Hot dog catfish bait is one of the best and cheapest baits you can use to catch big channel catfish and other types of fish. Around here, we love eating fried and stewed turtle, and you can catch turtles with hot dog bait, to.
If turtles are in the area, you will catch them. The cool thing about fishing with hot dogs is that they’re not messy like catfish chicken liver bait.
Chicken livers are bloody, and other baits like stink baits are full of dyes and attractants which will leave your clothes and car smelly and dirty. But, that’s the whole fun of fishing and being outdoors – right.
Another reason why hot dogs are one of my favorite baits to use when catfishing is the cost. You can buy them at your grocery store for under a dollar and they’re only .69 when on sale.
They come in packs of ten and you can cut them into pieces to bait several hooks all day. These are the regular store brand. The red hot dogs are also good catfish bait.
Catfish love hot dogs, but some anglers have a hard time keeping them on the hook. I’ve found the cheaper ones work better than the more expensive ones or all beef hot dogs. They also stay on the hook better if you use a circle hook and don’t try to cast the bait across the lake.
Hot Dog Catfish Bait Recipes:
You can kick up the effectiveness of hot dogs by soaking them in other ingredients that attract catfish. I have personally soaked the hot dogs in fish oil and caught some decent size channel cats. They love the taste and smell of fish oils like sardines and even tuna.
Open a can of sardines or tuna and drain the oil into a bowl and add cut up hot dogs. I usually cut a package of hot dogs into around thirty pieces and soak them in the fish oil over night or even a couple of days in the refrigerator.
I’ve kept them in the fridge for up to a week and they were one of the best hot dog catfish baits I’ve fished with. I catch as many catfish as I do when I’m using worms or good blood baits. The more sugar and spices in the hot dogs, the better. Turkey hot dogs work great for catfish bait to, and so does the garlic flavored ones.
If you can’t find garlic hot dogs, soak them in garlic powder or garlic salt. You can even add the garlic to the hot dogs and fish oil. I’ve also used this bait to catch some nice size catfish in our local lakes and ponds.
Don’t be afraid to try new things and come up with your own catfish hot dog bait. Open up the pantry and experiment. If it stinks or smells, you’ll catch catfish.