Chicken Liver
Chicken liver is the supermarket's gift to catfishing - blood-rich, dirt-cheap and channel-cat catnip; its one flaw (falling off the hook) has three field fixes.
Few baits have a resume like the humble tub of chicken livers: a couple of dollars at any grocery store, and channel catfish - who read blood-scent like headlines - line up for it. The entire craft is keeping the soft stuff ON the hook, and generations of riverbank engineers have solved it with pantyhose, treble hooks and a little sun-toughening.
What it catches
Channel catfish overwhelmingly - the species' signature bait; bullheads with enthusiasm; the odd blue cat and carp.
Getting & keeping it
Aisle five, cheapest tub; keep cold and use within a day or two of opening (they sour and soften). Some anglers cure extras in salt overnight - firmer AND stinkier: both improvements.
How to rig it
The retention arsenal: (1) treble hook nestled into a lobe, (2) a square of pantyhose/bait-mesh tied around a gob ('liver sack'), (3) sun-toughen pieces 20 minutes before threading. Slide-sinker rig, gentle lob cast.
When it shines
Summer evening channel-cat sits, stocked catfish ponds, muddy rising water where scent rules, kids' first catfish trips (action comes fast).
Field tips
Blood is the point - fresh red livers beat pale washed ones; re-bait every 20-30 min as scent depletes; gentle casts (violent casts donate liver to the river).
What wastes good bait
Overhead-launching a soft gob (gone), fishing one washed-out piece for hours, and skipping the mesh trick then blaming the bait.
Bait-fishing kit
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