Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait How to catch mosquitofish?

I've tried the good ol' net but they are too fast and will not come close enough to shore. I've been thinking of making a bottle trap, does anyone know any bait or something that will help lure them into it?

You try mosquitos?

Seriously, you can catch them in a regular 'ol minnnow trap. Put some dry cat food inside the trap and see what shows up. You can try dry dog food, fish food pellets, etc. Place the trap in 1'-2' of water, having the open ends parallel to shore.

For the top swimming mosquito fish, try leaving about 1/4 to 1/3 of the trap out of the water so it funnels the surface swimmers into the throat as they swim near the surface.

That's good Bill. I hadn't thought of that.

I toss out a small amount of pellets to draw the fish. Then I put some pellets in something like a small bag made of panty hose. Then drop 5 or 6 pellets loose in the trap. Check it ever 30 to 45 minutes or they will escape.

I use a small sein net. Takes two but works well. Wal mart sells small minnow sein nets abut 6 ft long.

My Gams eat crushed floating feed well which makes them easier to seine. Dicks Sporting Goods sells a 4' deep x 12' long minnow seine with 1/8" mesh called the Ranger Minnow Seine. It comes with the floats and cost just over $20. Several other brands of minnow seines come with 1/4" mesh "which helps if you prefer to miss some of the smaller minnows".