I'm interested to see how this works for you. I'm planning to cage some YP this fall for pellet training.
Agree with QA on no crayfish in the cage. When I do an overnight trap soak in the creek there will always be one or two half-eaten fish when I pull the trap if any crays are in it.
Water temps will tell you how deep to sink the cage. The YP won't like the top two feet if the water is still warm from the summer weather.
A pool noodle will float a 2'x2'x2' cylindrical cage no problem. Tie a rope between the cage and the float to set the depth, and run the tag end to shore so retrieval is easy when you want to check on your babies. I don't know if a pool noodle 30' from shore would look like a fun bear toy. If you think it would maybe just tether the cage to shore and sink it far enough out the bears won't notice it.
Or maybe make the cage taller, say 4', set it in 6' of water, put a middling size rock in the cage and enough of a pool noodle to keep the cage upright without floating it?
