Minnow Trapping

[Kyle Sandberg]

Say if a guy were to buy a minnow trap, what would he put in it to attract the minnows. I know a body of water that has them in there but have no clue what they'd eat. I'd really like some imput seeing as how somewhat cheap bait would be nice to get.

[DTro]

dogfood

[harvey lee]

Dtro, he wants to catch miinows, not dogfish.

[youngie22]

stale bread, buns, or toast. Unless you want dogfish, then dog food would be better.

[Bobb-o]

the best thing i have used for minnows is wintergreen gum. The dog food and the bread work but it floats to the top and the minnows eat it all, they are attracted to the smell and the color of the gum but dont eat it.

[Scott K]

I have always used dog food, works good, but check your nets often because they tend to over eat the dog food and bloat. I found the harder dog biscuits to work best.

[eyepatrol]

I was just thinking of something like this. My parents live on a lake with lots of minnows in it. Does a guy need a permit or license to trap his own minnows? Or can I just buy a trap, set it out, and go get my minnows whenever I need them? Could save quite a bit of money!

[Bobb-o]

you can net all your own minnows, you just cant sell them or transport them to another lake.

[eyepatrol]

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you just cant sell them or transport them to another lake.

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Does this include fishing with them on another lake? I guess literally speaking, trapping them and fishing with them on another lake is transporting them to another lake (although via the baitwell).

I might just have to contact the DNR on this one (or read the regs).

[fiskyknut]

Lots of rules and regs as to the commercial minnow permits and harvest and I won't get into that. Someone is ill informed.....You can indeed transport minnows as long as they are not harvested from infested waters. You cannot possess all you want with an angling license, only 288 without the commercial permit!!!!

Different baits work better for one species or another. Grain base baits seem to best catch the various Shiner types, and meat base baits get the Creek Chubs and Horneyheads better. If your baits are floating to the top and/or out of the trap put them in a container and wire them in the trap maybe!

[Kyle Sandberg]

Thanks for all the replys. I think I'm going to give it a try this year.

[Bobb-o]

sorry.... was always under the impression that you could not transport them, but i think this is mostly due to the fact that my lake is listed as an impaired lake, so that is what i have always been taught.

[RonZych]

I know a lake that has these 3-4" long chunky shiners. There are a few smaller ones in shallow that we can catch with a tiny hook and bait but not enough. In the thinned out weeds in about 5-7' of water there are bigger schools of these things. Too deep to seign. I was thinking of a drop net for the shallows. Is there anything that you can think of that would work in the deeper water? I don't think a casting net would work because of the weeds. I haven't notice them move in shallow in the evening. The larger predators love them. A seigning net you could pull behind a boat may work but I have never seen anything like that.

[youngie22]

I guess I would wook a rope up to a trap, bait the trap, and throw it in the weeds for a day or two. No other ideas here. I usually trap in small streams, and never seem to put the traps more than a foot or two under the water. But don't see why it won't work, unless the shiners don't go for the bait. Good luck!

[Wayne Ek]

All I know guy's is that 2 years ago I helped a shop trap red-tails. I will never complain about the high price of red-tails again. Nor will I ever trap them again. That is the hardest work in the world.

[RonZych]

A minnow trap anchored and floating under a gallon jug might just work! It reminds me of "Worlds most dangerous catch" on the discovery channel. lol

[Kyle Sandberg]

One other thing. Would bullhead young of the year go after gum and bread. I just found out this pond has a humungeous amout of yeller bullies. That sucks.

[Orlip]

Can any one tell me what kind of minnow this is? The first picture is overexposed because I was trying to get a close up of the head to see the bumps or whatever they are. The second photo is to get a good idea of the actual color. Also would they be good for fishing?

[Bobb-o]

I am Fairly certain that is a male Fathead minnow

[snoozebutton]

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I guess I would hook a rope up to a trap, bait the trap, and throw it in the weeds for a day or two. No other ideas here.

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Not sure what the regs are in Minnesota but in Wisconsin you have to have your name on the trap and it has to be emptied every 24 hours. Also, no trapping is allowed if it's considered a trout stream.

I used to trap a small pond that was maybe 10 feet deep. Game fish would freeze out in something that shallow but the minnows would survive. I just put in some dog food or stale bread, tie a rope to it, and throw it out as far as I could.

[Orlip]

I thought they were fatheads myself but something just looked different about them. Will they work just as well for fishing?