Trapping Minnows for Fishing

SeamusMac

SeamusMac

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This may not belong here but I figure it'll get the right kind of attention from the folks in this particular sub-forum.

Alright, I enjoy fishing and I'd like to use live minnows as bait as I have heard they're great for fishing Chain Pickerel. I'd prefer to trap them myself and a simple pop bottle trap as shown below has proven effective for a lot of people. I've heard of many different baits to use but what works best?

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For a trap like that, I'm not sure. We used to use a large dip net that was the size of an umbrella and the minnows we would catch would only go after oats/oatmeal. Hope that helps. BTW, what is a chain pickerel? Around here, we call walleye pickerel.
 
I use a wire trap with a balled up slice of bread. I set at 5 or 6 pm and check and reset every 2 hours until dark. Last week I got 8-10 dozen doing this 3 or 4 times. I have also used dog food for bait but the bread works better for me.

Your plastic bottle trap might require some weight(handful of gravel) to get it lower in the water. Good luck.
 
I'll set it with some wait in the bottom and a wad of bread inside it. I'll be setting it in about 2' of water so hopefully that's the right depth as the minnows I see are always close to shore.

Thanks guys I'll let you know how it goes!
 
The lake I had been trying (or at least the area) has produced anything so I built a new trap today and set it in a different lake. I was pleased to see minnows scattering as I walked through the reeds. I set the trap up in only 6" of water with a wad of bread as bait. We'll see how it goes!

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denydart said:
For a trap like that, I'm not sure. We used to use a large dip net that was the size of an umbrella and the minnows we would catch would only go after oats/oatmeal. Hope that helps. BTW, what is a chain pickerel? Around here, we call walleye pickerel.
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Why is it that people call walleye pickerel in ontario? It's always gotten on my nerves :p:confused:
 
with the store bought traps and bacon, I can catch between 20-200 mummichogs in a matter of an hour, I have occasionally thrown the trap and moved it minutes later with a dozen in it.

I put it in tidal water at a river mouth with plenty of grass, usually 1-2 feet of water (depending on the tides)
 
fishy said:
Why is it that people call walleye pickerel in ontario? It's always gotten on my nerves :p:confused:
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It's just a case of regional lingo. Some people in my neck of the woods ,call black crappie"shiners". go figure. Just to add, fo those in Ontario, an outdoors card allows you a max of 120 bait fish total.You may possess more, but you'll need a reciept from a licenced bait shop.As well you may possess 12 northen leopard frogs on an outdoors card with a valid fishing licence.
 
northwoodslivin said:
Ontario?

The way I understood it is that the Americans call pickerel "walleye" and us canucks call them "pickerel"
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Nope, I think Ontario is the only province that calls a walleye a Pickerel.

Pickerel, common name for 3 closely related carnivorous, soft-rayed freshwater fishes in the PIKE family (Esocidae). In parts of Canada, the name is applied, erroneously, to the WALLEYE. The name is derived from an English diminutive of pike.
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A walleye is actually from the Perch family.

This is a Chain Pickerel, named so as it's markings look like a chain link fence: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_pickerel
 
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bill c68 said:
Nope, I think Ontario is the only province that calls a walleye a Pickerel.
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Not true....

I have family that are big into fishing in Calgary that call them pickerel..... hmm. I honestly thought it was an american thing:confused:

EDIT:
But just remembered that my uncle was originally from Ontario, so you may be right. lol
 
Dogleg said:
We call them "pickeral" in Saskatchewan too. What difference does a name make?
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You're right.It really doesn't matter.I think some guys around here just can't accept the real name of the species.All I know is they taste real good.That does it for me.
 
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