My parents have a verry good  size farm pond full of bass and catfish. I personally try to get the catfish my self but seem to be having a hard time catching anything. dose anybody have a good may as far as bait or methods of catching catfish? I have tired several ways such as stink bait, chicken liver, and worms but none of them seem to be working. If anybody has anygood ideas give me a shout. My email is aldavis4905@gmail.com. My name is Aaron.

If you're failing with bottom presentation, then get a floater/bobber.  If you're failing by casting it out far into the water then try shallow spots.  Usually the catfish like to hide in the shadows so if there's any shade on the pond you will have a higher chance there.  Sometimes the fish will pretty much just be on a night feed so you may want to try night fishing for them.

use little bluegill to catch big catfish just cut the tail off so it bleeds slowly so the catfish can smell it

Don't know long you have been a member,but do you still have that book of NAFC approved Outfitters and Guide Services? In the middle section is some helpful hints from other fishermen. I was impressed with the recipe for "STIFFER LIVERS" and tried this recipe...and it works.  Get yourself a tub of chicken liver. Fresh livers are best but rarely found,unless you go to your nearest butcher and pre-order some. Anyway,I buy the frozen livers in the 5 lb tub,frozen. Drop the frozen tub in a 5 gallon bucket of cold water and slow thaw them out. After the livers are thawed  completely, dump them into a colander and drain off the blood. Then I transfer them into big Tupperware with 4" sides and lid. Now some guys suggest anise extract but I think the stuff is over-rated and go with vanilla extract. I sprinkle the vanilla over the livers then cover the livers with about a half inch of brown sugar. Put the lid on,put the tupperware in the bottom of the fridge and leave it there overnight. After the soak, I retransfer the livers into the original tub I bought them in,pour some of the "batter" on top and go fishing. I usually cut the liver with scissors, just enough to cover the hook. I prefer to use 1-0,2-0 and as big 4-0 hooks. I can sling a carolina rig,with an ounce of weight about 70 yards and not lose my bait. And it does not take long for them to find the bait. I should also mention I use circle hooks.  A carolina rig is as follows: take line in hand, push line through egg sinker of choice, tie line to snap swivel, hook braided leader to snap swivel,put your hook on the end of your braided leader snap and lock it in.When you cast out, the line will slide through the sinker.catfish tend to be a bit spooky and will drop a bait if the feel resistance.Don't tightline fish. Watch your line. Leave some slack in line. When you see your line being picked up,pull and set hook. A circle hook takes the guessing out. They practically set themselves. Usually in the corner of the jaw.  P.S.: Know anyone that hunts groundhogs? Fresh groundhog livers work really good.

Chances are this pond is full of crayfish,if so the catfish will feed on the crayfish.Thay will do this at night most of the time.The bluegills work well too,try cut bait with the bluegills that works good too.leave your line a little slack or set your drag loose so thay can run with your bait and use a slip sinker like skeeter said Hope this helps,good luck and keep on trying....................Ray Life Member from NW.Ohio

Sorry it took me so long to get back with you...I have never tried that method of livers before...I usually use chicken livers and panty hose to to keep them on a trebble hook...I will most deffiently have to try that method.

Hi Aaron, I hope you've found somthing that works for you by now, But just incase I'm not too late to offer assistance here's a way I use to have a whole lotta luck in all the farm ponds and catfish farms I use to fish as a teen. I fished a lot of farms and used frozen shrimp. I would go to the market and buy a pound of uncooked shrimp, put them on ice and use them all day long. It wouldn't take much to thaw during the day a few pieces at a time and if I had any left over I could always clean and cook the leftovers if the ice held out. A bit of horseradish and ketchup made a great sauce. Also I too must stress the part the others are telling you, leave slack in your line and get use to watching the line for movement, cats are fussy when it come to a tight line and if you do use circle hooks be sure not to try to set the hook too hard, usually just pulling back with steady force will set these hooks really well and then make the second tug the hard set. I don't use circle hooks much like Skeeter might use but I saw that tip on one of the week end fishing shows. It was on fishing with Roland Martin and they were fishing off shore some where, Obviously selling the hooks to viewers but the method they used seemed to work extreamly well for them. I accually liked the way they worked, (Skeeter, I hope this tip is usefull to you too if you havn't seen that one yet). Hope you had a catfish dinner by now though. Best of luck to you.

Sometimes dough balls work. You can make doughballs by wrapping white bread around a hook and then squeezing the bread until it's sort of molded around the hook. Be sure to make sure the bread is moist though. Dry bread will just crumble and not stay on your hook long. If that doesn't work you might want to try pieces of hot dog.
Hope that helped...TIGHT LINES!

Anything stinky will usually attract a catfish. I've had success in the past with french fries from Mcdonald's.