One of the most abundant and effective bait for catfish is shad. However keeping shad alive is quite a task. Frozen cut shad is hard to keep on the hook. This method is effective for both catfish and stripers. The idea is to have the shad resemble a wounded shad (shad tend to curl up when injured) and also provide blood and oil scent, which is the catfishes main way of finding food.
1.Filet one side of the shad, but leave the filet attached near the head.