Fishing with minnows @ Strawberry?

[wetwaders]

I read a post about trolling with minnows at strawberry a couple of days ago and want to try it this Friday. How do you catch them? What is the best way to rig them? What does the law say about possesing them, do they have to be dead? I am going to be trolling in my father in laws new fishing boat, can't wait. Thanks for the help. I will let everyone know how we do.
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[Kent]

One either purchases minnows or catches them. They can be caught around the docks (especially the permanent docks - but you better catch them from your boat and not get on the private docks). One can catch them with a minnow trap or use a casting net (the method I use). State law states that "nongame fish shall be either released or killed immediately upon removing them from the water: however, they may not be abandoned on the shoreline.") I prefer to immediately put them on ice. Should you happen to get any trout in the net or trap be sure to immediately release them. There are both red shiner chubs and the plain gray chubs in Strawberry. The red shiners work the best. To troll with them, either use leaded line, a downrigger, or whatever to get them down. You can either fish them alone, or behind a dodger or even behind popgear. You can hook them through the bottom jaw up through the top of the head, or use a smaller hook and just go through their mouth out the top of the head, or you can use a minnow threader, or even fish them backwards using a half hitch or two. I prefer to drift troll with them in the bays, using minimal weight.
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[wetwaders]

Kent,

Thanks for answering my questions. I have a couple more if it not asking to much. How deep do you troll and do you think the minnows you catch are more effective than the ones you can buy?

THANKS!
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[Kent]

You can only catch fish by fishing where the fish are located. With that in mind, I troll the minnows at, or slightly above, where the fish are located at the time. At Strawberry this is often between 15 to 25 feet (substantially shallower early and late in the day). Realize that the boat will often spook the fish up there, if you are trolling in water that is about 20 feet or shallower, so although you may not see fish on the fish finder, there may still be fish to be caught. I prefer fresh minnows -- cheaper for me because I already own my casting net, and I believe they work a little better because they are a little fresher. However, frozen shiners do hold up better than most other minnows do when they are thawed.
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[Kent]

As I indicated in my first reply, I prefer to drift troll with minnows over trolling with them, and if I can catch fish by anchoring and casting that is even better. When I anchor up I either just put a small split shot on my line, to get the minnow down a little faster, or more often than not, I won't use any weight at all, and just let the minnow drift down as slowly as possible. I have found that I can usually cast far enough with just the weight of the minnow. If the minnow reaches the bottom without getting a bite, I will then start retrieving it, using various retrieval methods, in an attempt in invoke a strike.
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[wetwaders]

Thanks Kent I plan to give it a try tomorrow.
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[road]

Hey wet, if you don't have any way of catching your minnows you can buy some frozen ones at the Smiths in Heber. They are located in the front of the store in the freezer on the bait frig next to the cigeretts. These appear to be the same minnows that are in the Berry and have proven to be very effective when used. As with Kent I prefer to catch my own also, but before I had a net I wasn't against buying them 2 or 3 bucks a dozen.
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[wetwaders]

Road, Thanks for the info I decided to bag buying a net so I did'nt get to try minnows. I will stop at smiths next time and try them out. How much does a net cost?
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[Kent]

A net costs anywhere from about $20 on up.
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