# Lye Soap for Fishing



## mattd (Apr 22, 2020)

I will be making some soap for the first time this weekend using lye and lard.  I have used a soap calculator to determine volumes.  The soap will be used for catfishing, and I would like the finished product to remain soft.  How can I achieve the soft texture?  Maybe a 25% superfat?  Packaging the bars in plastic bags quickly to reduce the water loss?  Adding more water to the recipe?  Thanks in advance for you help.


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## dibbles (Apr 22, 2020)

@SoapWitch has generously shared a soap dough recipe. This soap dough stays soft for a long time if kept sealed from air.


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## mattd (Apr 22, 2020)

dibbles said:


> @SoapWitch has generously shared a soap dough recipe. This soap dough stays soft for a long time if kept sealed from air.


Thank you SoapWitch, you are awesome!



mattd said:


> Thank you SoapWitch, you are awesome!


SoapWitch, out of curiosity, would substituting the coconut oil with peanut oil make a difference in the texture of the soap?  I assume it would.


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## dibbles (Apr 22, 2020)

Not @SoapWitch but yes, I am sure that subbing peanut oil would make a difference. I know many people use their regular recipe and that seems to work fine. You just want to prevent gel and don't let the soap get exposed to the air to keep it pliable.


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## BattleGnome (Apr 22, 2020)

How is soap used for catfishing? Does the soap need to be pliable long term? Would soap paste help?

if you don’t get the texture/results you need from soap dough you can always try a soap paste with potassium hydroxide (KOH). You’d be following instructions for liquid soap without diluting (the final step).


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## dibbles (Apr 23, 2020)

@BattleGnome I don’t make liquid soap, so soap paste didn’t come to mind, but that might be better.


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## KiwiMoose (Apr 23, 2020)

BattleGnome said:


> How is soap used for catfishing?


I was wondering the same.


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## Relle (Apr 23, 2020)

Googled it - curious too.

Why would one put a piece of soap on a hook and use it for catfish bait? Because it works, that's why. ... Pieces of soap can be hooked and fished using rod and reel, but old-timers swear it works better on trotlines and limb-lines because these sets give it time to melt and attract cats from afar.Aug 4, 2016

Soap is a universal winner for all catfish species -- they love it. To use: Chunk soap into 1-inch pieces and thread onto your hook. Soap works great and it has staying power in the water.


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## Obsidian (Apr 23, 2020)

I think using both NaOH and KOH would be the best way to achieve a soft soap. I'd start with 20% KOH, just a small batch to test.

Increase superfat wouldn't do anything besides make the soap oily and melt away quicker.

Not sure using a soap dough recipe would work either. If I'm remembering right, it's lard soap that is used for fishing.


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## dibbles (Apr 23, 2020)

@Obsidian, the soap dough recipe is 50% lard.


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## mattd (Apr 23, 2020)

dibbles said:


> Not @SoapWitch but yes, I am sure that subbing peanut oil would make a difference. I know many people use their regular recipe and that seems to work fine. You just want to prevent gel and don't let the soap get exposed to the air to keep it pliable.
> [/QUOT
> 
> 
> ...





Obsidian said:


> I think using both NaOH and KOH would be the best way to achieve a soft soap. I'd start with 20% KOH, just a small batch to test.
> 
> Increase superfat wouldn't do anything besides make the soap oily and melt away quicker.
> 
> Not sure using a soap dough recipe would work either. If I'm remembering right, it's lard soap that is used for fishing.


Thank you.  Yes, lard soap is what a fisherman typically to use.  Then fragrances such as Anise, garlic, peanut oil etc can be added but are no necessary.  I used soap for catfishing growing up and I recall buying it in approximately 4"x4"x8" blocks.  The hardness was close to a block of cheese, so it could be cubed and a hook threaded through it without crubmling.  One of the local mfgs of of the soap bait would reclaim the oil used at the local fried chicken restaurants.



Relle said:


> Googled it - curious too.
> 
> Why would one put a piece of soap on a hook and use it for catfish bait? Because it works, that's why. ... Pieces of soap can be hooked and fished using rod and reel, but old-timers swear it works better on trotlines and limb-lines because these sets give it time to melt and attract cats from afar.Aug 4, 2016
> 
> Soap is a universal winner for all catfish species -- they love it. To use: Chunk soap into 1-inch pieces and thread onto your hook. Soap works great and it has staying power in the water.



When I run trotlines, the more baited hooks I have in the water, is usually an indicator to the volume of fish I can harvest assuming there are feeding catfish where i am fishing.  When i use baits such as gizzards, hearts, shad, liver etc, the turtles, gar and catfish are attracted to the bait which reduces the number of baited hooks for catfish.   When fishing with soap, the only thing that I have found feeding on it is catfish.  There are always exceptions, but generally speaking this is true.



dibbles said:


> Not @SoapWitch but yes, I am sure that subbing peanut oil would make a difference. I know many people use their regular recipe and that seems to work fine. You just want to prevent gel and don't let the soap get exposed to the air to keep it pliable.


