How To Set Up Minnow Traps

If you are an avid fisherman, you probably have heard the old advice that the best bait you can get will come from the waters in which you are fishing. That being good advice, it is always good to know how to set up minnow traps so that you can catch the minnows right from the waters in which you intend to cast your hook!

Well, if you either adhere to that old advice or you want to test the theory, you can always use a minnow trap. You can make a minnow trap, or you can buy one, but after that, you will need to know how to set up a minnow trap.

Purchasing a trap is easy. They are available at retail locations varying from hardware stores to sporting goods stores to the sporting goods department of local stores and bait shops. Or you can make your own.

To Make your own minnow trap, you can use a couple of old soda bottles. Just cut the bottoms off, and discard them. Leave the bottle cap on one, and take the cap off the other. Place it, uncalled end down, inside the other, and trim the two so that they match up.

Use a heated nail or an awl to poke holes about every inch and a half around where they connect, and tie together with individual lengths of twine. Be sure to tie securely. Then, poke a couple of holes in the bottom bottle. Attach a rope to the trap, so that it can be secured to a stable object and not float away in the water.

Now, to bait the trap, you will need something to entice the minnows into your trap. Items such as bread crumbs work well, and most everyone has that item readily available, so at least to begin with, it might be your best bet. Some other items you might have available at home are dry dog or cat food, liver (most people think of chicken liver when they think of fish bait, but studies seem to indicate beef liver is the best choice) or commercial tropical fish food nuggets, or Ivory soap.

If you are using an item such as fish food or dry pet foods, you can always enclose it in a zipper seal food storage bag into which a few holes have been poked. This will allow it to dissolve and seep out to attract the minnows while keeping the food itself in the bag to reduce the rate of dissolving and keep it less messy.

For commercial traps that you can purchase, you can just put which ever bait you choose, into the trap in the manner in which the instructions state. For the home made soda bottle trap, the best way to bait it is to push the bait into the opening of the open bottle. You really don't need much, but it will allow the scent to seep out into the water and attract the minnows. Once the minnows swim through the top bottle, which will act as a funnel, they will be trapped in the bottom and unable to swim out.