A bait cake for a crustacean trap, the bait cake comprising a mixture of animal collagen, water, gelatin, gelling agents, fish meal, and fish oil, molded and cured into a cylindrical cake; a method of preparation of a bait cake which preserves the attractiveness of the bait cake to crustaceans, and a method of attracting crustaceans to a trap using the bait cake of the invention.