So our lake at the Sportsman Club is flooded, several feet over normal pool.
Up by the boat launch and docks there is a fence and concrete walkway that are now in the water.
The minnows and blue gills are loving coming up into the grass on the other side of the fence, even at night as it is right under a street light.
I had my minnow trap set up parallel to fence, right against it.
I only got 2 minnows in 2 days, running the trap several times a day.
I turned the trap perpendicular to the fence last night and had about 20 or more minnows in the trap the first time I checked it. This was with the same leftover bait (leftover popcorn) in the trap.
I had read on the PB forums about trap orientation making a difference which is why I tried it. Sure made the difference, especially as most of the bait was gone from the first 2 days.
I'm not sure I would have tried running the trap in a different direction if I hadn't read it here.
I think that the difference is that the minnows had to run all the way around the trap and found the mouth where before it was easier for them to get around it. Or maybe it is that the opening is now towards the direction of travel for the minnows now?
I really don't know, but I have fresh bait.
Oh yeah, this is just the standard black 2 piece can type minnow trap that you can find any where.
Are all these traps black now? When I was a kid they were all just metal colored.
Matt Wehland
Different brands, but you can find both the all metal, the black, heck they even make clear plastic ones now. I have found keep the trap up against structure and parallel to it works best, but what ever works works... Try a cheap can of fish based cat food, like a Wal-Mart store brand. Open the can and place it in the trap. That should really bring the fish into your trap.
I use a paint strainer bag with pellets. When I put it in, I toss a handful of pellets around the trap. I check every couple of hours and catch a lot more by frequent checking.
Dave is right about checking frequently. They will somehow eventually figure out how to get out. I have had several small BG in one and come back later and it is usually less in it. Minnows seem to stay in one better. Place the openings in the direction of their travel. In pond shallows, parallel with the bank normally.
Yes I've noticed that the BG are smart enough to get out while the minnows stay put.
I think this is because the minnows drop to the bottom and stay there while the BG keep swimming around.
Used to have the same thing happen in my fish tank with african cichlids. Some fish I could put in the tank and they would swim around. Minnows dropped straight to the bottom and were soon attacked and killed. Dumb Minnows.
Taught me a lesson about how fish can live in different areas in the vertical water column, not just in the horizontal.
Yes I've noticed that the BG are smart enough to get out while the minnows stay put.
Same here. Fatheads seem to stay put the longest, baby BG next, and gambusia get bored and leave pretty quick.
Ok, I'm going to start selling minnow traps, or at least get set up for a commission.
Are minnow traps a big secret?
The lake was busy this weekend and everyone that saw me checking the trap had to ask about it and not one person knew what a minnow trap was.
They were all surprised when I pulled it out of the water and told them they could get one at Wally world or Dicks (local sporting goods store).
If I want to get another trap I should go out tonight before they all sell out :-).
Also how stupid/lazy/ignorant can kids be?
Some kids asked if they could use some minnows (I was offering bait to those that asked about the trap, I had more than I could use) and I gave them a minnow bucket full.
I told them that it needed to be kept in the water (gee fish need to be kept in water). I told them to tie it back up where it came from (didn't their Momma teach them to return things to where they came from, especially when borrowing something?). His reply was 'I'll leave it by the garbage can. I then stressed that it needed to be back in the WATER and to tie it up to the fence, WHERE IT CAME FROM.
So I get back a little later with the boat and there is the bucket laying on it's side in the grass, full of dead minnows.
I had plenty of bait in the trap, but I just can't excuse this level of ignorance, some one let's you borrow something, tells you where to leave it and your to lazy to return it where it belongs.
Next time I'll let someone use it, but I won't had them the bucket, make them wade out to where it's tied up (yes we are that flooded, you have to wade to the docks).
On a good note, someone else had re-baited the trap with leftover bread. Not sure if they used any for bait or not, but it was a nice touch and made me smile.
I may just leave the trap there with a sign 'free minnows, just re bait it please'.
Hell the trap is only 8 bucks and if I can help a few more people, especially kids enjoy our sport it's well worth it, even though the trap will get lost/stolen eventually.
There is nothing like catching fish on your own bait.
Yes I am still a kid at heart, I enjoy catching worms, minnows, crickets and other bait almost as much as fishing with them.
Matt
Well it didn't take long, in less than 24 hours my good bait bucket was stolen. And after careful consideration it did not float away, there was a loop in the line that I just threw over a fence post, so it was easy to steal.
