody Bloody flavors
Specifications
  • Form: Preformed dough nuggets
  • Package Size: 5-oz
  • Main Flavor/Ingredients: Bloody Shad
  • Brand: Berkley
Pros
  • Fortified with flavor chunks
  • Designed to look, taste, and feel alive
  • 100-percent natural, biodegradable formula
  • Disperses strong, intense scent
Cons
  • Bag is small at 5-ounces
  • Does not stay on a hook as well as some dough baits and may require a mesh bag

The best catfish bait for an alternative to live bait with the look and feel of the real thing is Berkeley Gulp! Maggot. Berkeley is one of the most trusted names in bait, and their realistic-looking maggot baits are effective and easy to use.

This 1.5-ounce bottle includes realistic-looking faux maggots packed in a moist environment to keep them fresh and life-like. They offer the look, feel, and scent of real maggots without the ick-factor, making them an ideal replacement for live bait.

Each one-inch bait comes in natural white with a lifelike texture and taste. The baits include the Gulp extreme scent dispersion that fish love.

It’s a perfect choice for kids who are squeamish about hooking live bait, or for anyone who wants an alternative to live bait that’s easy to store and remains fresh until ready to use. Throw it in a tackle box or backpack or store it in the garage until you get a chance to hit the water, with no refrigeration needed.

Berkeley Gulp! Maggots outperform live bait by as much as 2-1 in field tests. Designed to bring in the fish for experienced anglers, this bait attracts bites even for beginners without the mess or storage concerns of real worms or live maggots.

The maggots feature a biodegradable formula that won’t pollute waterways or injure wildlife so you can feel good about using it. The scent disperses quickly through the water, attracting catfish, trout, perch, and many more. With 400 times the scent saturation than typical plastic baits, Berkeley Gulp! Maggot is the best catfish bait to bring in the biters.

Key Features
  • Extremely powerful fish-attracting scent
  • Large quantity for frequent fishers
  • Easy to use for those who are squeamish
  • Outfished live bait 2 to 1 in initial tests
Specifications
  • Form: Soft Bait
  • Package Size: 1.5oz
  • Main Flavor/Ingredients: Maggots
  • Brand: Berkley
Pros
  • Outfishes live bait 2-1 in field tests
  • Biodegradable formula
  • Life-like appearance
  • Ultra scent-dispersion formula
Cons
  • Small size makes them tricky to hook
  • Seal on the container needs improvement

Catfish Charlie is known by anglers all over as making the best catfish bait available and Catfish Charlie’s Cheese Dip Bait is no exception. For those who prefer a dip-style bait, this thick, clingy bait works quickly to allow a fast intense flavor and scent dispersion for attracting fish from near and far for a better catch.

Dip-style baits offer exceptional versatility. You can use them with many bait-holding methods including dip worms, bait tubes, sponge hooks, and mesh bags.

It produces a cloud of fast-dispersing scent and flavor that ripples outward with currents to waft its way toward both near and distant fish to lure them quickly in for a feeding frenzy. Catfish Charlie makes an extra-sticky cheese dip bait formula with a smooth, creamy texture that clings to any delivery method you prefer.

Catfish Charlie’s Cheese Dip Bait has a new-improved flavor and scent intensity and comes in a resealable stay-fresh tub. If the dip does dry out, it’s easily revitalized with a few drops of water or milk and some stirring.

It also makes powerful cat-fish attracting dough balls. Just add a thickening agent such as flour, instant potatoes, cornmeal, or oatmeal. Then form into balls and use for baiting directly onto a treble hook.

Catfish Charlie’s Cheese Dip Bait may be the best dip-style bait to get you that large catch you need for a perfect fish fry!

Key Features
  • Large, 12-oz tub of cheese dip bait
  • Extra-sticky formula
  • Semi-clear container with safety seal lid to prevent odor leaks and spills
  • Catfish Charlie's most versatile formula
Specifications
  • Form: Dip
  • Package Size: 12-oz
  • Main Flavor/Ingredients: Cheese
  • Brand: Catfish
Pros
  • Powerful "rotten-cheese" odor
  • Extra-sticky formula for lasting cling quality
  • Easy to work with for thickening or moistening as needed
  • Versatile for use on many hook types, dip worms, or with mesh bags
Cons
  • May need mixing- sometimes arrives dry and needs moistening or too wet and requires thickening
  • Needs frequent refreshing on hooks due to fast dispersion

The best catfish bait in a pre-molded dough chunk formula is the one known for causing wild catfish feeding frenzies—Wild Cat Blood Pre-Molded Catfish Bait. These soft, moldable dough chunks are specially formulated to cling tightly to the hook and keep sending out their powerful scent and flavor for long periods of time to attract more fish.

