Making Chum for Catfish.

[Redyaker]

I asked how to make chum for catfishing on big lakes on this site a while back. I took someones formula they posted and started my chum about 2 weeks ago. Everyone said it was gonna stink like the dickens.......manoman.....I'm telling you I don't know if I'm going to be able use it......that stuff just really stinks......kind of like sticking your nose about 6" off a septic tank.....ha. Am going to try and use it in the next 2 weeks on Lake Sommerville, will report how it works......gonna try it out of my power boat first, then I'll consider trying it in the kayak

formula:
5 gallon bucket 3/4 full of maze
water
2 cans of beer
1/2 gallon dead shad
2 cans of wet dog food

hope I got the stomach to go through with this.....ha.....got a neighbor that fishes this way and said if you can get past the smell it works pretty good.

[heron]

Yea but dang! Can you imagine what it will smell like after 4 weeks! Best wishes for the new year and git'r done! We'll be root'n for ya.

[CityByTheSeaCitizen]

You wasted 24 ounces of beer, but other than that, the recipe looks good.

Distribution is key. I like to contain mine, so the scent gets out but not much actual grain. Most guides that I have seen, just chunk out a little bit every where they go (I assume the same spots day-in and day-out).

I usually just add grain and water, but those other ingredients surely won't hurt.

[Yakfoot]

Something simpler that works really well is sour grain. Use a ground or cracked grain, whatever is cheapest at the feed store at the time. Last time it was corn. Put it in a bucket with a lid add 2x as much water as grain (approx) and set in a warm place such as in the sun. In the summer it will be ready in about a week but this time of year it will take longer. Save the beer for yourself it won't do the chum any good. There is a sequence of bacterial populations that cause the fermentation to proceed over time. The only way to accelerate the process is to add some grain mix that has only been fermenting a few weeks. That will really give it a boost and shorten fermentation time because you are introducing the right kind' of bacteria to ferment new grain. Beer or very old fermented grain doesn't do you much good because the bacteria are different.

If you are adding fresh chum to an area in the daytime and want to fish it right away be careful to do it as quietly as possible. I have found that the fish tend to be very spooky in the daytime and may leave the area if you make a lot of commotion.

[Redyaker]

Something simpler that works really well is sour grain. Use a ground or cracked grain, whatever is cheapest at the feed store at the time. Last time it was corn. Put it in a bucket with a lid add 2x as much water as grain (approx) and set in a warm place such as in the sun. In the summer it will be ready in about a week but this time of year it will take longer. Save the beer for yourself it won't do the chum any good. There is a sequence of bacterial populations that cause the fermentation to proceed over time. The only way to accelerate the process is to add some grain mix that has only been fermenting a few weeks. That will really give it a boost and shorten fermentation time because you are introducing the right kind' of bacteria to ferment new grain. Beer or very old fermented grain doesn't do you much good because the bacteria are different.

If you are adding fresh chum to an area in the daytime and want to fish it right away be careful to do it as quietly as possible. I have found that the fish tend to be very spooky in the daytime and may leave the area if you make a lot of commotion.

good idea, i'll keep it in mind

[Sanditos]

It comes canned already. Get a can of dog food with the pull tab top. Tie a string to the pull tab and attach a float. Use a can opener and put 2 or 3 holes in the can and toss it out where you would like to fish. Use the float to mark the spot and retrieve the empty can later.

Happy paddles to ya

[Redyaker]

Something simpler that works really well is sour grain. Use a ground or cracked grain, whatever is cheapest at the feed store at the time. Last time it was corn. Put it in a bucket with a lid add 2x as much water as grain (approx) and set in a warm place such as in the sun. In the summer it will be ready in about a week but this time of year it will take longer. Save the beer for yourself it won't do the chum any good. There is a sequence of bacterial populations that cause the fermentation to proceed over time. The only way to accelerate the process is to add some grain mix that has only been fermenting a few weeks. That will really give it a boost and shorten fermentation time because you are introducing the right kind' of bacteria to ferment new grain. Beer or very old fermented grain doesn't do you much good because the bacteria are different.

