There is an old saying that if you want to catch a big fish, you need to use big bait—even if that bait seems a little too large for the waters you are fishing. You'd be surprised at just how large of an appetite some predatory game fish can have. It is not common for them to bite off more than you think they could chew. That's exactly the case with the fish in a video that went viral last year. The angler who uploaded this clip to YouTube has a whole dead crappie that he wants to use for bait. It's not a monster crappie by any means, but it is a bit large for bait.
One wouldn't think a whole dead crappie would make for the best bait, but it doesn't take long before the angler's rod is bent over double with something large on the other end of the line.
It's always exciting to hook into some unknown fish while using a bait of this caliber. We're not too surprised to see it was a flathead catfish that tried to eat that crappie. Nor are we surprised that it appears to have swallowed the entire thing. Flatheads are certified eating machines, and they will consume just about anything that crosses their path. They don't always take a dead bait like this—but when they do, the angler on the other end of the line is in for a real battle.
The lesson here is that just about anything can be used for bait if you find the right area. You do need to exercise a little caution, because some states do have rules on the use of game fish as bait. However, if legal, using panfish can elicit bites from predatory fish that have seen all other forms of bait already.
