If you have been fishing for very long, you have probably heard the term trash fish in conversation. What exactly is a trash fish? There are many species of fish and not all of them are desirable to eat. These fish usually do not have any restriction on them and can be caught using any legal fishing method. The fish that fall into this category are often known as trash or rough fish. Some common species that are called trash fish include gar, carp, and drum.

Many people simply release these fish when they are caught. But these species of fish do have some uses. The most common use of this type of fish is to be used as bait. Carp make excellent bait alive or dead for catfish. Smaller carp can be used live on a trot line to attract large flathead catfish. If the carp is larger it can be cut into smaller chunks to be used as cut bait for cat fishing as well. Drum can be used in the exact same manner as carp. Alive or dead they make wonderful bait for cat fishing. Gar are not typically used as bait at least not in Texas. Alligator Gar were thought of as nothing more than a trash fish for many years, but their popularity is rising quickly in the south as more fishermen are fishing for these giants and eating them. Laws are in the works to put limits on these fish and they will more than likely leap from the category of trash fish to game fish in the next few years.



The blood from these fish can be used to make homemade dip and dough baits for cat fishing. Hand the fish in the air and cut off the tail. Have a bucket underneath the fish to where the blood will drip in. In a few minutes all of the blood will have dripped out of the fish. You can mix this blood into your favorite dough bait recipe to be used for cat fishing.



You can stock a koi pond with carp. A koi is a carp that has been selectively bred to have colors. Buying large koi can be very expensive. A single large koi can cost upwards of 100 dollars. You can stock your pond with carp for free. They are not as pretty but are free.



You can also use trash fish as fertilizer. If you bury a fish in your garden it will make your vegetables grow extremely well. Be sure to bury them fairly deep otherwise you might smell it.