So no minnows to perch fish tonight.
I hate people.
There is nothing like catching fish on your own bait.
Yes I am still a kid at heart, I enjoy catching worms, minnows, crickets and other bait almost as much as fishing with them.
Matt
Thank God I'm not the only grown man throwing minnow traps in any kind of BOW holding fish I can find. There is a 1/3 acre drainage/holding pond outside my work. Last fall the water level got real high and stranded some fingerlings in a small temporary pool that would have surely die when the NE OH winter hit. So me being me I grabbed my old trap and started transferring them to my pond. This spring I started dropping the trap in the actual pond w/ and w/ out bait. Turns out it is chock full of Pumpkinseed and BG fingerlings...I've been pulling the trap for about 8 weeks now and have caught roughly 250 PS and 50 BG that have been going into my pond (I love getting stuff for free).
I have found that the trap works best in 1-2' of water either parallel to the bank or at a slight angle (20 degrees or so). I originally baited the trap with some hot dogs, pellets and night crawlers in a finch sock (used for nyjer seeds as a bird feeder, makes a nice chum bag). After two weeks the sock was getting a bit sketchy to say the least. So I took it out and tossed the trap out empty...ended up getting more fish then I did with the bait. I guess a lot depends on the BOW, but in this particular pond which is muddy, shallow and has a ring of pondweed in the shallows it works like a charm.
Mark & BB, you're definitely not the only ones that like to catch minnows. I stopped by a creek near my house and put in a trap. as i came back to the road a couple stopped and asked if I needed help. I was kind of embarrassed and if questioned as to what I was doing, I would have probably told them I was taking a leak...
There are far more minnow trap setters than you may think...
I'm not Matt but I have both and can't tell a bit of difference. I use them quite often.
I bought a half dozen Gee's traps but have only used a couple of them to date.
Trapping small BG and RES so far I have not found much difference between the Gees and the black plastic coated Fabril. I sure like the construction of the Gee's better though. They look like they will last a lot longer.
Have not used them long enough to get a good feel and have not been around the pond for a couple of weeks so no chance to use them. Will try and remember to report as I get more experience with the Gee's.
One thing about the Gee's, I think the mesh looks smaller, so if a person was targeting smaller minnows or Gambusia I would think the Gee's would be much better. I trapped some Gambusia out of daughters pond one time just to see what was in it. Had lots in the trap but as I pulled it out half feel out of the mesh onto the ground!
One other tip on using minnow traps. If you want to trap some larger BG, cut the opening instead of the standard 1" to either 1.5 or 2". Be advised the BG get out quicker that way though. I only leave the trap in 5 to 15 minutes with the wider opening. I've caught fish 30 seconds after throwing the trap in. Also be advised some places have legal limits to the size of the opening in fish traps for minnows in public waters, so don't cut the hole bigger if it is illegal for whatever BOW you will be using it in.
Wow a blast from the past.
I was just using whatever black plastic coated trap I got at some store, maybe Bass Pro.
It is now a little beat up from using it as a sieve to separate dirt from bullets while picking up lead at the range for casting bullets.
I haven't tried using the trap in years, I bought a cast net and use that now.
Not very well, but I manage to catch enough to fish with.
To anyone thinking of getting a cast net, I would recommend getting the smallest one you can (4').
I got the 6', because it was just a a few bucks more for 50% more diameter (and actually much more surface area).
I don't use it much and every time I do I keep wishing I had just gotten the smaller one, at least until I became proficient with one.
Most of my casts are banana or oval shaped, not nice round ones.
And it seems by the time I start getting better, the season is over and I have to start again next year.
Plus my daughter could probably start to work the 4', but I don't think she stands a chance with the 6' yet.
But she wants to try it, who knows, she can't do much worse than I do.
We use 6' and 8' spreads. We gave up on lead weighted and have gone plastic weights. I must say I can throw both sizes much better now and they weight 1/2 as much.
Matt, that's what I call throwing a taco.
Ha, here's all I can catch in my minnow trap. I know I have millions of FHM, because when I throw out feed, the FHM come out to feed like crazy. Can't get them to get in the trap though. I even left these in for a week, to see if a crawdad would enter. Nope.. Just tadpoles. (Only one died, I thought they needed to come to the surface to breathe. The trap is submerged)
