where to get cut bait?

[mainbutter]

Do you guys catch your own cut bait or are there bait stores that carry live bait big enough for cut bait?

If so, how do you go about catching whatever you use for cut bait? Just nightcrawlers on the bottom of streams/rivers?

I wish I could use all those numerous panfish around for cut bait, I have had zero luck trying to track down fish that are legal to use.

[PierBridge]

You could try Moore's Bait he will occasionally have some cut Sucker or Shad lying around. Or the Spur Gas station on Old Cedar and Old shakopee road in Bloomington has been known to have Cut Sucker in their freezer.

I'd try Moore's first of course. If he doesn't have fresh Sucker you can always use Fresh Bullheads for cut!

[Shack]

If you are going to use a large amount threw out the year, you can find a stream or part of a river where suckers (or what ever you want to use that is legal) are, toss in a river rig and crawler. Catch them, cut them up how you would like and store them in zip-lock bag or vacuum seal them. Portion them up in 1lb bags, so you do not have to refreeze a large amount many times.

If you just need enough for one or two trips, buy some large suckers at a place like Moores live (like Pier said) and cutting them up live is always an option. Bullheads also.

Good luck!

[ec30_06]

I like to cut up live minnows for cut bait. Fresh seems to work better than frozen. Minnows don't have to be big either. Even a gob of fatheads will work.

[hanson]

Bait shop sucker minnows is a good start.

[goblueM]

just go out and catch some mooneyes, suckers, or bullheads and go nuts with the knife

[JimBuck]

While we are on the topic...does the bullhead rule only apply to a live bait or can you cut up larger bullheads? (7"+)

[Shack]

Yes. They can not be over 7" to transport alive.

[phishnerd]

I think just about every small river, stream and creek in the area will have chubs or suckers. Suckers seem to be limited to better quality water though. Try freezing your suckers live. This keeps the blood in the flesh when it freezes. When you cut them up and they thaw, the blood starts to thaw as well. Blood in the water-BINGO!! Like Shack said portion them up. Suckers that have been re-frozen and thawed tend to get a little mushy. Give that a shot.

[DTro]

Good points Chris, I also prefer that anything I freeze, I freeze it live and very rarely will refreeze anything.

I did a little poking around today and found a bunch of hungry chubs.

Not only is catching bait fun, it is also a good learning experience. The things you learn fishing small streams directly translates to bigger rivers

[River Runner Z]

find a creek tie on on a 1/64 or 1/80 flu flu jig and tip it with a gulp maggot find a place in the creek were it bends and has some debris with a deeper cut in the creek cast it out and slow drag it back in and will probabally get some chubs or go to bobs and he will hook you up with the bait you need (I.E. Sucker, Bullheads, Creekchubs, and Occassionally shad.

[BuckKiller]

the head and mid section of a large sucker works really well for cut bait

[Muddog]

I just go to bait shops and as for there dead suckers at the bottom of there tank.

[half-dutch]

Once Bob gets in the big decoy suckers this year, they are the best size. He doesn't have any frozen shad this year. You get a number of baits out of one and the bigger they are, the tougher the skin, making it easier to keep from having baits stolen by light biters, dinks, bullheads and sheephead.

[Ed Carlson]

I catch, pre-cut, and then quickly freeze most my cut baits.

I use rinsed out and recycled ice cream wax paper tubs, or milk containers, and store zip-locks of pre-cuts in them in trip sized portions.

I also like to pre-cut the bait as fresh as I can so the blood disperses in all the cuts as evenly as one can expect as they freeze. I feel you get better scent dispersal this way and fresher scent.