So its starting to get warm again which for me means its time to start preparing and making baits and lures again. I was wondering what kind of ideas you guys had on using fish as trapping bait. Its easy to get since I can catch some fish to use for bait. Last year I used canned fish products like canned mackerel, sardines, and tuna and it worked somewhat well but it wasn't the greatest. It attracted critters just fine but the mackerel had a tendency to dry out fast and it would freeze up and not produce much scent. The canned tuna worked great especially as a additive or filler but if it was warm the tuna would rot too fast and not be stable in a bait. The sardines were good and lasted a while but for what you get for what you buy you don't get very much. I was looking into using caught fish this year as bait. I have heard many thing like people salting down fish or freezing it. I also heard of burying it in a ice cream tub and it would work as bait or lure after sitting for a long time. What fish should I use and how should I use them? I fish in freshwater. Should I just collect a tub of minnows and use that?

Cut carp into chunks and freeze it. I freeze all my sardines as well they dont turn into mush when you are putting them down the hole or pocket.

I think just use whatever you can catch and is legal. Aging it would probably help with it's attractiveness.

What kind of base should I use for the fish? I know I could get fish oil but when I noticed it drying out I tried a few different things to fix it and here's what I found. Beef fat works good if its not too cold out, if it stays below freezing for too long no amount of salt will be able to keep the fish smelling much if at all because your bait will turn into a little suet ball and will en-clasp the smell. Bacon grease is a great base for when it gets colder but it still suppresses the fish smell. Vegetable oil is nice because it is highly stable and processed like bacon grease is but its not as strong and after a few days of rain it will wash away some. In the winter in very wet and snowy areas like around creeks it would wash away a little bit but on dry highland it didn't dissipate as much. When it got really cold the vegetable oil just made the bait thicken up some. I'm not really sure, however I discovered one thing. Its nice to have pasty consistency baits but they don't last that long down a dirt-hole. I would rather put chucks of whole meat down the hole, especially if it has any bones, scales, fur, or whatever because it will all contribute to the length of the decomposition of the bait, making it stick around for longer.

Not sure, I haven't really done much bait making.
You could try making a paste-type bait with flour, fish oil and fish chunks

Fish is a great trapping bait for mink, foxes, coyote, raccoon, etc One of best baits is a big fat bullhead. Catfish is good too but my wife likes eatem. I freeze em or salt em down in a 5 gallon bucket. I have caught many a nice UP coyote on a bullhead. The very oily and smelly fish last longer than most other species. Furbearing animals are attracted to a chunk of fish even miles from the nearest body of water. I caught a bunch this spring and even fried up a few and they were not that bad. I started making baits as a very young trapper and we did have Trapperman backin the 70's which would of made it a lot better. But it is interesting to see how your thoughts for what would be good are so similar to what I tried as a young trapper. It is very important if you are not freezing your fish to preserve it with salt or Sodium Benzoate Powder. I noticed in this or an other recent posting the important fact of using for bait what is legal - each state has its own unique laws. Be creative and try different items. And remember schools of thought are all over the board. Example tainted, fresh and all kinds of degrees in between. I personally prefer a slight taint to a bait. Remembering a canine can smell many many times better than you. Experiment and continue to use what works for you while always letting the animals tell you which is the best for your area.

you can catch all the bullhead you want on a simple hook and a bag of shrimp from Walmart.