Chunking

• 1). Position a cutting board in a stable location.
  
  
• 2). Lay a bait fish on the cutting board.
  
  
• 3). Use a butcher knife to cut the fish into bait-sized chunks. The size of the chunks are determined by the species and size of the fish you want to catch. Small, panfish-sized fish may bite best on chunks the size of a sugar cube; large tuna may require chunks which weigh a pound or more.
  
  
• 4). Use a serrated-edge knife to cut through the spine or other bones on a large fish.
  
  
• 5). Use the chunks as soon as you cut them, or place the cut chunks in a cooler filled with ice to keep them fresh until needed.
  
  

Bait Strips

• 1). Position a cutting board in a stable location.
  
  
• 2). Use a filet knife to cut the meat off each side of the fish, then slice the meat into strips sized to the fish you plan to catch.
  
  
• 3). Leave the skin on the strips and be sure to impale the hook through the skin. That will ensure the strip stays on the hook while being fished.
  
  
• 4). Strip each bait fish completely. Use some of the fresh strips immediately and store the remaining strips in a cooler filled with ice to keep them fresh.
  
  

Plug Cut Bait

• 1). Position a bait miter-box in a stable location.
  
  
• 2). Insert a herring or other bait fish into the miter box and position so the knife cut will slice off the fish’s head just behind the gills.
  
  
• 3). Make the cut, discard the head, and use the bait immediately or store in a cooler filled with ice. Plug cut baits are used for trolling. The angled cut makes the bait swim through the water as though it were alive when put on a hook and pulled along.
  
  

Whole-cut Bait

• 1). Use a fresh, preferably live, bait fish to make a whole-cut bait.
  
  
• 2). Place the fish on a stable cutting surface.
  
  
• 3). Insert the tip of a filet knife just below the spine of the fish at the back of the rib cage. Cut downward to the bottom of the fish. Don’t cut through the spine or the fish may pull apart when being cast or fished.
  
  
• 4). Impale the fish on a hook, cast out and let sink to the bottom. The fresh, bloody fish is attractive to catfish, striped bass, sharks, barracuda and many other opportunistic feeding species.