soap!?

[RadleyMiller]

I read that a certain brand of laundry soap drove the catfish crazy. It was in a fishing manua my grandfather gave me from back in the day. as in the 50s

 

[sabotage]

probally on e-bay

 

[amazonfishman]

I feel enlightened good to know ~Trent

 

[davo]

lol yea ewurm, then he just goes for a swim in the river, and wham... some more fish for his tanks

 

[FishSkins]

It's a decades-old bait recipe:

haha oddball ya beat me ..i see you have been around a while

 

[Oddball]

The base is plain lye soap. However, as with most things, there's been some progress and evolution in the recipe. The original bait used blood as the main attractant. Now, fishermen are creating their own recipes that incorporate chemical attractants in liquid. solid, and gel forms. I've even found recipes that use ground up chicken livers, fish oils, and preservatives to keep fresh ingredients from spoiling.
I figure baits, such as these, will eventually lead to catfish being wiped out or catfish will evolve to be smarter than the fishermen and their baits.