Grasshoppers are one the best baits for catfish during the spring, summer and early fall. I’m not sure if grasshoppers work as well in areas that do not have a good concentration of grasshoppers, but for those areas that do, they are hard to beat.

You need to start out by catching those fast little critters. There are lots of ways to do this. -Chasing them down until you finally catch them, (that wears you out faster than it does them.)

-Having your kids chase them down for you, (this works well in two ways, you get some grasshoppers and your kids get tired, but if your kids are like mine, you won’t have many grasshoppers to fish with.)

-Use some sort of net to trap the grasshoppers, (now you have to get them out of the net without the getting away.)

-Use a small board and hit them with it as they are sitting on the vegetation, (this kills the grasshopper and some of the vegetation.)

-I’ve heard, but have never tried, that you can stretch some panty hose across the front of your truck and drive along the side of the road where you know grasshoppers are and they will get stuck in the panty hose, all you have to do is pick them out of the panty hose, (this could get dangerous if you drive too fast and/or don’t know what is on the side of the road under the vegetation. Use caution.)

-The best method I have found is to gather them at night using a red light. I don’t know what affect the red light has on them but when you shine that red light on them sitting on that vegetation, you can just reach over and pick them like you would pick berries. I like the lights with the LED red lights, they use less battery power and aren’t too bright. The kind you can strap to your head or clip on your hat works best, that keeps both of your hands free. One hand will hold/open your container to put the grasshoppers in, the other will pick them off the vegetation. When you pick them off the vegetation make sure not to get your hand between the light and the grasshopper or they’ll jump away. As you grab them, make sure to keep a good grip, those back legs are stronger than you think and can turn in ways you didn’t think was possible. But then again those back legs break off the body a lot easier than you think they would, and then you are left with just a leg. Using this method I can go out to an area that has a good population of grasshoppers and have 50 of them within 15 minutes. The only draw back I see to this method is that you have to do it the night before you plan to fish (if you want fresh hoppers). The darker the night the better.

You need a place to put those grasshoppers until you are ready to put them on the hook.

I use those little plastic minnow buckets that the top comes completely off or you have a little access door on the top. The top of the bucket has air holes and the sides do not. Use that red light when you are getting them out of the bucket so they don’t hop out.

Another method is to put them in a soda bottle, then shake them out one at a time.

I'm sure there are others out there, you just have to use whatever you have available

Okay, now that you have selected a method to catch and store them that you like, it’s time to fish with them.

First thing you have to do is put them on a hook. Put the hook point right between the grasshopper’s eyes and thread that grasshopper on the hook coming out the other end. The fish have a hard time getting that head off the hook, therefore you almost always have something on your hook. After you catch a fish and have to rebait, just leave that head on the hook. I like to use a 4/0 circle hook when fishing with grasshoppers and I put two grasshoppers on each hook to start with, then put only one on when I rebait.

I always use a bottom rig while rod and reel fishing with them from the bank. They would probably work well on a bobber rig, but I like to use multiple rods.

I don't know where they work the best during the day; as I do not normally fish during the day except during the winter and grasshoppers do not work well in the winter.

As for night fishing, pick a spot on the lake that has a shallow flat coming up to the bank. Catfish move in shallow during the night to feed. Like I said I like to use multiple rods and I cast the first rod right next to the bank (in about a foot of water) then I put the rest of the rods out across the lake ending with the last rod right next to the bank on the other side. But dont put all your faith into grasshoppers, as in; dont bait all your hooks with them. I normally use at least 10 rods while fishing from the bank and only about half of them will have grasshoppers on them; the others will be baited with baitfish caught from the lake that day (shad, perch, cut drum, cut carp, minnows, etc.). I'll catch a lot of channels and some blues on grasshoppers but your bigger fish will come off your baitfish rods. One thing I love about grasshoppers is that I have yet to catch a gar on a grasshopper, I hate catching gar, so that’s a good thing. But remember that fish are just like us, they like a change in their diet, so grasshoppers don’t work all the time. Be flexible in your bait; always have at least two types of bait at any given time.

At the end of your trip and you still have some grasshoppers left over, don't just throw them out. You spent all that time collecting them, you might as well hold on to them. Depending on your method of storing them while fishing you may have to handle them again. When I have left over hoppers I take them out of the bucket and put them in a soda bottle. Then set them in the freezer. They freeze well and will work well as long as you can still see grasshoppers around. When the grasshoppers aren't around anymore (wherever or whatever happens to them during the cooler months), then leave them in the freezer until you see them again in the spring. Then you have some big grasshoppers that are ready for the hook while the new batch is growing.

If you plan to fish again within the next couple of days and your wife doesn't mind, leave those leftover grasshoppers in the bucket with some vegetation and put them up inside your house (if it's hot outside, if it's not hot outside then they will keep fine).

This was just to enlighten you to the relationship of the grasshopper and the catfish. Whatever bait you decide to use, remember, you are out there to relax and maybe catch a few catfish. Good Luck, Good Fishing and above all Enjoy Yourself and the Great Outdoors. Keep the Outdoors Great, Take Your Trash With You.

Philip Parrish

Member of WhiskerKitty.com