So I'm going to the local river tomorrow to spot in a backwater. I've caught cats there in the fall\winter so I know its a good area in cold conditions. My issue is there aren't any crawlers available around me this time of year and I was unable to obtain any cut bait. What are some other good options for cold water channels?

Decided to go with raw shrimp

Shrimp is a good one but can get pretty expensive. If not, half a hot dog that’s been soaking in a ziploc bag with garlic powder works well for me. I use a homemade bait needle made from a wire coat hanger to “thread” the hotdog onto the hook. But that means you’ll have to tie leaders with a cow hitch knot and then thread the hotdog on. I included a picture of this. There’s plenty of videos on YouTube explaining this If it’s a little unclear. Just search up “bait needle hotdog” and it should come up. 
 

 

For channel cats in cold water, if I couldn't get natural bait, a punch bait works well. The bait dissipates slower in cold water and stays on the punch worm or sponge longer but still does plenty to attract them from a good distance. You won't catch any bigger ones, but fish under 10lbs will eat it really well at times.

used to use chicken livers, another option could be smelt, sardines etc. depending on price and availability

Night crawlers will always catch a channel