Susky Yellars 1/20/11

[DOGFISH]

This is a photo of one of the most recent soda bottle minnow traps to the collection. I have about 8 now. About 12 will be the right amount for me.




I cut the openings off some other bottles. I then make the holes for the openings to thread into those holes, which were cut. I use a little glue to hold them in. I put some concrete in the bottom of the bottle. A bit of a hint, put a few small screws in near the bottom of the bottle, for the concrete to grab hold. Otherwise, the concret will pull free of the inside of the bottle. I use an eyelet at the cap. You could just drill a hole in the neck of the bottle for the string. Just attach a float and you have a minnow or shinner trap. This way if some are lost, no big deal. The excess concrete washes out after a few uses.

As bait, I use some fish type cat food mixed with corn meal. I mix it in a zip lock baggie. I mix it to a dough like substance. I cut a corner off the zip lock and squeeze the dough like bait substance into each bottle, sort of like decorating a cake.

[ronaultmtd]

Back in the day we used to make minnow traps out of big gallon pickle jars- make a funnel shaped wire mesh from screen wire with an inch or so hole in the funnel- use cream corn or cornmeal/mashed up bread as bait and place in shallows next to pier pilings, stream, etc. minnows and shiners can't resist...problem is timing- most times you need bait before going fishing...this requires you go fishing for bait before fishing...wire bait traps work pretty well for river minnows but rust out every year.

Cast nets are great, but get hung up on bottom obstructions..and you usually don't catch small minnows...mostly peanut bunker and baby white perch/spot...and lots of jellyfish.