Does It Matter If It's Frozen?

[TMF89]

Does freezing cut bait for extended periods of time affect how cats like it?

[Sandmannd]

Nope, let it thaw a little before throwing it out. Maybe take it out of the freezer the night before. Freezing it won't hurt anything.

[mplspug]

I prefer to keep it as fresh as possible. It doesn't matter how long it is frozen as long as you protect it from freezer burn. I use freezer bags, put enough water so the bait is submersed and suck out as much water as possible before freezing. Also, make sure the bait you are freezing is fresh. Don't freeze minnows that have been dead for hours. Don't refreeze left over bait that has thawed. I also keep the bait on ice when I thaw it for use to keep it fresh.

One thing I learned this spring is don't put too much water in the bag. I had a bunch of bags of shad this spring. Every time I went out I would use a fresh unused bag. After fishing I combined the ones that were still frozen into one bag. Ended up with a big chunk of ice that I took out one day. Well it took forever to thaw and when I thawed it enough to grab a shad, it was mush. That goes back to the don't refreeze tip.

[crazyice]

I can second the "refreeze" tip. There isn't a better way to guarentee mushy cut bait!