Pre-Molded Catfish Bait uses blood as the main ingredient. It’s mixed with strong thickeners for a clinging texture so it stays in place while rippling out scent and flavor to lure catfish.

These powerful fish-attracting dough balls come in a large, 12-ounce package with a reclosable seal to lock in freshness. The scent remains extra-strong and fresh between uses and the dough stays fresh, soft, and pliable, making it easy to mold firmly onto treble hooks. The baits are also ideal for hair rigs or for use in mesh bags or on lures.

Wild Cat Blood Pre-Molded Catfish Bait is formulated to smell exactly like the kinds of foods catfish eat on the bottom of waterways, such as dead fish, dead animals, and crustaceans. The powerful blood scent is one of the most attractive to catfish and brings them in a hurry.

The bait chunks are perfectly weighted to sink to the bottom of lakes, ponds, and streams, where catfish are accustomed to feeding. Then they slowly disperse the strong scent and flavor of tempting blood throughout the area, luring catfish to quickly come and bite. The clinging texture keeps the bait in place for more secure reeling.

Blood baits are one of the best catfish bait choices for a full catch.

Key Features
  • Premolded blood dough balls with a moldable texture
  • Strong, powerful scent with wide dispersion
  • Large 12-ounce bag with resealable closure for freshness
Specifications
  • Form: Chunks
  • Package Size: 12-oz
  • Main Flavor/Ingredients: Blood
  • Brand: WildCat
Pros
  • Resealable bag keeps baits fresh and moist
  • Ideal for hair rigs or for use with mesh bags
  • Large, 12-ounce bags
Cons
  • Smell is strong enough to come through the bag

While being bottom feeders gives catfish a bad name for the most finicky foodies, for those who grew up eating the results of a great weekend catfish catch fried up with a crunchy, seasoned coating and a side of hush puppies and coleslaw, there is no more worthwhile way to spend a day than fishing your favorite spot for a string of the best local catfish.

Whether you plan to binge on the best blues, chow down on some channels, or feast on a mess of flatheads, the best catfish bait will help you reel them in. But to be sure you bring in enough cats for your family fish fry, you may need to consider the different bait types to find the one that will work best for your favorite fishing spot.

If you’re a beginner out for your first catfish catch or just enjoy frequent outdoor activity, it will help to understand the different strengths and weaknesses of the best catfish bait, and even the most adept of anglers may want to take a peek at the latest commercial catfish baits to see if they want to try something new.

The Deal with Dough Balls

Many long-time catfish-catchers swear by dough balls. People have been using this type of bait to catch catfish for centuries. Doughs are typically made with a thickening agent such as flour, cornmeal, or oatmeal.

Many long-time fishing fans have family recipes passed down from their grandfathers who mixed their dough thickeners with ingredients like sardines, hog blood, and Limburger cheese—the smellier the better. According to experts, catfish have poor eyesight but a powerful sense of smell aided by their long whiskers.

Today’s commercial dough baits follow this basic idea and blend the most temptingly smelly ingredients to attract catfish with innovative new formulas to slowly disperse scent. They’ve also increased the stickiness so the dough clings more firmly onto your hook.

The best catfish bait in dough-style today usually comes in a convenient resealable bag. The powerfully scented dough is pre-formed into balls, chunks, or nuggets, making them easy to use. Place the dough into mesh bait bags or mold it directly onto a treble hook. The weight and clinging texture of dough bait make them ideal for use in heavy currents.

The Deal with Dip Bait

Dip Bait features many of the same smelly ingredients as dough bait but in a softer, more intense blend with less filler or thickeners.

Dip your tube lure or plastic worm directly into tubs of dip bait for fishing. Dips also work well with mesh bags, cloth, or old nylon stockings.

Dips dissolve much faster than doughs, but the intense scent dispersion is highly tantalizing to catfish and will definitely bring them out of the shadows for a bite.

The Scoop on Chum

Chum bait is a loose mixture of decaying fish parts and other potent ingredients such as fermented grains. Chum bait typically comes in a bucket or large resealable bag and attracts catfish to a fishing area before you begin fishing.

Just toss a good-sized scoop of chum into the water and allow it to slowly disperse to bring the cats out for a meal before you begin casting. Some people chum their fishing areas frequently all year-round, even between fishing sessions to keep the area populated with catfish.

Whether you have a favorite bait type or use a variety, you’ll find that the best catfish bait available today for commercial sale not only brings out the cats for a great catch, but they are also more eco-friendly options compared to plastic lures. And with today’s potent bait blends, get ready to fry!

Resources— CatfishEdge, GameAndFish, InFisherman

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