More catfish have been caught with night crawlers than any other bait, and that probably will always be the case.
That might be because nearly every convenience store, bait shop and grocery story along the Gulf Coast usually has a box of worms for anglers.
But, there’s nothing like variety. Cut shad, cut mullet, nutria liver, saltwater shrimp and stink baits like Berkley Power Baits that come in liver and blood flavors also can be productive.
One that is preferred during the spring catfish run is river shrimp.
Each spring my father-in-law would take his airboat out into the marsh and cut myrtle limbs and use them as bush lines.
He’d tie the branch so the leaves were hanging in the shallow water where the current ran along the bank. River shrimp would cling to the limbs, and he’d shake them into a 17-gallon galvanized tub to use for bait — that is, after boiling a mess for supper.
