Hello Everyone,
Just a question. I have read several posts talking about people trapping their own shiners/minnows. I have never done it... just bought them. Could you gus give me some advice on how to do this? Techniques? Baits? Equipment? Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
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I know some of the guys like Fuzzyfisher use a minnow traps but kentofnsl uses a casting net with good success. I'm sure one of them will reply to this post tomorrow morning. That is if they aren't out fishing some where. WH2
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i think if you do a search for minnow traps (or trapping, or something like that) on this board you will find a ton of good suggestions. i know that i have read a lot of good posts concerning this very topic. just in the past few months it has been discussed on this board.
good luck to you, bkidder
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[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=53120;search_string=Casting%20net;#53120"]First thread to read[/url]
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=170899;search_string=Casting%20net;#170899"]Second thread to read[/url]
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Thanks for the info. [
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Sportsmans carries the traps.And they will save you money.Also your bait wont be a year old and you can have bait year round.Depending on where you go you need different attractants for the minnows depending on what you want .
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[font "Arial Black"][red][size 3] I thought it was not legal to use live bait of any kind , in the State of Utah![/size][/red][/font]
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[font "Arial Black"][#ff0000][size 3] AFDan52[/size][/#ff0000][/font]
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on many lakes and streams here in utah you can get a variety of minnows..chub,sucker,shiners,and carp..
this time of year the minnow traps work good..
i like to set my traps out on the local stream and leave it over night..
on the lakes like the berry,scofield,and E-lake the traps are working good right now.. the thing i dont like about the cast net's is on lakes that have come up this year is there is so much brush and snages on the bottom of the lakes that it tears up the cast net's realy easy..
you dont get that with the traps..
but the traps are not 100% ether..some days you can catch 1000 minnows in a day other day's your lucky to get 1 or 2.. leveing the trap in over night will do the best if you can do that..
try baiting the trap with a hotdog bun. a bagle,or some velveeta cheese have worked for me in the past.. if you plan on takeing the minnows home and frezzing them for later use take some ice to keep the minnows on tell you get them home.. the ice will keep them alot fresher and when you go to use them the next time they will not go soft as fast.. and another addvantage to putting them on ice when they are alive is they will put there brightest colors on just before they die so you will have minnows with alot of color in them..
good luck to ya!
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I live next door to a Gentleman who tells me that using a stick of gum in his minnow trap does good for him. has anybody ever heard of this or better yet tried it? does it work as good as he claims?
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i read about the gum thing in last months field & stream but have not tryed it yet..
but i have not had a problem getting minnows in my traps this year with the bait i have been useing..
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Hey, Fuzzy![/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]You dropping your minnow traps to the bottom or suspending them with a float? We're head for the Berry next weekend and I'm taking a couple minnow and crawdad traps.[/size][/black][/font]
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i send my traps to the bottom.. i have not traped at the Berry for a long time.. scolfiled and E-lake are alot closer to me than the berry. and i do alot of traping on the sanpitch as well only 5 min's from the house. and full of suckers, shiners and dodads as well. what i try and do is see where the minnows are hanging out at, and try and get the trap right in the same area deepth and out from the bank..then it's a hope and pray deal after that.. i have 4 traps i take with and try diffrent bait's tell i see what they want and put whats working best in all of them..
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How deep is the water where you generally set your traps? Thanks again for the help and advice.
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[font "Arial Black"][#ff0000]"I thought it was not legal to use live bait of any kind , in the State of Utah![/#ff0000][/font][size 1] "[/size]
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[size 1]It is illegal to use live minnows in Utah, but it is fine to catch them alive.[/size]
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the deepth of the water is determined by where the minnows are..there is no sense in putting your trap out in a area where there are no minnows..find the minnows first then set the trap..
in most lakes like E-lake, scofield,strawberry the shiners will be very close to the shour or close to shalow water with cover to hide in..and alot of time you will find them near docks and under boats along the shour line.. if your camping over night and have a boat in the water put the trap out the back of the boat for the night and more than likley you will get a trap full of shiners by the morning..
i have set the traps in as deep as 5 to 8 feet deep at E-lake..most the time 1 to 3 feet is where the shiners can be found tho..
the later it get's in the year the deeper the shiners will go and the harder they are to trap.. thats when i brake out the cast net..but i'm a real spaz with the net and dont like looking the fool with it so i make sure no one else is around when i'm playing with it..
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[size 1]"thats when i brake out the cast net..but i'm a real spaz with the net and dont like looking the fool with it so i make sure no one else is around when i'm playing with it.."[/size]
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[#ff00ff][size 1]I have resembled that remark on more than one occasion. I believe Road has also had his moments.[/size][/#ff00ff]
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Fuzzy, it sounds like your the man when it comes to minnows. I have another way to kill and cure them for fishing. I put a pound of salt in a tupperware type container and then throw the live minnows right in to it. (dozen at a time) Then I shake them lightly to coat, they'll flop about and get salt all over and up in thier gills. They will die almost instantly, Now they are legal to use. I Like to give them an hour or so to toughen in the salt before I use them. If I'm going to store them at home for later Then pick them out and flip them into small baggies, and add a little more salt. You can set them over a layer of dry ice.This will freeze them in just a few minutes on each side like the big commercial operations do. The salt will cure the skin and toughen it as well as preserve the scent.
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Minnow Trapping is pretty easy, look for the minnows, then set Your traps in that area. We made A Minnow run to E-Lake Yesterday. We have 3 Traps, one store bought & two home made jobs. And while waiting to bring home our supply of minnows We Spent the day & some of our freshly captured & killed supply of minimags, Catching & releasing More cutthroat than we cared to count. Yesterday was what we consider a slow catch day as far as minnows, we only brought home 300. We can usually count on 500-600, but the weather was a little to drizzly at times, but again the cutt bite was excellent most of the day. As far as bait in the traps, we commonly use bread ( with some type of liquid of scent added), cat food, dog food, tuna fish etc.
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Hey ol' buddy,, mind if I drag a video cam along the next time you cast the net?
Btw, is that the only time you look like a spaz, or, do you sometimes look like a spaz when those big doo'ers start toyin' witchya as they chase you up to 30'?? [pirate] [laugh]
Aww you know me luvs ya more than me stinky socks....[
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well if you give me the money you make from the video you make!! i'm sure the funnest video guy's would pay alot to see me trying to throw that stinking thing around..lol
and as you know me better than most here on BFT i'm a spaz most all the time!! but realy a spaz with a cast net..lol
man i'm right up there with your stinky socks huh? wow i'm moveing up in the world!! lol
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