If you are adding fresh chum to an area in the daytime and want to fish it right away be careful to do it as quietly as possible. I have found that the fish tend to be very spooky in the daytime and may leave the area if you make a lot of commotion.

put the beer in to get them drunk......I know I get hungry when I've been drinking.....ha

[lamar]

You don't need to put the shad or dog food in the mix just the grain will do.
Some of the fish you will catch off the chum will be so full of grain they
look like there going to bust.

[BullyARed]

You wasted 24 ounces of beer, but other than that, the recipe looks good.

Distribution is key. I like to contain mine, so the scent gets out but not much actual grain. Most guides that I have seen, just chunk out a little bit every where they go (I assume the same spots day-in and day-out).

I usually just add grain and water, but those other ingredients surely won't hurt.

2X. What a waste on beer. I suggest one just drinks the beer and discharges your own beer into the concoction and it would attract the fish

[Carver]

I have done a lot of complex concoctions but straight soured grain ( Milo is my choice but any will work ) is as good as you can get.

The hardest thing to do is limit how much you spread. I have gone over the last several years from throwing a coffee can out to doing about a single cup with an increase of success in numbers and aggressiveness in hits.

Beer has some yeast but also contains alcohol that will inhibit some bacterial growth. If you add straight yeast ( or anything else that prompts fermentation ) the resulting alcohol will Change the development cycle. Whatever grows will work fine . It is hard to do this wrong, but simple grain and water are hard to beat. If you are impatient put you water in the bucket first, add a few drops of chlorine killer made for aquariums and the bacteria in the grain will not be attacked by the additives in our city water. Well water, rain water or water from a standing source like ditch or lake will let the grain turn fastest.

You can add a pinch of whatever commercial bait you use to the mix or water very early on and that will add a similarmcomponent to the mix. Most all commercial baits are cheese based so I thought a gallon of milk ( when it is on sale for ($.99 gal) couldn't hurt anything. I added milk and some of my dip bait to a bucket to see what would grow. I don't know how the flys got there but I ended up with a bucket of wiggling bluegill bait. Yecht!

I found Out I could buy black paint buckets at WalMart paint dept for $1 and loaded up on black for extra heat.

I also keep a small container of the " juice" to soak less desirable baits in. Works great when you are chasing numbers or just loading up on " box fish."

[Harold Ray]

When I was younger and we did this all the time, all we used was maize (milo) and water. By the time it was through, it smelled plenty bad and attracted fish well. We never added anything else. This is what I use on Lake Waco.

[lcso41]

I understand the whole chum bait thing. but do you use it to just get the catfish in the area, or do you use it AS bait. I have used the corn mash/water/yeast before but only to BAIT a hole. And then used cut mullet or liver as bait to catch the fish. Is this how yall do it.

[Harold Ray]

but do you use it to just get the catfish in the area

This mix is used to bring catfish in to the area.

[CityByTheSeaCitizen]

I understand the whole chum bait thing. but do you use it to just get the catfish in the area, or do you use it AS bait. I have used the corn mash/water/yeast before but only to BAIT a hole. And then used cut mullet or liver as bait to catch the fish. Is this how yall do it.

I only spread a little chum, maybe a cup. But I also keep a bucket in the water with small holes drilled in it.

I usually fish with shad, catalpa worms, earth worms, and/or perch. I tried fishing with the chum in pantyhose, but it was outfished by other baits.

I usually use milo and water (which seems to be the favorite recipe on here), but right now I am experimenting with wheat. It was more expensive, but I contain mine so I reuse it.

I have chummed with many things that worked. Rinsed crawfish tailes a few days after a boil, Christmas leftovers, roadkill, .... Milo & water has worked the best.

[CityByTheSeaCitizen]

When fishing for blue cats, i usually chum with a few range cubes. Someone on here told me that the protein attracts the shad. It worked... last year we caught a 50 and a few 25 pounders in one day at tawakoni.

[Milkjug]

When fishing for blue cats, i usually chum with a few range cubes.

