Homemade Catfish Soap Bait
Fishing for catfish can be an exciting venture. After adding stinky lumps of slimy chicken liver to a hook, you get to wrestle a catfish to the shore before attempting to remove the hook without getting your hands and arms cut by catfish spines. For a less smelly bait (and a slightly less eventful fishing trip), create your own homemade soap bait. You can make your catfish soap in large quantities that last for weeks, thereby saving you from trips to the bait shop before each fishing trip.
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Things You'll Need
- 2 ceramic or glass bowls
- Rubber spatula
- 5 lbs. of lard
- Microwave
- 2.5 cups of water
- 10 oz. of lye
- Cooking thermometer
- 2 empty, cleaned milk cartons
Instructions
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1
Add 5 lbs. of lard to ceramic or glass bowl.
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2
Insert the bowl into a microwave. Turn the microwave on "High" for six minutes, or until the lard is completely melted.
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3
Stir the lard with a spatula to remove the lumps and give it smooth, creamy consistency.
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4
Add 2.5 cups of water to a glass bowl. Put on latex gloves and stir in 10 oz. of sodium hydroxide, or lye.
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5
Insert a cooking thermometer into the lard and wait for it to cool down to 95 degrees F.
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6
Slowly pour the water and lye solution into the cooled lard, stirring as you go. Stir the contents of the bowl until it reaches the consistency of pudding.
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7
Pour the soap mixture into two empty milk cartons. Close the cartons and place them in your pantry or on top of your refrigerator for four days.
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Tips & Warnings
You may need someone to help you pour the water and lye solution into the cooled lard. Have your helper pour while you stir.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit catfish image by pearlguy from Fotolia.com