Thank you.   Sounds like I just need to control the time the block is exposed to air to achieve the proper hardness.  I am going to try a batch of regular lard soap and then a batch of 25% superfat soap and determine which one can stay on the hook for 24 hours and which one harvests the most fish.


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## Belindasuds (Apr 23, 2020)

mattd said:


> I will be making some soap for the first time this weekend using lye and lard.  I have used a soap calculator to determine volumes.  The soap will be used for catfishing, and I would like the finished product to remain soft.  How can I achieve the soft texture?  Maybe a 25% superfat?  Packaging the bars in plastic bags quickly to reduce the water loss?  Adding more water to the recipe?  Thanks in advance for you help.


I am completely fascinated with this thread. I love soap making and I also enjoy fishing. Have I got this right, you are actually using the soap as bait?


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## DeeAnna (Apr 23, 2020)

"..._I have used a soap calculator to determine volumes. _..."

I saw the word "volume" here and want to mention this -- Soap recipes from a recipe calculator will always be in ounces by weight (or grams or pounds). They never do recipes in ounces by volume (or milliliters or cups or whatever). Your batch will be really out-of-kilter if you measure by volume.

My husband grew up on the Mississippi River and has talked about using soap as catfish bait. 

He also used to "noodle" for cats, not that noodling has anything to do with soap as fishing bait. I'm not sure I would want to do that. Ewwww!


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## Relle (Apr 24, 2020)

While they use soap for bait in the US, it's not a common thing here in Australia. Usually here we use pilchards, yabbies, prawns, lures are a lot in favour as you always have them ready to go.


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## Sally Scheibner (Apr 24, 2020)

dibbles said:


> @Obsidian, the soap dough recipe is 50% lard.



Would you please post fish bait soap recipe? I love plain lye soap for cleaning pots, stains, feet, stopping poison ivy, etc. I’d love to try my own fish bait!


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## dibbles (Apr 24, 2020)

@Sally Scheibner did you mean me? I don’t have a fish bait recipe. The recipe for soap dough is linked in post #2. This is a recipe shared by Bee of Sorcery Soaps.


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## SoapWitch (Apr 24, 2020)

mattd said:


> Thank you SoapWitch, you are awesome!
> 
> 
> SoapWitch, out of curiosity, would substituting the coconut oil with peanut oil make a difference in the texture of the soap?  I assume it would.



Indeed, it would make a difference. Having worked on 20 soap dough recipes, to ensure they have an appropriate texture, I won't suggest a substitution without testing it. With that said, run the new recipes (your substitutions) through the soap calculator and make it with different colors. Colorants will affect the texture of the soap dough as well.  Hope this helps and thank you for the mention.



Belindasuds said:


> I am completely fascinated with this thread. I love soap making and I also enjoy fishing. Have I got this right, you are actually using the soap as bait?



Superfat is extra oils in the recipe, and will created a sticky soap. If you want to make a pliable soap dough, the qualities of the ingredients, along with maintaining a certain amount of water will created this pliable texture. Does this make sense?


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## Sally Scheibner (Apr 24, 2020)

I’m still a newbie at distinguishing exactly who is 


mattd said:


> I will be making some soap for the first time this weekend using lye and lard.  I have used a soap calculator to determine volumes.  The soap will be used for catfishing, and I would like the finished product to remain soft.  How can I achieve the soft texture?  Maybe a 25% superfat?  Packaging the bars in plastic bags quickly to reduce the water loss?  Adding more water to the recipe?  Thanks in advance for you help.


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## Belindasuds (Apr 24, 2020)

SoapWitch said:


> Superfat is extra oils in the recipe, and will created a sticky soap. If you want to make a pliable soap dough, the qualities of the ingredients, along with maintaining a certain amount of water will created this pliable texture. Does this make sense?


Thanks Bee! great tips and thanks so much for sharing. What's blowing my mind right now is soap dough being used as bait lol Who would have thunk it?


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## Sally Scheibner (Apr 24, 2020)

Would you please post fish bait soap recipe? I love plain lye soap for cleaning pots, stains, feet, stopping poison ivy, etc. I’d love to try my own fish bait!


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## Sally Scheibner (Apr 24, 2020)

Relle said:


> While they use soap for bait in the US, it's not a common thing here in Australia. Usually here we use pilchards, yabbies, prawns, lures are a lot in favour as you always have them ready to go.



Always fascinated with Australia’s ancient & present history. Read great books on Daisy Bates, Douglas Lockwood, marlo Morgan and Robyn Davidson. Watch Kangaroo sanctuary on Facebook. What type local fats/oils do you use?  What’s favorite scents do folks like there?


