Could of phrased it better but here's the deal...I have some nice Spanish Mackerel fillets that are freezer burned. Thinking bout using it for cut bait for Blues...would that eat it??? What do you Catfish veterans think ???

It works great, very oily

Spanish macks are game fish and can not legally be used as bait.

Not to say I've ever used them

If you buy it in the store you can use it perhaps?

You can catch it, buy it, or someone give it to you with freezer burn. A game fish is a game fish and no part of it can be legally used for bait, as Bobby said. It will make an interesting story as the GW is writing you a friendly reminder to the tune of about $250.

Use it! Dont let it go to waste! I used a lot of saltwater fish when I was fishing Choke a lot...could pick it up by the pound at the shrimp boats dirt cheap...it worked good. Dont know what all kind of fish was in there.

I say use it. Been checked by GW many times and he NEVER made me pull up rods to check bait or rig. Hate to see anything go to waste. At least throw it in the river, possibly a little chum slick.

I have been using it for 4 years now from the bank and have been checked four times by a GW (they are always real cool if you treat them with respect) they never ask what I was using for bait or even cared what I was using for bait just checked my License and cooler for glass at Braunig. I even told one of them that I was using the mack, while chatting and he didn't even care he just asked for my license and said good luck. I now fish from my kayak and i pre cut it at home, I buy it from an Asian market and have been stopped twice for safety inspections and they didn't even asked what I had on the stringer or bait being used at Cali. Oh, and I always catch cats with it mostly blues in the 3-7 lb range but I do cut my bait small. It is a great go to when I cant find shad, and I have also caught a 38" red which I CPR'd.

Regardless of wether or not you get checked, I still wouldn't use it. Never know when you are gunna get an a-hole game warden having a bad day. Yea, chances are, a game warden may not be able to tell what kind of fish it is if its already cut up, you never know. If you don't want it to go to waste, throw it in the water. I think its still technically illegal, but the chances of getting caught are way less, and atleast it will get eaten. Even if its not on the end of your line when they eat it.

I still dont understand why you cant use gamefish for bait? Can someone give me one good reason? Maybe cause it's like cheating? Them cats LOVE BASS CRAPPIE etc etc....all the stuff u cant use My favorite bait is white bass, then again i've never been one to walk the straight and narrow.

Besides it's illegal...i already know that!

You got some balls smoky.

Saturday at the bank tourny on grapevine when the gw looked at my catch and checked my licence she also looked at my bait and asked what the fillets I had were. They were freshwater drum and I was able to show her the head by shifting around the baggie they were soaking in red dead in.

So yeah, they can and apperently do check your bait sometime.

Move to oklahoma. We'd catch trout all morning on the arkansas up in Tulsa and catch stripper with them all evening. And then down on the blue river I used thick green cut poles driven into the high banks to catch ops with crappie. Any legal caught fish can be used for bait up there.

Probably has to do with possession limits. You catch a limit of crappie and then put a crappie on a hook and it gets eaten, that crappie is no longer in your possession and counting against your limit. You could catch another to replace it, going over your limit but the game warden wouldn't know by counting.

I'm pretty sure the GW's got Bigger Fish to Fry than some redneck with a tainted piece of Fillet on a circle hook ! Thanks for the advice...I'm gonna Hook it up !!! And will let the User's know the results !!

Well when it comes to cats ive heard of a lot of different baits that one doenst surprise me much. in the past ive caught em on cut bait live bait chicken liver. bread. Ive had plenty of ideas for bait but most of the time i forget the idea before i get a chance to test em. ill see if i cant start up a topic sesion and whenever i think of a new bait ill post it there.

Also have heard from the old timers (over 70) that people have used dead mice for bait on trot-lines and caught catfish.

I saw a guy using a baby duck for bait behind Lavon damn years ago. The big cats hit them on bottom since it's a natural food.

My 5 year old daughter was ready to go home after that....

We used to snag herring out of the Occoquan river during their run to spawn. They made the best cutbait I ever used.

... that reminds me, I brought back squid from last trip to Galveston. I wonder if that will do any good?

That be my CUZZIN!!

It don't really make since to ban the use of any gamefish part. Its perfectly legal to catch and clean 25 crappie, 25 sandbass, and 25 catfish but don't you dare use the leftovers for bait. Doesn't make much since not to be able to use the parts you are not going to eat for bait, especially on sandbass, you seen how many eggs just one of those things pops when they spawn?