minnow trap

[Bushcraftsman]

Right, I have a question, you know the minnow traps and similar you get that are basically just a plastic bottle with the top cut off, then reversed round and put back in so the opening is inside the bottle...how do they work? when the fish swims in...why doesn't it just swim back out through the opening again? :s

 

[lannyman8]

i think its because they like to stick to the side of the bottle, that means they cant get out due to the reverse bottle neck.....

this is my understanding......

 

[Calurix]

Any I have ever made I have baited and put a few holes in the side to let the food scent out (even bread as a kid) I think minnows are inquisitive and will find a way to the food, the funnel helps guide them in (you know that bit). I think the reason they dont try to find a way out is that there was food and to conserve energy.

ATB,
Calurix

 

[Melonfish]

These also make amazing newt traps, an engineering firm used these to shift a newt population, i wasn't happy they were moving them mind but rather they're moved then dug over and buried under concrete.

 

[HHazeldean]

I reckon that they don't swim back out of the funnel because a)they are bloody stupid and b)the current and food are keeping them in.

 

[Xunil]

I used to use one every morning to catch bait for trout fishing before school on the river Coquet.

Minnow, baiting needle, tiny treble, swivel a foot and a half up from the bait on 4lb line and that's it.

Happy days...

 

[Bushcraftsman]

thanks for the help everyone...is this trap design good for anything bigger than a minnow?

 

[Xunil]

I used to get bullheads and sometimes parr in the same trap. On one occasion I was unimpressed to find gudgeon and no minnows up at Coldstream, which dampened my plans regarding the local salmon population that day...

I guess if you had a big enough bottle you could theoretically up-scale, but you might need to change the bait to chopped worms, maggots, casters or similar.

I'll let you try it since if you get caught you'll get lifted

EDIT:

Keep in mind that a minnow trap is the same overall shape and principle as woven fish traps made from willow and hazel so, having thought about it a little, I think a larger version would work for bigger fish very well, in the right spot.

 

[greensurfingbear]

thanks for the help everyone...is this trap design good for anything bigger than a minnow?

bigger ones are usually made out of bamboo or wire but based on the same design

 

[juhirvon]

You can open up the bottle neck a bit to allow slightly bigger fish in. Cut the whole top off, and cut the new edge into sharp spikes to discourage fish from leaving. The cord in the pic was used to secure it to the bottom because of the current.

Most fish traps for bigger fish work on the same principle, up to any size you can drag out from the water.

Theoretically, as most fish can't go in reverse, a bottle without the top on might also catch something, but then the problem is smaller fish stealing the bait before a stupid enough bigger fish comes.

-jh

 

[stovie]

I used to use one every morning to catch bait for trout fishing before school on the river Coquet.

Minnow, baiting needle, tiny treble, swivel a foot and a half up from the bait on 4lb line and that's it.

Happy days...

Used to do the same on the Aln...before school...and if the bailiff came into view cast very quickly to lose the minnow and carry on fishing with the remaining fly... Fly only above the iron footbridge in Lesbury...

As you say...Happy days...

 

[Bushwhacker]

Be careful in scaling them up because an unmanned one could be harmful to otters.

 

[Everything Mac]

When I was a kid we used to use a big ish jam jar to catch minnows.

Wrap a length of string around it, let the minnow swim in then yank it up.

Works well with or without bait.

Andy

 

[Bushwhacker]

When I was a kid we used to use a big ish jam jar to catch minnows.

Wrap a length of string around it, let the minnow swim in then yank it up.

Works well with or without bait.

Andy

I did that too.
Used to put a piece of white broken crockery in the bottom so it was easier to see when a fish swam over.

 

[peskypiker]

when i was a kid me and my mates would catch the minnows and then put them on a treble and wait for mr pike to be honest we still do sometimes

 

[Everything Mac]

I did that too.
Used to put a piece of white broken crockery in the bottom so it was easier to see when a fish swam over.

good idea - we were never that clever.

Used to use bread as bait.

 

[asemery]

It is a lot of fun to net a funnel of meshes to make a minnow trap. Tony

 

[georann]

Without wanting to **** in anyones cornflakes, as far as my understanding goes you need a license for trapping ANY fish in british rivers, not just crayfish. However my experience with crayfish trapping says these licenses aren't hard to get and doesn't cost anything so theres no reason not to apply

 

[Bushwhacker]

Without wanting to **** in anyones cornflakes, as far as my understanding goes you need a license for trapping ANY fish in british rivers, not just crayfish. However my experience with crayfish trapping says these licenses aren't hard to get and doesn't cost anything so theres no reason not to apply

Does that apply to kids with dip nets?

 

[Everything Mac]

Does that apply to kids with dip nets?

Or catch and release?