• bucket steak
• bluegill heads
• chicken livers
• the trustworthy night crawler (if you can keep the bluegills off of it)
• soft-shell crawfish

Above are the basic baits, however I have a couple of interesting recipes and tricks that I use most often....

• Drain the blood from a container of chicken livers into a mason jar. Next put 4-8" minnows into the same jar. There should be enough blood so that the minnows can soak in the blood. Tighten the lid on the jar and let it sit in the sun until it stinks really bad but not so bad you can't stand to bait your hook with it. Now put the minnows on your hook and you are ready to catch the big ones. (I know this sounds disgusting and weird but it works great!)
• Put two miniature marshmallows on your hook (color of marshmallow doesn't matter) run them all the way to the top of the shank. Then put a night crawler or two on. Use this with a slip sinker and the marshmallows make the worm float off of the bottom. Marshmallows also add color. Try experimenting with the height off of the bottom and also a little jigging motion. (Be careful not to throw off your marshmallows when casting.)
• Catch a few hog suckers with a minnow net. Put a slip bobber on without a stopper on the upper end. Hook the hog sucker in the tail end. The hog sucker will be able to swim ly and will go to the bottom with all of the line you allow it to have. Without the stopper on the upper end of the bobber it makes it hard to know when you have a hit. It takes a little practice, but if you keep a little tension on the line you will get to know the difference of the movement in the hog sucker and a hit. (The hog sucker is a bottom feeding fish that is a ugly brown color with black blotches on its back. The size you should use depends on the size of the body of water you are fishing and the size of fish you are trying to catch. I use about a 7" fish and catch healthy catfish)

These baits and techniques have worked great for me and I hope you take the time to try it. It should also be noted that most of my fishing has taken place in Southern West Virginia and these tips may not be as effective in other parts of the country. I hope you take the time to try these tips. Happy fishing!

Shawn Justice,Madison, WV