When fishing for catfish, something keeps stealing my bait! How do I prevent this?

Nothing is more frustrating than finally getting out onto the water and then to have something taking your catfish bait from you. The good news is that these critters can be stopped with a bit of know how. Here is what you need to know. Wherever you fish for catfish, you will find turtles and often gar as well. Both of them are notorious for bait stealing. Now, both are pretty tricky and hard to avoid, but if you use a circle hook, you can minimize your loss of bait somewhat. If you are unsure what it is that is stealing your bait, and you wish to make a determination as to who, or what, the culprit is, try a small hook and bait it with equally small bait. If it happens to be small bait fish stealing your bait, you will eventually catch one, and if it is something with a hard mouth like a gar or turtle, you will find your hook straightened, so you can easily narrow down exactly what it is stealing your bait. If you are fishing with smaller worms, you can minimize bait stealing by threading the hook through the worm’s side, or until the hook is completely covered up by the worm. This makes it considerably harder for the bait stealer to abscond with the bait without getting hooked. You might also try using a stinger hook rig to help make it more difficult for the bait stealers we have mentioned to actually take off with your bait.

Tags: catfish fishing techniques, catfish tackle, catfish fishing guide, catfish lake fishing, blue catfish fishing