Fresh-meat baits are parts of animals that are used to fish catfish or sharks. Although they wouldn't normally find these baits in their natural environment, the baits work well for these fish. These baits can be frozen but are best when fresh. They usually leave a blood trail in the water to attract the fish.

Kinds of Fresh-Meat Bait

Chicken parts are a staple of cat fishing. Livers, gizzards, hearts, and even pieces of chicken meat can be used. Liver is the traditional bait and catches many catfish each year. Chunks of bloody meat from cows, goats, and pigs can be used for shark fishing, as well as for catching some bottom-feeding saltwater fish. Livers, lungs, hearts, and other internal organs from those animals can also be used.

How to Fish Fresh-Meat Bait

Chicken liver is soft and doesn't stay on the hook very well. If it's fresh it will stay on a treble hook well enough, but after being frozen it gets very mushy. Cut a small square from old pantyhose and make a small bag for the thawed liver and tie the top shut. You can then hook this bag of liver on a single hook and fish it on the bottom for catfish, just like fresh liver.

With chicken gizzards, animal livers and hearts, and other tough organs you can cut a small piece and put it on the hook. A one-inch square piece of beef liver is about the right size for catfish when used on a #1 hook and fished near the bottom of a lake or stream. A chunk of meat the size of a softball on a 10/0 hook might be more appropriate for a shark off the coast.