minnow trapping

[Guest TheBeaver12]

anyone trap minnows... if you do what bait do you use... how deep are the traps ... what color are the traps... and any other useful tips would be helpful.

last year i tried a bit of trapping but only sometimes they would swim in and get trapped, even though they were always swimming around them... one day i would get 25-30 in a trap while the next day nothing!!!

How do you trap leaches???

[Guest bestbait]

Each angler is allowed one minnow trap no longer than 51 cm long and 31 cm wide. I use bread or buns with a lil chunk of styrofoam. Trap depth depends on water temp and oxtgen levels. If your traps are in flowing water make sure the cones are pointed into the flow. A GEEs minnow trap is standard and are usually galvanized to last many years. Stay away from black coated traps as they don't work. Make sure you tie a strong lead to your trap too as they sometimes get snagged and require a lil muscle to free. With a lil practice you'll be trapping fresh bait in no time.

[Guest bestbait]

Leeches are a secret!

[Snowball 75]

Catching leeches:

Google: "leeches , how to catch"

Have a look at this:

http://www.upfishing.com/procurring_leeches.html

Regards,

Snowball

[Guest Nonus]

There is a Dirty Jobs episode on leech catching. Might be able to watch it online too.

[Guest TheBeaver12]

what time of day do you trap minnows or does it not not matter...

Also how can I keep them alive for a couple of weeks

[Guest bestbait]

I trap minnows all day and all night! Minnows are very sensitive to temp changes so watch the temp of the water they're coming out of then try to match it. By water temp I don't mean the surface temp. I usually hold my minnows between 50 and 55 F. Minnows give off ammonia as they take in oxygen. In nature there are bacteria present in the water to break these compounds down.(Nitrogen cycle) If you change the water every few days you should be fine. If your ammonia levels exceed 0.5 ppm the amount of ammonia present will burn the gills. Since fish are cold water creatures the lower the temp the lower their respiration the lower the amount of ammonia and waste products being produced. As for prime time to set traps...set them in the evening and empty them in the morning. It's usually cooler and it will not stress the fish out as much. Good luck and don't forget a lil styrofaom!

[Monks 164]

Leeches try a can of Tuna, yes Tuna. Open it half way and toss it in a minnow trap. I used to wrap a burlap bag around the trap with some small slits but they will get it without the slits. But to get a full trap grab it just before sunrise. As for minnows, grab a bag of dog food the cheap stuff, wrap it in tin foil, shiny side out, polk some holes in it and enjoy.

Simple and works

[NWO Fishing Bum 2]

Good advice here...I've been trapping the past few days for opener.

Definately don't get those black-coated traps; do not work, absolute garbage! Steel and ideally a little rusted work best.

The other important point made is bright white styrofoam; essential!

I use bread or dogfood, both work! I always trap at night as well.

NWO Fishing Bum

[RLK 38]

Good advice here...I've been trapping the past few days for opener.

Definately don't get those black-coated traps; do not work, absolute garbage! Steel and ideally a little rusted work best.

The other important point made is bright white styrofoam; essential!

I use bread or dogfood, both work! I always trap at night as well.

NWO Fishing Bum

I use to use egg shells for bait. Worked fine. I found if i used bread the little buggers would gorge themselves and many would die prematuraly.

[Guest Walleyer]

I paint my traps with flat black spray paint and never had a problem getting minnows. I think the problem with the vinyl coated traps is it makes the mesh too thick. I also put bread,hamburger or hot dog buns in those mesh onion bags with a couple of pieces of styrofoam. I tie the bread in so it looks like a oversized spawn sac and tie it to the bottom of the trap so the sac remains suspended roughly in the middle of the trap. I had to do this as the lake I trap in has lots of suckers and they tend to suck out all the bread in the first half hour after leaving the trap. I watched one time while 10 or 11 half pound suckers did this and the only thing that comes to mind is a bunch of snakes on roadkill. Haven't had a problem since I started doing this with the "onion" bags.

[McGinnis_Fishing 49]

thanks alot guys cant wait to try it out!