Guys,
I have never fished "cut bait" before but love catchin the catfish. The bait I have been using has been store bought stinky dough but I am told that this no where as good as other baits. Reading about "cut bait" got me thinking.

I recently took some "kids" to a local pond and can catch as many perch as time permits. They hit constantly. So it seems like I can get my hands on perch all day long ...

My question is this:

Assuming I have a dead perch (and someone needs to tell me the cleanest way to kill these things) and assuming that it is about the size of a mans hand, what is the best way to "cut" it up for bait?

Should I use a knife? Sizzors? Should I cube it or slice it or what? Are all parts good for baiting? Any warnings or gotchas about cutting up bait fish?

Sorry if this sounds dumb but don't know where else to ask.

Neil

If you want to cut up the perch just take a knife and cut off his head behind his gills and then start cutting in widths that is about an inch think and you have it. Start the hook in the thick back part of the cut bait, run it through then hook back in to the belly part of the cut bait. When I use cut bait, it's usually shad.

Neil,
No question is a dumb one
Fresh killed bait works best so keep them alive until you use em & dont let the cut peices dry out by keeping a little splasy of water on em until it is used.
I like the 4' bluegill but the larger ones will work if you cut the peices in half that you just cut. Just take them and throw them down on something hard and this stun-kills em. You then cut there heads off and cut 1/2' sections or larger depending on size of hook & size fish you are targeting and even use the tail section or the heads by threading it through both eyes. You can then do as a previous poster mentioned and dip it in blood bait or the like attractant. The best hooks to use are circle hooks and put the hook right through the middle of it and let the barb be exposed. Carolina rigged is good or if drifting then use a 3 way swivel rig with a weight on bottom leader or bottom bouncer rigs(sold for drift fishing).

Hope this helps. Someone else may add there 2 Cents.

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"Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime"

I have better luck by scaling them first and then cutting the head off and then cutting a few strips through the middle. Like other posters said, you can use the head, mid sections or the tail. If you have a small enough fish or a large enough hook, cut a few slices in a live fish to get them bleeding and then place the whole thing on the hook. Either through the eyes, the lips or behind the dorsel fin. You can place alot of cut bait chunks in a zip lock freezer bag, add some salt, garlic, etc, shake em up and then freeze em. Makes excellent cat bait.

If your not going to use your bait right away you might want to filet them and either freeze with salt water or a spice of your choosing, anise seed or garlic for instance. With the filets you have less mess and the added spices are natural attractants.

Dang dmunsie you beat me by 2 minutes, almost the same advice exactly...lol.

Thanks guys ... for practice tonight I caught (and released) some perch so pretty confident that I can catch them when needed. Now I just need the weekend to come earlt :-)

its been my experience that perch is an excellent catfish bait, but they are much better alive than dead. if you can catch perch consistentely like that then keep them alive in a bucket or barrel and fish them alive hooked through the lips or across the back. if they die on you you can still use them as bait just by cuttin them in half so they don't bloat and float. or you can still fish them whole. if you really want to fish with cut bait i think you would have better luck with cut shad or cut carp than with cut perch. for me shad and carp way outfishes dead perch. and live perch way outfishes dead bait of any kind. hope this helps.

erich

Thanks but I now have a new question ... are you suggesting fishing with a perch that is as big as my hand? What kind of a monster catfish am I hunting for :-)

I'd be happy with a couple of pound beast.

Neil

yeah, i used to never fish with bait that big either. once i started i was impressed with the results. a 10lbs catfish can swallow a perch the size of your hand, so its not all that outa the question. although if all you're lookin for is fish in the 2-5lbs range, then its probly more of a bait than you need. i still recomend using your perch live though, just use smaller ones anything up to 3-4in is great bait. for smaller cats like that you might be better off fishin with shad, chicken livers, or some of the prepared baits available like danny kings punch bait. cut perch would work, but those others would prolby work faster. good fishin

erich

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Outdoorsman