It's my understanding that when catfish eat live baitfish, such as bluegill, they will typically try to swallow them head first due to the fins. When I use cut perch for bait I always cut all of the fins off (most importantly the dorsal fins).

My question is specifically about live bluegill. When I use them live, I always hook them in the back behind the dorsal fin so the cats can swallow them head first and the hook can slide nicely into position. Do yall leave the fins on when using them live or cut them off? Do you think there could be any benefit to cutting the dorsal fins off of a live bluegill, such as making it easier for the cat to swallow it? How much faster will the bluegill die?

Would love some opinions on this.

Blue Gill can be pretty finicky, so I would guess cutting fins off would cause them die a lot quicker. Fins help them keep their balance as well, so if you cut them off, they probably would not be able to stay upright in the water like they need to, this would cause them to die quicker as well.

Yeah I figured they would die quicker, not sure how much quicker though. So it's kind of catch 22, cut the fins off and the bluegill dies or leave them on and potentially affect the cat being able to swallow the bait "properly".

I don't think they would have any problem swallowing a blue gill. I've always fished live bait, and have never noticed the fish that I catch ever having that issue. I really think you would be fine not cutting the fins off.

Yeah I think I'm sold on leaving them on. After all, bluegill are one of their natural food sources. Wanted to ask just to potentially increase hook ups. I will still continue to cut them off of dead bluegill tho.