Crab Pot Bait

[madcrab]

  I was wondering if anyone knows where to get bunker or some other free or cheap bait for crab pots.  Last year I went through so much bait I ended up using freezer burnt sausage and hot dogs from my freezer when I ran out of my frozen fish carcasses.  Anything will do.  Thanks!

  *Also, I'm in the Severn, MD area.

[jack1747]

Bunker free, where?  I'll meet ya there with a dump truck.  

[Crabbyboy]

  For the past 2 years i've been experimenting with White Perch.  

  Works just as well as bunker and it's plentiful all summer

Dan

[madcrab]

  I do use the carcasses of white perch I catch.  When I'm fishing, I always catch a zillion of 'em.  You sayin' use the whole thing?  Obviously there is more of the fish and it would last longer...seems logical to use the whole ones.  

[eelfisher]

madcrab, if i knew where to get free bunker, i wouldnt tell ya...lol   just kiddin

seriously, good luck findin it. i have my buddies save the carcasses of the fish they fillet. i pick 'em up and throw 'em in the freezer. when i was a kid we'd get free flounder racks from the seafood stores, but now they charge for them.

[Crabbyboy]

  Madcrab...

   I cut them into 3 pieces...head...main body...and tail which i ussually disscard.  The fish's insides are great attractant for the crabs.  You're right there's so many of them what the heck!

Dan

[indoe]

I use white perch and blue gills as well. When I use them I cut them up a little so the sent of the fish gets out a little better. And when I use them for hand lines it gives the crabs something to hold on too. If I'm using a trap I usually cut the fish in half. A dozen worms and a evening of fishing at the local pond is good enough for a few days of bait. I like to bait half the traps with fish and the other with chicken. Now if you dig up the worms, then you have free bait to crab with. But it is not bunker.

[jack1747]

Bunker is perfume to crabs.  Set your perch pots next to a line of bunker and youll get a few that the bunker pots didnt. Thats all folks.

[cw4340]

im with jack you boys don,t have a clue   8)thems crabs ill come out of the water for bunker

[Crabpop]

Madcrab, one thing you might try.  You know where Coastline Seafood is just north of Crofton on Rt. 3 (located in the medial strip).  They do a volume business selling fish on weekends.  A lot of people have them clean/filet the fish before taking it home.  You might try there for carcasses, although knowing that place, they'll probably want to sell them to you rather than give them to you.  Got to agree with CW and jack; bunker and menhaden will outshine anything else.  

Crabpop

[cw4340]

fish racks will work but not like bunker aka menhaden it be like offerin  a salad or a filet mingon steak you might get afew with salad but you gona get the bigins on the meat

[indoe]

The big problem for me is that I really don't know any places around me that sell bunker. One quick question. Is bunker the same as shad and aren't shad illegal to catch?   I used to live near Lockraven Resovoure and the shad would come up to the small dam to spawn by the thousands. And I was sure it was illegal to catch them before, during and after spawning.

[eelfisher]

noooo indoe. bunker and shad are two different fish. bunker's the fishy, oily one. another name for it is menhaden.

[jack1747]

If ya find a place to get bunker near ya, dont put it in your car.  Well not for long anyway

[indoe]

Is bunker the best becouse it is oily or just becouse it is the crabs favorite food. If it is becouse of the oil then would carp work. Carp are one of the oilyest and discusting fish that I know of. I don't catch carp that often but I can try if it would work for crab bait. I'm just trying to think of some new differnt kinds of bait that would work as well as bunker.

[cw4340]

theres just some thing about bunker that the crabs no they need its a good attractent but theres more to it then that