I am going to grind up some fish for bait. Should i gut them or just grind all of it?

ttt

i really wish someone would answer this cuz id like to know too....i was thinkin bout gutting them just to save the mess, but i thought if i froze them it wouldnt be much of a mess and it would add to the intrest of the target critter, but i dont know.

Also could i mix a bait solution in with it or are they more for fox, coyote, and bobcat bait?

some say yes some say no,I personally only gut the big fish that I cut up into chunks and freeze,I don't gut the little stuff just freeze,also I don't grind them up.I freeze chunks and small fish whole on wax paper so it's not all froze into a solid block then transfer into 5gallon plastic buckets w/lids so I can just grab out what I need outta the freezer on a daily basis.

yea, if your after coons you could mix,heck experimenting and creating your own baits is half the fun if you live where you can without irritating the neighbors.

you know i have done a lot of research because i'm really into bait making and am just getting started into it. in one article i read it said you should always gut whatever you make into bait with some exceptions to some animals. you should gut the animals because it will rot your product your trying to make. just telling you've what i've read i hope it helps.

i hope it dosent make a differnce, all the fish i ground up last week were guts and all. on a side note, i saved guts from all the fish ive caught and cleaned to eat this summer, their all in jiffy jars in the freezer, i planed on useing "fish guts" instead of chunks just to offer something different, is there any reason not to? i thought they would be extra juicy/slimy/smelly/tasty but im new to bait makeing and just trying everything

not to be off topic of fish, but if any bait makeing pros could tell me, should i freeze mice whole and use one at a time for bait, or grindem up into paste?

For dirt hole sets I like to just freeze small bluegills, bullheads, etc and use them whole. Just throw one into each set, maybe a squirt of fish oil or shellfish oil and your done. I caught a bunch of coon last year doing it that way. Another option that you might want to try is to salt the fish. I'm going this afternoon to get a bunch for salting. I'm thinking it might be a little "cleaner" out on the line.

I would guess that guts would last for one day, maybe two before it rots all to heck. A nice piece of fish though should last a week. It all depends on the weather too though.

I save all my bluegill heads and use them for bait. I think anytime you leave the guts in any animal, it will spoil faster. This would probably be OK for canine trapping, but in my experience, rotten bait doesn't work well for mink or coon.

i catch a lot of crappie it the spring
when i fillet them i keep the rib cages for bait
works great already cut up and just the right size
and one side of the ribs is shinny for eye appeal

last year was my 1st year trapping and most of what i used for bait was leftover baitfish i had frozen for catfishing, id take 2 or 3 dozen small shad and trow them in ziplock bags freez them and use them later, but being the proud owner of a casting net, i caught way more shad than i ever seemed to use on a trip and quikly filled my freezer. all but one of the coons i caught were on shad, and it you used a lot of small whole fish i would suggest buying a casting net to get bait, they are cheap and pretty easy to use with practice

I gut Everything, Seems if you don't gut the fish you catch alot more grinners. So everything gets gutted until I get 10$ a peace for them.