When the water gets cold, the fishing gets tough. Lucky for you, catfish are still active during the winter time.
The winter can actually be a great time to fish for catfish since there is less chance of other fish getting in the way and stealing your bait.
Speaking of bait, what is the best cold water catfish bait?
Yes, catfish certainly bite in cold water and the winter months can be a great time to go catfishing.
Since catfish are primarily bottom feeders and the bottoms of lakes don’t fluctuate temperature much, catfish are less effected by low water temperatures than other species like bass.
I do most of my catfishing during the cold months because winter catfishing is probably better than any other winter fishing.
During the winter months, catfish tend to be more active and bite more during the day compared to nighttime catfishing.
Catfish are not too picky when it comes to eating. They will pretty much eat anything they come across on the bottoms.
And since the cold winter months result in a lot of baitfish and other creatures dying off, the catfish have plentiful food available.
Even though catfish are used to a bit cooler water temperatures, they still don’t want to exert too much energy, so they will eat dead things that fall to the bottom.
Shad do not handle cold water well at all. As a result, huge quantities of shad die off during the winter.
Shad are my favorite winter time catfish bait. They can be hard to acquire though.
Catching fresh shad is very difficult and unreliable and high quality store bought shad are expensive.
My go-to shad are the blood shad from Walmart. They are super cheap and you can buy lots of them. They won’t work as well as fresh shad, but they get the job done.
Bluegill stick to the shallow shorelines throughout most of the year, so catfish don’t get to feed on them much.
But in the winter time, bluegill are forced into deeper waters and into catfish territory.
The pancake shape of bluegill makes them a big and hardy meal for catfish. It is best to cut each bluegill into 3-4 pieces unless you are going for really big catfish.
I usually catch a bunch of bluegill in the fall and throw them in my freezer so that I have access to them all winter.
Chicken liver is some of the bloodiest, smelliest bait you can use. This helps persuade lazy, winter catfish to come eat it.
As we all know, chicken liver is not the most fun bait to use. You are forced to use an elaborate rig like women’s stockings just to keep it on the hook.
Chicken liver is certainly annoying to use, but it undeniably catches catfish. I have noticed that channel catfish particularly love chicken liver.
If you are short on time and resources, just head to the grocery store and pick up some chicken liver.
Crawfish are a delicacy for all types of fish. They are super high in protein and fish seem to love the crunchy texture.
Similar to the shad, crawfish can be very difficult to catch in the winter time. Lots of bait and tackle shops will have crawfish all year round.
You also never need to worry about them falling off the hook or being swiped by a smaller fish. Just hook them through the shell and they are not coming off.
If you have the ability to catch lots of crawfish during the summer and freezing them, that is the ideal situation.
However, I think most people including myself don’t have a body of water that is brimming with crawfish.
So, if you can get your hands on them, certainly take advantage of the opportunity.
I typically only use chicken breast when I am fishing for really big channel catfish. Lean chicken breast is a powerhouse meal for any catfish.
Contrary to chicken liver, the breasts will not fly off the hook easily. Sometimes when I am fishing for these huge channel cats, I will hook an entire chicken breast on at one time.
The downside of chicken breast is that it does not have a lot of scent. I will always marinate my chicken in blood or fish attractors for a couple days before fishing them.
Nightcrawlers can actually be a great cold water bait for catfish. The cold water will keep the worms alive for longer than normal.
The subtle wiggle of the worms can be all it takes to persuade a catfish to come find it.
The main downside of using nightcrawlers is the size limitation. Nightcrawlers are not very big, and even if you load multiple onto your hook, you just can’t provide as big a meal as the other baits.
Catfish love big meals and this is especially important in cold water where they can’t afford to waste energy on little snacks.
Also Read: How to Catch Catfish in Winter in a Pond
You may have noticed that all these baits are real, natural meat. Granted, the chicken liver and chicken breast aren’t part of a catfish’s normal diet, but they are still real food.
I have never really been a fan of artificial catfish bait. Stink baits, dough baits, and other pungent baits just don’t work as well.
Especially cold water where fish are not willing to spend energy swimming after something unreliable.
Think about it, if a catfish needs to conserve energy, it is not going to risk swimming around looking for some weird smell like those artificial baits.
You should always go as natural as possible in the cold winter water.
The slip sinker rig is the only catfish rig I ever use.
Whether it is the dog days of summer or the middle of winter, nothing beats the slip sinker rig.
It is really as simple as that. Slip sinker rig is just better than all the rest.
Never shy away from getting out in the cold weather and fishing for some catfish.
I have caught some of the biggest catfish of my life during the winter. Just keep your baits as natural as possible and you can’t go wrong.
The winter months are my catfish season. Good luck and tight lines!
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