Stink Baits Reel in Catfish

No writer likes to write a story that stinks.

Until now.

“This story really stinks,” my editor said.

“Thanks,” I said. “It’s supposed to.”

What we’re talking about here is not a stinking story in the literary sense, rather one in the olfactory sense.

Stink baits. No catfish in its right mind and clear nasal passage can resist the putrid aroma of a good stink bait.

Last year, I tried to write a stinking story, but no one wanted to share their recipes.

This year, I offered a T-shirt for the best stinking advice. Two days after the offer, I received 35 recipes.

One person evidently wanted me to experience his concoction first-hand. The envelope reeked. The post office demanded an extra $12 postage. Something about my share of paying for a gas mask to protect the mailman against future mail “stink” bombs.

I’m not going to run all the recipes (53 were received), only the cream of the crop, so to speak.

A large majority included chicken livers and entrails of just about any animal imaginable. Another ingredient that cropped up quite often was WD-40. And almost all demanded that the recipe, once completed, sit in the sun--the hotter the better--for a few days to age.

A few words of caution, though: It’s not for the faint of heart.

The best and stinkiest of our suggested recipes:

HIGH HEAVEN WONDER

Ingredients--Six giant night crawlers, 6 ounces cheddar cheese, half a jar of 6-month-old salmon eggs, 6 ounces fish entrails, half-cup of flour, cotton balls.

Thoroughly mix all ingredients, except flour and cotton balls. This can be done best in an old blender (a new blender works just as well, but you may never want to use it again for anything else). Slowly add flour and the shredded cotton balls until a doughy consistency is achieved.

By hand, form into golf ball-sized units, adding more cotton fibers for strength. Then wrap each in a plastic baggie and store in a refrigerator until time for use.

A warning: High Heaven Wonder, when exposed to the air, especially in a boat, may cause fish to jump straight into the boat. In fact, when I don’t feel like baiting up, I open one or two portions of High Heaven in my boat, motor across the water at full speed and watch the fish jump in. I usually get my limit in 15 minutes or less, depending on how many below-grade fish I have to throw back and the size of the boat and motor I am using.

S. Miller

Cameron Park, Calif.

CATFISH CATCHER

Ingredients--One pound chicken livers, two medium sardines (from bait shop), 4 ounces Limburger cheese, 4 ounces cod liver oil, 1 cup Krusteaz pancake mix, one-fourth cup thick corn syrup.

In a blender, grind the chicken livers to a pulp. Scale and filet the two sardines and cut the filets crossways into half-inch slices. Put these slices and the guts of the sardines into the blender and grind to a pulp with the chicken livers.

Add the cheese (diced), cod liver oil, corn syrup and my secret ingredient, 10 to 20 shots of WD-40. Blend all ingredients thoroughly. Pour into a mixing bowl and add pancake mix until it becomes a thick paste.

With floured hands, form into a big ball. Put the stink bait in a sealed double plastic bag and refrigerate as soon as possible. DO NOT FREEZE.

When fishing, take enough of the dough to make a ball that covers your hook.

Jeff Loverde,

Sacramento

UNCLE MIKE’S STINK BAIT

Ingredients--Can of sardines, corn meal, creamy peanut butter, molasses, very old beef steak, cotton balls and, most importantly, chew spittle (I’ve found that Sacramento cats like wintergreen the best).

Drain the sardines and leave them out in the sun. When the sardines are ripe, add the corn meal, peanut butter, molasses, beef steak and chew spittle. Mix with hands, adding cornmeal to thicken the bait. Lastly, add cotton balls (pull them apart into little pieces).

Let bait stand at least overnight (by morning, it might be standing up by itself).

Mike Gaumond,

Sacramento

CALIFORNIA CATFISH CONNECTION

Ingredients--One pound chicken livers, one large bait shop sardine, 2 tablespoons cod liver oil, three-quarter cup pancake mix, 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, one jar yellow Power Bait.

First scale and fillet sardines. Thoroughly mix together all ingredients except the peanut butter and Power Bait. Add additional pancake mix until mixture becomes less sticky and can be rolled fairly easily.

Combine peanut butter and power bait in another bowl. Take both mixtures and cream together. Never freeze or leave mix in the sun.

