When I was a kid growing up, my grandparents lived on a resaca (which is basically an oxbow lake of the Rio Grande River). When I went catfishing I took a pellet gun and a cane pole. Pellet gun for bait. I shot a grackle (yeah, I know they are protected but I suspect the statute of limitations has run in the last 50 + years and why they are protected is beyond me, there are hordes of them).

Fresh gizzard/liver/guts on a hook usually resulted in a hook up within a few minutes. One catfish. Time to get more bait. Repeat process.