Basically any small fish hooked through the back.

If your waters are teaming with catfish and you want a hog...I'd throw out a large shiner. I was fishing a couple of years ago for bass. I tossed out a big ole shiner and caught a nice 37 " Blue catfish. I gave it away. I didn't have a scales but wiould estimate it to be about 20 pounds. I've caught many nice ones on minnows as well.and minnows are much cheaper. But the big boys...love big shiners.

Should you hook em through the back? We always put the hook in its mouth, them run it inside its body all the way down til just before the tail and poke the tip out.

It depends on if you are fishing with them alive or dead. We hook ours through the back if we are using perch or through the lip if we are using shiners and let them swim around.

I was told two things about fishing for cats and both hold still hold true.
1. If you want to catch big cats you must use big cat bait
2.If it don't curl your toes when you smell it, its not catfish bait!

I agree, we used to use perch the size of your hand for bait or shiners up to a foot long. We just got back from fishing offshore and the guy next to me was using a 1 pound snapper for bait. He had soemthing hit it but he missed the fish. We've had 1 pound bass on trotlines we caught that something tried to eat and you could see where it swallowed it up to the head and couldn't get it down.

Should you hook em through the back? We always put the hook in its mouth, them run it inside its body all the way down til just before the tail and poke the tip out. Dairy King

Please forgive me for being so late in replying . I'd forgotten about my reply. I use about a number 2 worm hook ...Mustad ..and hook the shiner about 1/8th of an inch below the dorsel fin,{Fin on top} Mine seem to swim for a bout 1 hour like that. When your bobber goes under you don't have to cross the fishes eyes. The shiner is deep in thier mouths. Just raise the rod up frimly and keep the rod bent.
c7

[&:][&:][&:][&:][&:]

The expression cross the fishes eyesare fishermen who set the hook like thier trying to set it though a cinder block. That is not necessary. I see it more like setting a hook into a cloth sofa couch. If you rear back too much the rod will break or you will pull it out of the fishes mouth. The sofa is made of cloth. The material in a catfish's mouth is very soft. A good upward tug and steady pressure on Mr. Cat should do the trick. Don't get me wrong. My tug goes from the 10:00 position to the 2:00 position but I'm not going through a cinder block.
c7

Ohh ok, thanks. I was thinkin it had to do with the way you moved your rod when you set the hook, I was picturing in my head some wierd movement, but wasnt gettin it.