X2, save yourself all that trouble and just go buy a 50lb bag for less than $10. Much less work, no stink, and much more manegable from a yak. The cats I used to catch when R/R over the cubes will be so full of the stuff they look like they are about to pop. Seems to work better for eater channels though.

If I have the time, I will hammer the big cubes into smaller pieces. Get some extra mileage, you're not trying to fill them up anyways, just get the nearby cats feeding. When I set juglines in lakes I scatter some around before I paddle off.

[hipshot]

The range cubes will also bring the carp in (as will the grain).

If you have a serious hangover, make sure you stay upwind of the soured grain bucket. Failure to heed that advice may result in too much chum being distributed. Don't ask...............

For those of you with a feral hog problem, the soured grain works very well on them, too.

[farmerJohnny]

When fishing for blue cats, i usually chum with a few range cubes. Someone on here told me that the protein attracts the shad. It worked... last year we caught a 50 and a few 25 pounders in one day at tawakoni.

wow you caught 50 pounders chumming with range cubes? I have tried that a lot but I only manage to catch channel cats no bigger than 2-3 lb. I have a few questions:
1. So once you chumm with range cubes, what kind of bait do you use for the blue cats?
2. Do you let the bait go all the way to the bottom?
3. what are the best spots? Should it be close to the shore around trees in water, or do you go to the deepest spot in the middle of the lake?

[CityByTheSeaCitizen]

wow you caught 50 pounders chumming with range cubes? I have tried that a lot but I only manage to catch channel cats no bigger than 2-3 lb. I have a few questions:
1. So once you chumm with range cubes, what kind of bait do you use for the blue cats?
2. Do you let the bait go all the way to the bottom?
3. what are the best spots? Should it be close to the shore around trees in water, or do you go to the deepest spot in the middle of the lake?

This is the most recent trip with big catfish.
http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... 2&t=136492" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More Tawakoni Fun:
http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... 2&t=140136" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... 8&t=143138" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I had a really nice hybrid trip to Tawakoni this summer, but I guess I never wrote a report about it. We caught about 30-40 hybrids averaging about 5 pounds. I might dig out pics later.

[Redyaker]

Took the chum I made and went to Sommerville in the PB yesterday. Scattered it out in 3 places about 10 am and within about an hr we had caught 7 14" blue cats and 1 about 12 lb carp. I bought some gulp punch baits and at the Sommerville marina I bought their recommended punch cheese bait. All fish were caught on the marinas recommended punch bait, I think it was called Marvs Punch Bait.....After the first hr we didn't catch another fish. Forgot the camera so no pics. got home and had a fish fry.....pretty good stuff

[farmerJohnny]

Took the chum I made and went to Sommerville in the PB yesterday. Scattered it out in 3 places about 10 am and within about an hr we had caught 7 14" blue cats and 1 about 12 lb carp. I bought some gulp punch baits and at the Sommerville marina I bought their recommended punch cheese bait. All fish were caught on the marinas recommended punch bait, I think it was called Marvs Punch Bait.....After the first hr we didn't catch another fish. Forgot the camera so no pics. got home and had a fish fry.....pretty good stuff

Hei what did you catch the carps on? I also catch carp when chumming but I have a hard time catching them even know I am trying. I originally from Europe and there carp is a delicacy as long as you cook them the right way.

[Redyaker]

Took the chum I made and went to Sommerville in the PB yesterday. Scattered it out in 3 places about 10 am and within about an hr we had caught 7 14" blue cats and 1 about 12 lb carp. I bought some gulp punch baits and at the Sommerville marina I bought their recommended punch cheese bait. All fish were caught on the marinas recommended punch bait, I think it was called Marvs Punch Bait.....After the first hr we didn't catch another fish. Forgot the camera so no pics. got home and had a fish fry.....pretty good stuff

Hei what did you catch the carps on? I also catch carp when chumming but I have a hard time catching them even know I am trying. I originally from Europe and there carp is a delicacy as long as you cook them the right way.

caught him on the Marv's Punch Cheese bait also. Sommerville has a lot of carp in it. at the dam when they are letting a lot of water through after big rains you can catch them on the down river side of the dam on a small green spoon.