I don't allow people who fish my pond to bring their own seined or "store bought" minnows. I would like to put a permanent and easily accessible,frequently breaded, trap close to my pier. Does anybody have a homebuilt or boughten type in mind that would suffice. Also, are there any scientific parameters (pointy headed stuff-numbers,sizes,species)for what I find in this trap, that would indicate the general population status of my pond? Thanks-Postbeetle

I've had success with the rectangular trap sold by Cabela's. I've noticed that they have added a larger trap and many other bait fish assessories this year including larger seines. Just go to their website.

The other information can be found on this website or with a Pond Boss subscription and a lot of reading.

What's the problem with "store bought" minnows? I figured that the worse that could happen is they aren't adapted to pond life and will croak.

I think what's generally considered the worst scenario is that they ARE adapted to pond life, but they're some species you don't want, like carp, bullheads, etc, and that they successfully reproduce and give you fits.

In minnesota it is ILLEGAL to release the contents of your bait bucket into a lake when you are done fishing. Bait can have all sorts of nasties in it.

Store bought minnows are sometimes collected from the local streams or lakes. Bait dealers do not, cannot, or will not sort the "good" species from the "bad" species. Most any fish species that grows in your area could be in a bait bucket. Freqently the minnows that are sold to bait dealers from fish farms have for one reason or another a low occurrence of other fish species present. Many do not recognize the other species or care to examine them. Dumping a bait bucket often results in unwanted introductions that can cause fish balance problems.