For the third thread in the 5-part series, we'll be discussing how to make the ultimate dough bait for big bluegill. This is the only bait that I use for big bluegill that comes from the kitchen(sorta). Well, here we go!
FOREWARD: Just a few warnings before you start. The first - wear rubber gloves the entire time. This bait is truly disgusting. I had a catfisherman, who makes his own bait (he literally calls it *****) tell me that this stuff was the most disgusting thing he'd ever seen. However, I recently caught a few 2-pounders with this mixture, so it's well worth it. The next - do this somewhere outside. I do it in my garage, with all the doors and windows open, and newspaper all over the floor. It's that disgusting. Another - you need a strong stomach to do this. 'Nuff said. One more - go to thrift shops or something and pick up some old kitchen appliances/tools and a few other things, rather than use the ones you use everyday. You'll need
A blender, capable of pureeing and blending (get the biggest one you can find)
Big Ziplock bags (1 gallon)
A meat hammer
Small plastic trash cans - get as many as you can get, they'll all come into use sometime or another
A big trash can (pretty big)
A 15-ish gallon trash can
A big spoon. I actually use one of those ones that you'd hang on your wall, as a decoration
"BAIT LIQUID 1": Collect a bunch of small critters, either by collecting, buying, or both. You'll need wax worms, red worms, nightcrawlers, minnows, crawfish, and leeches. Feel free to add and subtract these - I support experimenting! Throw all of these into the blender, and puree them. This is one of the nastiest parts. Save it in a small trash can for later.
"INSECTS": Collect some more critters. Read above on how. You're gonna need crickets, mealworms, grasshoppers, and beetles. Take these and place them all into a big Ziplock bag. Using the meat hammer, mash them into a pulp. Save this in another trash can.
"BAIT LIQUID 2": This is probably the nastiest part of this bait. You'll need juice from shrimp (I get bags of them from the grocery store, already peeled, and let them sit out a week or so; then dump out the juice), the juice from a can of corn, perch eyeballs, Gulp liquid, the juice/blood from a can of chicken livers, all the juice from a jar of pickles, some vanilla extract, some almond extract, anise oil, the juice from chicken gizzards, and some food coloring. Big gills get ticked off by red. Mix this liquid into a smaller trash can with "Bait Liquid 1". This stuff smells BAD.
"MEATS": Get a few cans of baby shrimp, some hot dogs, some chicken livers, bacon, some chicken breasts, some chicken gizzards, and a few raw sausages. Blend this mixture, keeping some chunkiness in it. Once you feel it's done, dump it into a trash can.
"RANDOM STUFF": For this mixture, blend the materials like you did the meats. The materials are white bread, american cheese, swiss cheese, corn, and pickles. Once finished, place it in a trash can.
"BASE MIXTURE": For your base, take the 15-gallon (ish) trash can, and fill it with plenty of water, and plenty of flour. The amount of flour can be difficult to gauge, so just eyeball it. Use enough that the bait can stay thick enough to stay on the hook, but thin enough that they're not just ordinary doughballs. After you have the flour-water mixture, throw in some garlic powder, garlic salt, onion powder, and salt. Mix with the spoon.
"STARTING IT UP": Once you have the base mixture, mix all the bait liquid into the mixture. Stir again.
"ALMOST THERE": Now, simply add in everything else. Stir it for a very long time, and make sure it is consistently mixed throughout.
"CLOSER...": Once you have the trash can filled with this mixture (the 15-gallon one should be filled completely), leave it out for 3-7 days and nights. Works best if it's in the sun. I'm just waiting to see what this smells like left out in 100-degree weather. Even in 75-degrees, it smells pretty bad. Once you take it out, if it doesn't smell bad, keep it out. Some people swear by keeping the lid off when doing it for catfish, but I prefer not to. I like to leave the lid on, to hold the scent better.
"STORING": To properly store this stuff, it should be refrigerated. The problem it, this would need its own refrigerator. My simple solution is to get a trash can that can easily fit the smaller one into it. Place lots of ice into it. Before placing in the ice, drill a drain hole near the bottom. Attach one of those things that a glass lemonade-serving jug-thing would have in it (where you pull the lever up, and it comes out, and then stops when you put it down) to the bottom, to drain melted ice. Replace the ice as it melts, which should be after a few days. When I need to bring some bait with me, I'll place it in a glass mason jar, and take it with me in my bag.
FINAL WORDS: Please post in the comments if you have made this bait, and/or if it has worked for you. I only started developing it as of October of 2014, and the first batch was made in December 2014. First fish caught on it in January 2015. I've caught a decent amount of big'uns on this bait. While it never beats live baits, it works when nothing else will. Thanks for reading, and see ya in the next thread!
