Preserving bait

I can't fish with live fish and I doubt I can get most panfish to take a 3.25" nose to tail crawdad which is legal size here so I have to improvise.

I want to take minnows, peamouth clubs and crawdads and preserve them. The crawdad meat I think I have a good idea but I have no idea how to preserve fresh fish for bait. I even thought of buying goldfish and preserving them or maybe guppies.

Can anyone help? I tried a search but only found links for large fish like herring which I have done and I'm pretty sure a tiny 2" fish won't hold up through the process, but I may be wrong.

( wasn't sure which forum to put this in)

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Originally Posted by fish_4_any

I can't fish with live fish and I doubt I can get most panfish to take a 3.25" nose to tail crawdad ...

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You can definitely get most panfish to take a small jig. I’d try that before preserving small fish.

Check on salting your small minnows. I know some of the old boys I fished with swore by them. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by deathb4disco

You can definitely get most panfish to take a small jig. I’d try that before preserving small fish.

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Yeh and if they don't want to hit them....spray them with Slab Sauce and they will be as good as live bait.