🎣 FISHTRACKERS TIP OF THE DAY: “CATFISH SOUP” (aka the absolute chaos bait method)

Bywoodhavenshorespoa

Alright anglers, this one is straight out of the “don’t show your kitchen what you did” playbook.

If you’re targeting big bottom feeders around Woodhaven Shores waters, this is a homemade bait + chum mix built around one simple idea:

👉 if it smells like absolute disaster to humans, it tends to smell like opportunity to catfish.

đŸ§Ș STEP 1: THE BASE (hot dogs + ketchup situation)

Start with a bag 🌭

Throw in several hot dogs—doesn’t really matter how you cut them, whole or chopped both work. Then pour in ketchup as your base.

Not a little bit either. You want enough that everything gets coated and starts turning into a red, sticky mess pretty fast.

At this point it already stops looking like food and starts looking like a project you probably shouldn’t explain to anyone.

đŸ§Ș STEP 2: THE SMELL UPGRADE

Now you start building the scent profile.

Add a strong-smelling oil or liquid. Something heavy, something that sticks around in water instead of disappearing fast.

In our case, what was used was dill oil from a jar of pickles, which has that sharp, lingering smell that just takes over the whole mix immediately.

Then comes garlic powder 🧄

And this is not a “light seasoning” situation. You keep adding it while mixing until the whole thing starts thickening up into a paste instead of a liquidy mess.

If it still looks remotely normal, you haven’t gone far enough yet. Literally a thick, reddish paste with old, cheap hot dogs floating in it. Make sure you also have some small chunks of garlic floating in there as well. 

đŸ§Ș STEP 3: LET IT SIT AND BECOME SOMETHING ELSE

Seal the bag and leave it alone for a couple days. You want to marinate it in that disgusting mess for at least a day, and two or three are much more recommended. 

This is where it really develops.

Nothing fancy happens visually—but chemically, scent-wise, it just gets more intense and heavier.

When you finally open it later, it’s going to hit you immediately. Like full sensory regret. Like “why is this real” kind of smell.

But underwater, that exact intensity is what makes it useful.

🎣 STEP 4: HOW IT’S USED ON THE WATER

Once you’re actually fishing:

  • Chop or slice the hot dogs and put them straight on the hook 🌭
  • Or coat your bait in the thick paste so it carries maximum scent
  • Or toss small amounts into the water as chum to create a spreading scent trail

The goal isn’t finesse. It’s attraction radius.

You’re basically trying to turn your fishing zone into a smell field.

TIP: Make sure you dump out some of that ‘soupy’ liquid in the water on its own- it will create a whole scent radius in the entire area. 

🐟 WHAT IT TENDS TO ATTRACT

If conditions line up, expect responses from:

  • Catfish (main target, especially larger ones)
  • Carp
  • Eels
  • And random bottom feeders that just drift in off the scent

Anything that feeds by smell and hangs near a structure is fair game.

🌙 WHEN IT ACTUALLY WORKS BEST

This mix isn’t really a midday, bright sun kind of setup.

It performs best when:

  • Night fishing 🌙
  • Early morning low light
  • Slower current or still water zones
  • Structure-heavy areas (drop-offs, logs, channel edges, pocket water)

Basically anywhere scent can sit and spread instead of getting washed out instantly.

Afternoon and midmorning can work, but it’s not recommended instead of night or evening fishing. Doesn’t have to be even that late- dinner time. I go night fishing, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM every single week and catch catfish consistently.

📍 FISHTRACKERS FIELD NOTE

Around Woodhaven Shores, this kind of bait tends to shine in backwater bays, dam-adjacent water, and those smaller pocket-bay systems where current slows down and scent can actually linger long enough to matter.

Those same areas also line up with typical movement corridors for larger catfish working through the system. 

🎣 CLOSING NOTE

It’s messy, it smells like literal hell, and it turns your hands into something you’ll want to scrub aggressively—but it works on the principle that bottom feeders don’t care about aesthetics, they care about scent.

And this? This is pure scent dominance.

This bait works 20X better than most of the overpriced stuff in the stores that most anglers will buy without hesitation- made with simple household items most people have in their homes- I, for example, used the oil in a jar of pickles. It also is open to customization. You can switch the hotdogs for baitfish or switch the ketchup for maple syrup, or the pickle oil for fish oil. The possibilities are endless. 

That’s Catfish Soup. 🎣