Dough Balls

[wildmaninreed]

Anyone have any good Dough Ball recipes for a good Kat bait??

[4rum]

While we're at it, anybody use mulberries in their dough ball?

[Soupy]

No Mulberries but, Strawberries and banana jell-o.
Somebody sent me this.

Mix these two together in a large bowl;
1½ – cups flour
3 – cups yellow cornmeal

In a large pan bring to a boil;
2 – cups water

When boiling add
¼ - cup sugar and 3 – teaspoons vanilla extract

when the sugar is dissolved turn to a simmer and add;
2 – pkgs strawberry/banana jell-o (my favorite) or use the
flavor you want

Stir until jell-o is fully dissolved then add cornmeal and flour mix

This is the fun part…..

While adding the cornmeal and flour mixture it will appear that it won’t all mix together. Keep working it and it will all come together. You may, at this point have to use a heavy-duty spoon as I have broken wooden spoons mixing this up. Keep mixing it will all come together OK but it's hard.

While still warm divide up and put in empty butter dishes, yogurt cups or anything with air tight lids or wrap in saran warp and put in the fridge.
To use, let warm up to mold into balls around the treble hooks with wire twisted around the shank. Keeps for months and can be frozen. Won't come off the hook for a long time even in current.

[Soupy]

Here's one to think about.

Things You'll Need:

* 12 ozs. of 100% lye (sodium hydroxide)
* 3 cups of water
* 6 pounds of animal fat/lard
* Plastic container/bucket
* Wooden spoon
* Soap molds or small glass bowls

Make Dough Ball Bait
1.
Step 1

Choose a base that will hold its shape and stick to the hook for a dough ball bait base. Common base choices include uncooked oatmeal, baking flour, corn flakes, wheat flakes, white bread, pre-made dough, peanut butter or cookie dough.
2.
Step 2

Mix the dough base with 'scented' additions in a bucket to increase its appeal to catfish. Some common 'scent' additions are ground meat (beef, sausage, chicken liver, bologna, potted meat or cheap dog or cat food), naturally smelly cheese like Limburger or rotten cheese, garlic salt, garlic powder, anise oil extract, bacon bits or fish pellets. Add water as needed.
3.
Step 3

Experiment with a few ingredients at a time to determine what ingredient combination work best.
4.
Step 4

Form the mixture into 1-inch round balls.
5.
Step 5

Place the dough balls into a sealable container or zipper storage bags. To add more appeal, pour juice from tuna or canned corn over the formed dough balls.
6.
Step 6

Dry ball bait in sun until they are tough enough to stay on the hook. Use a hair dryer to dry out the balls when time is limited. To use as bait, mold the catfish bait ball around the hook and cast it into the water.
Make Lye-Soap Bait
7.
Step 1

Pour lye into water in plastic bucket or container. Stir to dissolve while adding lye to water.
8.
Step 2

Let the lye water sit until it's room temperature.
9.
Step 3

Melt the animal fat in a glass container on the stove. Once melted, let it cool until it reaches 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
10.
Step 4

Dispense the lye water slowly into the melted fat with a wooden spoon. Stir the mixture until it thickens to the consistency of pudding. Continue mixing for up to an hour.
11.
Step 5

Add anise extract, garlic salt, garlic powder or other additives for increased "stink appeal."
12.
Step 6

Transfer the mixture into glass bowls or soap molds.
13.
Step 7

Leave the catfish bait soap to dry for about 3 to 4 days until it hardens.

Tips & Warnings

*
Lye reacts with metals, so do not mix in a metal container.
*
Modern soaps contain perfumes and additives that may be a catfish repellent rather than catfish bait. Use 100 percent lye.
*
Read all handling labels and warnings for lye.
*
Do not pour water onto the lye; pour the lye into the water.

[rayc]

I was really hoping this thread would be about the little fried dough balls that come with the meal.....

Anyway, I can't ever say I've tried using them much since I was a kid. Maybe I'll give a recipe a try and see.

Ray

[4rum]

I'm really looking forward to trying some of the dough balls and stink baits. There are times when bait is scarce here. I have been looking for something I can bait with when it is. Something that could be prepared quickly or ahead of time and frozen or packaged up.

[Soupy]

I use stink baits (manufactured baits , to be politically correct ) when I fish for the smaller channel cats/fiddlers or when Maw tells me too... Now, that's not to say I haven't caught any big'uns on the stuff....G&S Cheese bait brought me in one 32 lb Blue cat when I first startin' using it.
I do like the homemade stuff sometimes ,when I get time to make it up. Lots of peanut butter, cheese and garlic on cotton balls works pretty good in the smaller creeks and rivers we have around here..

[Ghost]

I have had mixed luck with mulberries. When I was growing up we had a tree that hung out over the river, well at high tide when the berries would fall we would have cats and carp. I think the cats were bullheads but don't remember for sure.
We would use the berries as bait and hook a few here and there.
When we left the river and headed for a lake near by no luck or very little with the berries.
Was told by an older gent that the carp and cats needed to learn that the berries were "good eaten" and until they learned that ya couldn't catch'em.
Said bait the run with the berries every day and they'll start to hit.

[Ghost]

We would make carp/cat bait using
Flour
strawberry jello
corn meal
cut up killies
mixed it all up added water over a fire (outside, mom wouldn't let us bring them dead fish into the house.)
let it dry a little
bury the hook in it and fish away.
Just about the same as above.