I use to hang out with a group of guys that made snag lines. Just a regular trot line but they used cotton drop lines. They'd make a concoction of anise oil and 30 weight motor oil and soak the cotton drops in it then just hook the drops unbaited to the trot line and weigh it down. They caught a lot of big catfish like that....something about the smell of the anise oil that draws them. I'm just gonna mortar and pestle some anise seed with a little oil into a paste and let it marinate on a couple of chicken breast and some shrimp for a few days then freeze it precut into bait size chunks. I'll probably use menhaden (Shad) oil with the anise if it's not too expensive