Bait up with small rolled ball and squirt one shot of WD-40 on ball. I’ve tried mixing WD-40 in mixture with far less results.

Darryl Black,

Sacramento

OTHER NOTABLE SUGGESTIONS

Ingredients--One-quart paint can (unused, the kind special mixes come in), fresh blood (preferably from a big, old bull).

Stink bait works not because it’s vile-smelling. Fish are attracted to the water-soluble essence of good (to them) food.

Go to the paint store and purchase a one-quart paint can, the kind they put special mixes in. Hardware stores might not have them.

Take the can to a slaughterhouse and ask them to fill it with fresh blood, preferably from a big, old bull, but any kind of blood should work.

Take it home and put it in the refrigerator and keep it until you’re ready to go fishing, at least overnight, so it will clot.

When you’re fishing, shake about an inch of the clotted cylinder of blood from the can and slice it off. It will slice like Jell-O.

Cut the slice into one-inch cubes. They will stay on the hook for about 15 minutes before all the goodie soaks out, then they should be changed.

W. Wiley

Sacramento

Ingredients--Two cups yellow cornmeal, 2 cups white vinegar, 2 cups water, one large clove garlic, 4 tablespoons ground aniseed, quarter-cup corn oil.

In a large pot, bring water and vinegar to a boil. Slowly add cornmeal while stirring to form a mush. Reduce heat and let the mixture simmer as the cornmeal absorbs the moisture. When the mush is cooked down to a semi-dry paste, remove from heat.

With a garlic press, squeeze the garlic and mix with the oil and aniseed. Add the mixture to the mush and blend well.

This is a good bait for your wife and kids because although it does not stink really bad, the fish think it tastes great.

Bill Hughes

Sacramento

Ingredients--Bag of marshmallows, two cans of sardines, 12-ounce can of dog food.

Heat the marshmallows in a cake pan in the oven until gooey. Pour the oil of the sardines over the marshmallows (eat the sardines with some crackers. Everyone knows you have to eat fish the night before you go fishing). Mix this blend with the dog food. Squeeze and knead well with hands.

Let set overnight. Roll into clumps when you are ready to go fishing.

Ron Marques

Sacramento

Ingredients--One small box Velveeta cheese, three cans sardine/kipper/tuna, five slices of very old (but not moldy) white bread.

Melt cheese and then let cool until consistency of pudding. Add fish oil and stir. Break up bread into chunks and add to melted cheese. Stir and allow to cool to room temperature. Leave outside until morning. Put on hook and catch fish.

John Morris III

Petaluma, Calif.

Ingredients--One pound chicken livers, three cloves shredded garlic, half-teaspoon bruised anise seeds, white flour.

Place chicken livers (undrained) in a glass jar. Add cloves and stir well. Then add anise seeds, stir and cover jar. Let mixture sit undisturbed where the sun will hit it for two weeks. Then empty into pan and mash around until smooth. Add enough white flour to form a stiff mixture. Roll into balls and store in the freezer. Thaw before using.

Mrs. James Warner

Citrus Heights, Calif.

Ingredients--One pound veal (stew meat may be substituted), half-pound any kind of liver, 1 quart cod liver oil, cornmeal, cheesecloth.

Cut veal and liver into small bait sizes. Mix with cod liver oil, and the blood, then let sit overnight. Mix cornmeal in to where you can spoon the ingredients.

Cut pieces of cheesecloth into triangular shapes, then spoon the mixture onto the cut pieces of cloth. Fold the cloth over to form a ball. Set bait balls on a board and let sit in sun or use heat lamp in the winter. Do not let them completely dry out. Save the remaining liquid so when you are fishing and are baited up you can dip your bait into the mixture.

Bruce Magnan

Elk Grove

Ingredients--Two dozen minnows or small shad, six over-ripe bananas, 2 tablespoons anise oil, sponge, cotton or white bread.

In a five-gallon bucket, let minnows or shad decompose until there is nothing left but a thick, oily substance. Slice in the bananas and add the anise oil. Mix well and dip in pieces of the sponge, the cotton balls or pieces of the bread. Mold around treble hook.

John Parks

Sacramento