Trapping Minnows through the Ice

[SkunkedAgain]

Has anyone ever went after minnows this time of year?  I tried the cast net, but it didn't work very well... So I punched a hole big enough for the minnow trap to fit down... After 24 hours not a minnow, so what kind of spots work best in the winter?  Anyone ever tried and found success?  Just curious... Thanks Jeff
PS...There were minnows in this pond last fall, and no outlets, so they should still be there... Unless they died.. it's not very deep.. 4' max depth

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I tried the deepest spots, do you think they might be shallow??? Oh and the muskrats have stirred up the water so it's pretty stained...

[Kent]

I don't have any suggestions, but I'm still trying to visualize you throwing a cast net on top of the ice.

[SkunkedAgain]

watched a few YouTube videos on the subject and I think other than not baiting the trap, I think I'm doing it right... Trying again on the shallower side of the pond... Later J

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I don't have any suggestions, but I'm still trying to visualize you throwing a cast net on top of the ice.

It did open up into a really nice circle unlike my usual throws..... Just didn't sink very well... 

[doitall5000]

watched a few YouTube videos on the subject and I think other than not baiting the trap, I think I'm doing it right... Trying again on the shallower side of the pond... Later J

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I don't have any suggestions, but I'm still trying to visualize you throwing a cast net on top of the ice.

It did open up into a really nice circle unlike my usual throws..... Just didn't sink very well... 

Try baiting the cage with a slice of bread

[wiperhunter2]

watched a few YouTube videos on the subject and I think other than not baiting the trap, I think I'm doing it right... Trying again on the shallower side of the pond... Later J

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I don't have any suggestions, but I'm still trying to visualize you throwing a cast net on top of the ice.

It did open up into a really nice circle unlike my usual throws..... Just didn't sink very well... 

Try baiting the cage with a slice of bread

Dog food works well too.

[Kent]

"... other than not baiting the trap, I think I'm doing it right." That is a big "other". LOL

[SkunkedAgain]

In the summer I caught them fine without any bait, but maybe the change in seasons requires some coaxing... So I'll take some bread and dog food out and we'll see if it makes a difference... Thanks guys... J

[TubeDude]

As a veteran "minnowologist" I'll toss in a couple of thoughts.  First of all, there are no fail-safe blanket rules for minnowing in the winter.  All waters are different and the minnows usually have different "patterns" in each water.  A lot of that is based on the predator-prey ratio and relationship.  If there are a lot of predators living on a limited number of minnows you will not find large schools of minnows freely swimming in the open.  They will tend to hang out in shallower water or structure to keep away from the hungry mouths.  In other waters...like Starvation used to be...the chubs are overly numerous and you can find them all over the lake in any area where there is enough oxygen and food for them.

Only place I have ever sunk a minnow trap in winter is on Settlement Canyon...up out of Tooele.  Was told it was loaded with chubs.  After about 10 tries, finally found a hole with a few minnows.  But definitely not worth the effort.

Much better to stock up during open water.

[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks Pat, so far I haven't found a minnow even with a baited trap... I think your last advice is the better plan... I just didn't find anything decent this fall when i tried my net... All I found was bluegill and crappie minnows, nothing I could keep and use... Don't know where the carp were this year... the fatheads were so small they went through the holes in my net, so they weren't big enough to use, so I missed out on my usual fall minnow stock up... I do still have some from last year, but I don't do as good of job preserving them as you guys do, so they are getting a little frost bit... Thanks for the info... Jeff

[TiteLines]

In the summer I caught them fine without any bait, but maybe the change in seasons requires some coaxing... So I'll take some bread and dog food out and we'll see if it makes a difference... Thanks guys...  J

That sounds like a terrible sandwich... LOL

TiteLines

[TubeDude]

. Don't know where the carp were this year...

I like to get a few carplets each year to round out my minnow stash too.  But timing is critical and the time differs almost every year.  Carp start spawning usually in late April and run through June.  The young start showing up by the first of July...or whenever.  If you can find the large schools early you can harvest a bunch.  But it usually doesn't take long for the predators to scatter them into the shoreline weeds or into other cover.  After that they are sparse.

The lower end of spawning tributaries and little creeks they run up to spawn is a good place to try to ambush some baby carp as they go downstream to the larger waters.  I used to get a ton at the mouth of the Provo River some years.  But the last good numbers I got were in fall around the edges of Grantsville Reservoir.  Again, like gold, carp are where you find them and you gotta get 'em fast before they boogie to other parts.

If you go by Echo, you will notice a temporary lakelet on the east side of Echo between the two camp areas.  When the water is high the carp go through the culvert and spawn a lot back there...leaving a bunch of babies until the water level drops and they go into the lake.  A good place to keep checking.

[SkunkedAgain]

In the summer I caught them fine without any bait, but maybe the change in seasons requires some coaxing... So I'll take some bread and dog food out and we'll see if it makes a difference... Thanks guys...  J

That sounds like a terrible sandwich... LOL

TiteLines

My dogs wanted it. See below. 




Too bad the minnows haven’t wanted it as much. Another day of soaking and no minnows. Later J

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Thanks Pat, the carplets are like you say a year to year different story... I need to start looking sooner, but hard to do when the farm has me busy.. Later J

[SkunkedAgain]

Update: I'm no Jim Bridger, but I did end up catching 3 fatheads two nights ago... They were too small so I sent them back to grow up... Then the next night I got 3 more fatheads, these were bigger, but since I don't know when I'll get fishing again, with upcoming family events, I didn't keep them either... Ice was terrible and getting really thin, so I pulled the trap... Anyway not a total shutout, but not a very successful venture.. Better catch my minnows in the open water next year... Later Jeff

[wiperhunter2]

Update:  I'm no Jim Bridger, but I did end up catching 3 fatheads two nights ago... They were too small so I sent them back to grow up... Then the next night I got 3 more fatheads, these were bigger, but since I don't know when I'll get fishing again, with upcoming family events, I didn't keep them either... Ice was terrible and getting really thin, so I pulled the trap... Anyway not a total shutout, but not a very successful venture.. Better catch my minnows in the open water next year... Later Jeff

Good to hear you had some success with your trap. Are fathead minnows the normal bait fish in your area?

[SkunkedAgain]

I guess we have carp and fatheads here and last summer I seen those other minnows that I forget what they were called, but I didn't see any of them this summer... Lots of little blue gill and crappie in the summer when I use the cast net and I'm sure they get foraged plenty as well.. but yes fatheads are probably the main minnows... Funny as a kid we used to catch lots of chubs, but I haven't seen a chub around here since I was in high school... Early 80's.... I wasn't plugged into what the fish and game was doing at that point in life so I don't know if they poisoned them out, or why they disappeared, but something sure changed over the years... Anyway the fatheads are good if you catch and kill them and fish right away, but if you freeze them, they get so soft they aren't much worth using and fall off the hook too easy... Later Jeff