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## Relle (Apr 25, 2020)

OO, CO, RBO, lots of others.  Not so much lard, as it's too expensive.

As far as scents go - anything goes.


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## Wyndham Dennison (Apr 25, 2020)

I'm wondering about why catfish like soap. Could it be the oil,or the sent or the way dissolving soap chemically effects the whiskers with a certain acid base reaction with the surrounding water. Anyway, I also thought about melt and pour as it might last longer and hook on easier. following with great interest


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## dibbles (Apr 25, 2020)

Even more than why catfish like soap, I'm wondering who figured that out. And how? And why? It doesn't seem like a logical thing to try as bait.


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## BattleGnome (Apr 26, 2020)

I wonder if it was one of those accidental things. Do laundry in the river, suddenly fish are nibbling the sheets.


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## mattd (Apr 26, 2020)

I need a little help.  I made a 4lb batch of lard soap 25 percent superfat last night and it took about 3 hours for the batch to trace.  Any idea why it took so long to trace?  Any way of speeding the process up?  I mixed the lye water and lard at 125 deg f.  The water was well water.  I plan on making a 4lb batch today at 1 percent superfat and thinking about adding a 1/4 OZ of anise oil.  Thanks in advance for any help.


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## Sally Scheibner (May 1, 2020)

mattd said:


> I will be making some soap for the first time this weekend using lye and lard.  I have used a soap calculator to determine volumes.  The soap will be used for catfishing, and I would like the finished product to remain soft.  How can I achieve the soft texture?  Maybe a 25% superfat?  Packaging the bars in plastic bags quickly to reduce the water loss?  Adding more water to the recipe?  Thanks in advance for you help.



Do you use a stick blender to mix lye/H2O/ oils?  It speeds up trace rapidly for me. I d cook my soap til saponified because of my sensitive eyes. I use good goggles too. It’s hard pouring swirls & fancy colors if I’m not careful with high temps.


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## Nona'sFarm (May 5, 2020)

mattd said:


> I need a little help.  I made a 4lb batch of lard soap 25 percent superfat last night and it took about 3 hours for the batch to trace.  Any idea why it took so long to trace?  Any way of speeding the process up?  I mixed the lye water and lard at 125 deg f.  The water was well water.  I plan on making a 4lb batch today at 1 percent superfat and thinking about adding a 1/4 OZ of anise oil.  Thanks in advance for any help.


In order to help troubleshoot we would need the full recipe.


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## earlene (May 9, 2020)

dibbles said:


> Even more than why catfish like soap, I'm wondering who figured that out. And how? And why? It doesn't seem like a logical thing to try as bait.





BattleGnome said:


> I wonder if it was one of those accidental things. Do laundry in the river, suddenly fish are nibbling the sheets.



Just for fun...

As a former fisherwoman, I learned a tiny bit about catfish.  Surprisingly there are about 3,000 species of catfish worldwide, although only about 51 in North America and about 49 can be found in the US according to some resources.  But not all are known for going after soap as bait.  Apparently the kind I fished for preferred live bait, whereas the channel cat goes for smelly stuff and apparently also likes soap.  Some catfish eat fruit when it falls from trees along the banks of the rivers in which they swim.  

There are many different species of catfish around the world, as mentioned here in the 'eating habits of catfish' in case you wanted to know. So perhaps it's a regional thing like it is with humans, we eat what we have available locally or adapt as we learn to eat something newly introduced to us.

As to how it was discovered that some of them would bite at soap,  I would venture a guess that someone who had already noticed that the channel cat is attracted to strong odors and also happened to have some old rancid soap around and just gave it a try for want of something better to do or just for the fun of it.  Or if they were angling for carp, maybe a channel cat came up first.  Both like smelly bait.  And that's a whole other story, a fish's sense of smell.


But more specifically for the OP, this may be of more interest to you since you are in Texas:


			https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_br_t3200_0236.pdf


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## Sally Scheibner (Jul 5, 2020)

I made up a batch from a tallow & lard recipe. Added some bacon grease, cracklings, cornmeal, & garden blood meal. Stinky but stayed on hook even after I caught my catfish. Sad I also caught many  old sailcats from canal that links to river to ocean inlets. Will try again nearer the big lake O in Fl.


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## Catscankim (Jul 6, 2020)

Sally Scheibner said:


> I made up a batch from a tallow & lard recipe. Added some bacon grease, cracklings, cornmeal, & garden blood meal. Stinky but stayed on hook even after I caught my catfish. Sad I also caught many  old sailcats from canal that links to river to ocean inlets. Will try again nearer the big lake O in Fl.


Hello in Indiantown. Im in st lucie county. Used to work in Okeechobee.

I was reading your post thinking...they sound like Lake O lol


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