How to Make Catfish Soap Bait

Years ago, many commercially available and homemade soaps contained a substance called lye. Lye is a caustic chemical that can be added to rendered animal fat in order to create soap. This soap could be used as catfish bait due to the animal fats contained in the soap. Catfish are attracted to food with a strong smell and the scent of the slowly dissolving fat in the water will draw them to the soap. You can make your own lye soap at home to use as catfish bait.

Things You'll Need

  • Rubber gloves
  • Safety glasses
  • 18 ounces lye
  • 5 cups cold water
  • Plastic or glass container
  • Wooden spoon
  • 5 pounds lard
  • Large pot
  • Soap molds
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Instructions

    • 1

      Mix 18 ounces of lye with 5 cups of cold water in a large plastic or glass container. Slowly stir the lye into the water with a long wooden spoon. The water will begin to heat up due to a chemical reaction.

    • 2

      Melt 5 pounds of lard over low heat on the stove in a large pot. Remove the pot from the stove when the lard is melted.

    • 3

      Pour the melted fat slowly into the container that holds the lye-and-water mixture. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until it has cooled. Pour the cooled mixture into soap molds and allow it to set overnight.

    • 4

      Remove the soap from the molds and cut them into small squares to use as catfish bait.