Modding the minnow trap

[hunter24605]

I was having issues catching decent size fathead minnows. My suspicion was The bread/dog food was floating to the top and the little ones was picking it clean from the outside. I tied some para cord to both halves in an X shape. Then I put the bait in some stretchy finger gauze and sandwiched between the para cord X’s. Now the bait stayed dead in the center. I tossed it out for a few hours and got several decent size minnows.

 

[DrMike]

Pretty slick.

 

[Darryle]

My grandfather used cattle cubes and my grandmother's old stockings, always thought that was peculiar. Now in retrospect, I suspect that he was thinking a lot like you. He was a farmer and we lived on a river, so I guess he had more time to fish than me and more time to monitor the trap.

 

[truck driver]

Nice fix. I never used a trap though I have looked at them.
My father taught me to make nets for a seine and to attach poles and lead weights to the outside edges which we would walk up stream in a small stream to catch minnows and a dip net in larger streams that were too big to force the minnows into the net.
I still have the seine needles we used to make nets.

 

[hunter24605]

Nice fix. I never used a trap though I have looked at them.
My father taught me to make nets for a seine and to attach poles and lead weights to the outside edges which we would walk up stream in a small stream to catch minnows and a dip net in larger streams that were too big to force the minnows into the net.
I still have the seine needles we used to make nets.

one of my favorite memories from my youth is holding the sein in the creek will dad flipped over rocks catching crawdads and hellgrammites and the occasional hellbender would squirt out causing me to head for the creek bank lol

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Howie a cheap can of dog food cut in half makes for good bait in a minnow trap. Get two baits for one can. Dan.

 

[hunter24605]

Tossed in a handful of 20% deer protein pellets for bait and ended up with about 20 bluegill fingerlings. These are headed to stock the pond at our cabin.

 

[JD338]

Tossed in a handful of 20% deer protein pellets for bait and ended up with about 20 bluegill fingerlings. These are headed to stock the pond at our cabin.View attachment 22853

I see a fish fry in your future.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

Tossed in a handful of 20% deer protein pellets for bait and ended up with about 20 bluegill fingerlings. These are headed to stock the pond at our cabin.View attachment 22853

Always enjoyed bluegills. They were the assurance of a good fishing trip with the children.

 

[hunter24605]

I see a fish fry in your future.

JD338

These will be for the grandkids to catch when we’re up at the cabin. IF, and that’s a big if, they survive the snapping turtle that’s made that pond his home.

 

[JD338]

We've got snapping turtles here too

JD338

 

[DrMike]

I left all those in KS and TX. No evidence of them up here.

 

[hunter24605]

Dad used to us not to mess with them because if we got bit, they won’t let go until it thunders.

 

[DrMike]

Dad used to us not to mess with them because if we got bit, they won’t let go until it thunders.

My daddy told me the same thing.

 

[truck driver]

We've got snapping turtles here too

JD338

UUUUUMMMM looks like turtle soup to me. used to set turtle lines using steel wire leaders and heavy breaded line for them in ponds.
Once caught we would get them to bite down on a oak stick and wire it too their tail so we could carry them without getting bit. Hang them on the close line to blead out after cutting their head off just like a chicken.

 

[JD338]

Yup. Turtle meat is awesome!

JD338

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Tossed in a handful of 20% deer protein pellets for bait and ended up with about 20 bluegill fingerlings. These are headed to stock the pond at our cabin.View attachment 22853

Caught one of those little bluegills in a minnow trap once and used it to catch a crappie. As for the turtle, use for target practice and eat it.