Catfish bait holders work well for catching channel cats with artificial baits. The debate continues between circle hooks and regular J hooks or octopus hooks. I personally prefer to fish with circle bait holder hooks. They perform well, and I have yet to lose a fish once they get the hook in their mouth.
These hooks work well when fishing with chicken liver bait. Chicken livers are one of the best baits you can use to catch catfish, but it’s very difficult getting them to stay on the hook. I use the Ice Sea Octopus Circle Hooks for this very reason. They have two barbs, and super sharp. If a fish picks up this hook, they won’t spit it out.
You can get 50-100 hooks for a very decent price. I bought mine a few fishing seasons ago, and I still have some. That’s saying a lot cause we go catfishing throughout the year. And most waters we fish have very dense cover. These bait holders stand up to old trees, rocks and the landscape.
When I do get snagged, the line breaks before the hook bends. You need a strong and sturdy hook when you catch a monster flathead in the Missouri River.
Best Catfish Dough Bait Holders
Dough baits are also hard to keep on hooks. I use Bee-Jay dough bait because throughout the years, it consistently catches fish and it stays on the hook better than other dough baits. For those of you who don’t use Bee Jay can try using the Docs Super Catfish Worms.
These are top notch catfish bait holders. The body of the worm has ridges and grooves that’s designed to hold dough bait. They’re also have very sharp treble hooks that will hook channel cats and keep them on the hook. The Docs Catfish Worms will also work with dip bait if it’s sticky enough and if you put a sponge on the treble hook.
I’ve fished with a few guys who make their own dip bait holders, but they don’t seem to be of the same quality as the store bought ones. At the end of the day, do what will catch more catfish. If money is an issue, making homemade baits and tackle is always something you can do.