Lovell, an old-timer at the bait tanks, and newcomer Nathan Buscher spent some time with me Wednesday going over live bait, "natural bait," dough baits and, my personal favorite, stinky "dip" baits.

Whereas blue and flathead catfish prefer to feast on fresh baits, channel cats are suckers for stinkbaits. Nothing draws in these bottom feeders like some gag-worthy funk. So you’d think nailing ...