Is chicken gizzards and hearts a good bait for catching catfish? I’ve gotten that question a few times and in my opinion, they make good bait, but not on their own. Chicken gizzards are good to use because they’re tough and stay on the hook.
Unlike chicken livers, gizzards stay on the hook when casting a far distance and a catfish also can’t take the gizzard off the hook, easily. But, are gizzards as good as livers for catching catfish? The answer is no
Chicken livers vs chicken gizzards and hearts
Chicken livers are one of the best baits to catch catfish because they work. If the channel cats are biting, they will usually go for chicken livers. That isn’t true for the gizzards. I’ve used gizzards alongside chicken livers quite a few times, and I rarely get any bites.
How to get catfish to bite on chicken gizzard bait
There are a couple of ways you can make the gizzards more effective at landing some big catfish. The catfish don’t particularly care for gizzards because there isn’t enough attractant like blood in them. Catfish want bloody and stinky bait. That’s why they won’t bite on plain chicken.
If you want to use chicken gizzards to catch catfish, try soaking the gizzards in chicken liver blood. Put two containers of chicken livers and a package of gizzards and hearts in a container together and let the bait marinate in the refrigerator for a couple of days. This will make the gizzards and hearts a much better bait.
Another way to make gizzards and hearts a good bait to catch catfish is to marinate them with canned sardines. Process a couple of cans of sardines in a food processor until they’re smooth. Put the sardines and gizzards and hearts in a container for a few days in the refrigerator.
I’ve made this homemade bait before and it worked very well. Catfish will bite on anything if it smells like something they usually bite on. We know catfish like blood, garlic, cheese, and kool-aid baits. I’ve caught some big channel cats with gizzards and hearts mixed with strawberry Jell-O and red kool-aid.
You just need to use your imagination. Making homemade catfish bait is fun and if you’re creative, you can come up with a concoction that can land a trophy catfish. I love marinating chicken and pork in chicken liver blood for a few days. I’ve even frozen it and let it thaw and the bait caught plenty of channel cats.
Chicken gizzards and hearts also make for a good catfish bait because they’re very cheap. I’ve found them on sale for .99 cents a pound. That’s cheap catfish bait when you mix it with some kool-aid or Jell-O. If all else fails, you can always fry em up.