Fishing With Bread

^{See latest field update posted February 12, 2012 in the inset. Short video clip of two Catfish caught using Bread for bait!}

While walking by a city pond, I watched people feeding bread to the ducks and geese. The birds were eating the bread quickly but they did miss a few pieces.

As the pieces floated away from the birds, I noticed swirls start to form on the water's surface, and shortly after, I saw the pieces of bread disappear in a splash. The swirls were small at first but soon larger and larger swirls began to show.

Luckily I was wearing polarized glasses and could see the larger swirls were caused by decent size Catfish feeding on the bread. I never knew the pond contained Catfish of that size. I had always assumed it held fingerling Catfish and small Bullheads.

Having seen the Catfish, I could not pass on the opportunity to test the waters and fish for them. And, since the Catfish were accustomed to being fed bread, I tested the waters by fishing with bread.

The first test took place in March 2008 (see the video in the sidebar). I considered it a success but decided more "testing" was required.

Since then, I continue "testing the waters" as an excuse to enjoy excellent catch and release fishing and highly recommend others try fishing with bread in their area!

I considered the first test a success because it showed the Catfish could be caught using bread for bait.

Although the largest Catfish caught that day went 10" in size, follow on fishing trips produced slighty larger Catfish.

But, they were not like the big ones I first saw when the ducks and geese were being fed.

So, I continued fishing with bread on a regular basis in pursuit of the big ones or "Bruisers" that I know were in the pond.

Finally, about six weeks after the first test, I hooked and landed one (see the video in the sidebar). The Catfish measured slightly over 20" in size and was released back into the pond.

Not bad for a pond no larger than a 1/2 acre at best!

^{FYI: I define a "Bruiser" Catfish as one that measures larger than 19" and is caught in a community lake or pond. The 19" was arbitrarily set because the ruler I used in many of the pictures that year was 19" long. My Zebco Deliar broke, and I did not replace it until a year later.}

I continued fishing with bread and catching other "Bruisers". One outing in particular proved that fishing with bread was not limited to one city pond.

In this case, it was a trip to a larger community lake frequented by area fishermen. I did not expect to catch any "Bruisers" as the lake is hit hard almost daily. Luckily, it was not the case (see video in the sidebar).

In the video, the first Catfish was hooked but lost when it slipped from my grasp. I was not able to measure it but felt it would have made the 19" benchmark for a "Bruiser".

The second Catfish measured about 22" in size and weighed 5 pounds.  And, as the video showed, it was released and may still be there!

^{Note: I apologize for the video quality, the camera person is not paid money but in Slurpees from the 7-11 Convenience Store.}

Bottom-line: Fishing with bread in community lakes and ponds is a viable fishing method for catching fish that are accustomed to being fed bread.

Given people feed resident ducks and geese on a regular basis, the fish learn to associate this activity with food - almost like ringing a dinner bell for them!

As further evidence, checkout the pictures in the Bruisers Slide-show below. All were caught using white bread purchased from the grocery store and formed in to a ball as shown in the photo sidebar.

The most recent Catfish was caught July 2009!

^{Remember:  The ruler shown in the slideshow is 19" in length.}

Looks like fishing with bread is still working in the local area. Caught a Bruiser that went almost 22" in size.

Used a small spit-shot rig to weight the bait down in lieu of free-lining because of windy conditions.

Not bad for a small community lake, especially on light tackle (4lbs test line)!

Bread continues to be a consistent producer for us!

Went to a local community lake and caught and released eight Catfish!

Bread has been producing a few Bruisers at the local lake these last few days!

Even more fun using a homemade fishing rod made from a bamboo stake from Home Depot andused wine corks.

Caught this Bruiser using bread for bait.  Catfish went just over 22" in size and weighed 5.5 pounds.  Not bad for a small community lake!

Went fishing at our favorite local pond. Was going for Bass but noticed Catfish were feeding on Bread someone had left for the Ducks!

Baited up with Bread and caught  few Catfish!  Great stuff... knowing that bait can be had at the nearest grocery store!

Hit a local pond that is well below its normal water level. Fished using Bread and had a few missed strikes before finally hooking into this one - a 16" Catfish!

Looks like Bread continues to be a consistent producer of fish in community lakes and ponds in our area!

Fished a local pond for more fun using Bread for bait. Used a Slip-Bobber Rig and caught several Bullheads. Looks like Bread continues to be a consistent producer again in 2012!

However, did meet up with another fisherman, who was using Hot Dogs for bait. He caught a few Bullheads, too. And then, hooked into a Bruiser Catfish that went about 17"-18" in size!

Will need to keep a few Hot Dogs handy as another Grocery Store Bait when fishing community lakes and ponds!