Minnow Thief

[KC612]

I had a styrofoam bucket w/ a scoop of crappie minnows and a scoop of fatheads with the lid off collecting rain from my roof and I forgot to put the lid on. I checked it today and not one minnow was left in the bucket. It was pretty full of water and still is, but the water is now a little muddy. I threw a few dead ones out in the yard near the bucket and they were gone too. I find it odd that something could've caught every last minnow without knocking over the bucket. I live near the river in S. Mpls. so I have lots of raccoons and I've sene possums in the yard as well. I'm guessing it had to have been a raccoon. What do you all think?

[hydro]

My bet is a raccoon in that area.

[harvey lee]

I would agree there is a bandit in the area.

[TUMBLEWEED]

Years back, we were sitting on the not so used second

culvert at Sucker creek above Vadnais. We had left the

minnow bucket next to the wood line whilst we wet our

lines.

By chance I caught glimpse of something moving by the

bucket. It was a little coon. He would lift the lid

and reach in and grab a minnow. then disappear into

the woods to eat it. This went on for awhile, when we

thought we better stop the little bugger, before he

ate them all.

Walking up to the minnow bucket, I see he was not alone.

There were four of them!!!!

[eyebjim]

I feed leftover minnows from feeding the perch in my fish tank to my cats in their water bowl. They can fish out and eat a dozen minnows in a matter of a few minutes. They love a fresh fish snack!

[JimBuck]

I'd say Raccoon. I had some of them clean out my bullie tank last summer one evening. I thought I had protected the little guys well with a wire screen over the top but they managed to claw that off and feast. Clever buggers.

[magic_minnow]

chupacabra

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Reminds me of the otters at Voyageurs Park. I think the bait dealers give them lessons on covert minnow nabbing.

[mrklean]

coon probably but once in awhile you can get some bird that grab minnows

[trolloni]

could be mink to ,had one up on Vermillion a couple years back new how to work, a plano flo troll bucket !in and out no problem!

[Back2Dakota]

My lab eats all my minnows if I forget to cover them.

[nubote]

chupacabra

Too funny!

[Ed Carlson]

I had a styrofoam bucket w/ a scoop of crappie minnows and a scoop of fatheads with the lid off collecting rain from my roof and I forgot to put the lid on. I checked it today and not one minnow was left in the bucket. It was pretty full of water and still is, but the water is now a little muddy. I threw a few dead ones out in the yard near the bucket and they were gone too. I find it odd that something could've caught every last minnow without knocking over the bucket. I live near the river in S. Mpls. so I have lots of raccoons and I've sene possums in the yard as well. I'm guessing it had to have been a raccoon. What do you all think?

Birds area likely culprit.

I had the same situation once and a few wise blackbirds caught on and were picking them out and toting them away to there nest or whatever, free food as far as they were concerned.

So.......I floated a mousetrap in the open bucket with a dead minnow on the trigger.

Didn't take long and there was a big Blackbird trashing abut in front of my kitchen window with a mousetrap on him...at least for a while anyhow. Got 3 of them total, yet they had cleared out most of my minnows already.

In hindsight...I'm sure glad I didn't get a Chupacabra in my floating Mousetrap!

[SkunkedAgain]

chupacabra

+2

[Chode2235]

I wish my cat had antlers...

[magic_minnow]

thats a bad [PoorWordUsage] cat-acabra!

[BFJ]

That looks alot my neighbors dog!!! Very Funny!!

[Harmonica Bear]

chupacabra

+1

[Sonicrunch]

I like where this thread is going.

[Big Tom]

Yeah them Otters are a bugger too. Now I have to wire the buckets on the dock shut. I figure it's just a matter of time before they figure out how to transport a wire cutters or cutting torch.

[RumRiverRat]

[mrklean]

maybe its one of those devil fish that have down in florida that they say can survive on land there making there way up here

[united jigsticker]

Racoons are smart. Camping, we always filled the old 5 quart ice cream pails with oreos. One morning, they were all gone. Lid still on the bucket. A trip to town for more cookies, a spot light, and some patience revealed the Racoon opening the bucket at 1am, eating the cookings, and pressing the lid back on. If I didn't see it, I'd say [PoorWordUsage].

[HAppnhook]

I was out pheasant hunting and landed in Rochester for the night with a limit of birds in the bed of the truck. After a few hours and a few beers I went to the truck to feed the dog and noticed that one of the birds was missing??? I started to question my shooting ability and my memory then noticed the imprint of the tail feathers going down from the top of the box, down the side. I was pretty sure that 'ol bird was dead but couldn't think for the life of me what happened to it. no tracks, nuttin. I then heard an owl, as it was getting dark and we grabbed my buddy's dog from her slumber and said fetch it up! About five minutes later, she came back with what appeared to be the carcass of a freshly eaten pheasant. I believe I heard in the wind.....how many licks does it take to get to the center of a freshly killed pheasant? one....two....thrrrreee

[RIPN LIPS]

Might of been an otter, are minnow buckets on the dock were emptied last year on little boy. The resort owner says he has seen it happen. The otter will stick the head in and eat every last one.