Cut Bait and Channel Cat Edibility

I'm new to catfishing.  I use cut bait (suckers) to fish a slow moving river with a decent population of channel cats.  If I'm not getting bit for 15 to 20 minutes do I need to put a fresh chunk of bait on?

Also, what is the best size channel cat for eating?  Maybe I should ask what's the maximum size before channels start tasting bad?

Jroc;

Read a couple of years of the thread Catfishing (real fishing).  TONS of great advice on how to put hundreds of cats on shore anytime of the year.

If the bait is “washed out”, that is pale in color and has no odor then yes change it.  For me I change it no more than 1/2 hour. “Washed Out” is different than rotten. I don’t believe in rotten baits although they do work very well. I prefer freshly filleted and scaled Golden Shiners ( Golden Roaches).   Previously dead shiners are ok too.     As for eating, the ones with spots are the best unless you are catching flatheads.       CARPIO 

Thanks for your reply.  I've just been assuming what you said, with almost any species the smaller fish are tastier than the hogs.  It's also encouraging to not get fidgety if I'm not getting bit. Gotta lot to learn yet.  Thanks again.

I've been eating channel cats  for almost 60 years....the best tasting size is 1 - 4 lbs......and no, you don't need to change bait very often....sometimes the older and stinkier the bait, the better. Used to catch them with chicken livers, fermented in wheat germ for a few days....great bait.