Live Bait vs Cut Bait for Flatheads… The Results SURPRISED Me

We went into the south Louisiana spillway swamp this evening, chasing catfish and setting up a good old fashioned bait challenge between me and Lee. This one turned into more than just a fishing trip… we made it a little competitive. Lee’s using cut bait — shad and skipjack — while I’m sticking with what flatheads love best: live brim. Problem is… I only had four brim to start with. Then one dies on me… and Lee manages to lose one trying to put it on a hook. Yeah… we had a few words about that, but the show must go on. We made sets on dead poles swamp and tossed a few noodles (jug lines) out just to see what would happen. Noodles didn’t do a thing… but them dead poles? They showed up. Here’s how it shook out: • The ONLY two brim sets we had left both got hammered by two flatheads • Cut bait stacked up the numbers. A solid 20 lb. bluecat hit the deck plus a couple more blues over 10 lbs. So, what wins? Cut bait put more fish on the line… no doubt about it. But when it comes to flathead catfish — live bait still wears the crown. Good fish, a little friendly drama, and a real test of what works best in the swamp at night. If you like catfishing in the Louisiana backwaters, you’re going to enjoy this one. #flatheadcatfish #bondedbytheland