Trapping bait/lure with fish
 

I'm curious if any trappers make there own lure with fish. Had a guy tell me he saves his fish guts (pike/walleye) throughout the summer in a sealed barrel to make a lure/bait. I can only imagine the smell come November. Anyone have any ideas on this?

I've have used fish parts for bait. I did it a bit different then your friend.
I'd cut up what I had into small enough pieces to fit into a gallon jar.
Then I'd stretch a piece of screen over the top and I'd leave it in an outbuilding (Grain Bin) over the summer.
I always chose an unused gain bin well away for any trees for the rot down process. That stuff would draw in Bears like crazy if you weren't careful.

By fall it was mostly oils and sludge. I'd drain off the oil.
I would then use the oil as an ingredient in beaver castor based lure.

The sludge was mixed with beaver meat that had undergone the same process and that was then used as bait in dirthole sets.

I didn't get a lot of opportunity to use fish or even parts of fish in my trapping so I used what I had, when it was available, sparingly.

More often I used liver also rotted down, as a lure supplement and bait additive. Live was much easier to come by and almost as effective.

It was also a major ingredient in Lynx lure. We never used bait for Lynx.

I only used fresh Beaver meat to bait for the smaller predators such as Mink Marten and Fisher. They are not scavengers.

I suppose fish might be attractive to Mink but I never tried it. I never had enough to try it.

Friend of mine was on fishing trip in northern Sask. A old trapper asked if he wanted to join him fishing. He agreed they caught lots of walleye and pike. Then as they boated slowly along shore the Old trapper would pitch the pike into the trees at various select spots. When friend asked what are you doing
the Old Trapper commented "Gotta feed the Fur"

Used a ton of it last year for my coyote and wolf baits. It didn't seem to work as well as a rotted beaver. I was using Carp

We used to help an old timer, he kept basically everything (carcasses) in a 45 gallon drum with a sealed top in the sun all year. It was awful. I would take the lid off but that was it, my wife would shovel the contents into a pail the old timer would hold. I'll never get rid of that smell. I think it attracted everything but recreational sledders.
Doug

So I guess keeping the pail in the downstairs fridge is out of the questions...:sEm_oops2:

fish for otter and mink
 

Fish is the recommended bait for otter and mink. Fish oil and its scent are attractants to get animals from far to come to your bait just like you would you use essence of skunk juice. Once the animal gets to your bait you must have an animal appropriate bait; bread, nuts and blueberries for bear, beaver meat for marten, wolf, coyote, and rabbit and squirrel for fisher and marten.

Had the fish cops walk in on one of my wolf baits this year. He was checking to make sure there were no issues with what I was doing..... long story short he grabbed hold of the burlap sack I had hanging from the tree with the rotten fish in it. He mentioned to me later what a nasty surprise that was and he couldn't get the stench off even after washing up lol
I keep a pair of rubber boots seperate for all my wolf baits. I step on the bag and walk around checking my snares and I am sure the smell is tracked all over the place. I can't get the stink off my boots.