This years bait trapping thread

[maineute]

just under the ice is where I have had them.... and nobody is messin with them, its my buddys pond and private...  i have not put any on the bottom though -- i have been gettin way too many tad poles... I will def try it.  there are some weeds that I put a trap near today, just under the ice -- there's also a dock, should be droppin traps near that dock? been usin white bread.... any suggestions??

I am catching them a foot under the ice right now, dogfood in a mesh bag suspended in the middle, haven't changed it in a week and still catching them.

so here's a question.....  i set em at night, and check them the next night...  ive heard that during the day they leave the trap, and then come back at night.... truth to this rumor?

I thought that the theory behind the trap is that they can't figure out how to get out so they can't leave. I personally think that is why the black traps don't work, they have a big bullseye that says "get out here." I am checking my traps in the morning sisnce I am on night shift.

[chief613]

need some help guys.... im trappin this pond that i've trapped since the summer time...  the other day I trapped 3 dozen out of 4 traps...  the past two times I pulled them I have gotten 10 minnows out of 5 traps....  i've been screwin around with depth, but I cant seem to find them... in the summer time they're breaking the surface for food... this place is PACKED with minnows.... only about 8 feet deep.....  cant find em -- any suggestions?

In the past i have gone to deeper water(8-10')/center of pond that i trap on. this year i set a few close to shore in 3-4' of water and got better results. some of the shore traps where getting 3-4+ dozen in 24-48 hrs per trap, where as in the middle i was lucky to see that many out of 4 or 5 traps. Seemed like it would fish well for maybe a week then shut off so i would move it to a new spot. I set a trap about 8' from the first trap that did well closer to shore. That trap caught a couple bait and a couple dozen out of the original, and this was consistent for about 5 or 6 times, so id say the can be in a pretty small area. Id say keep leap frogging them around the pond short distances or like some one else mentioned load it with traps. Also if you find a good hole drop 2 traps in the same hole. I use the English muffin for bait, i heard it was from the extra oils in the muffins, so i took a marinade injector and injected the muffin with some bacon grease just warm enough to suck up with the injector. It did do a little better, but i only tried it a week before pulling all my traps so its hard to say, but an easy try. I also tried a few cloverleaf traps toward the end . They are a nice design and worked well, id suggest giving them a try

[Grumpy]

Mark them well... you know how "helpful" the snow can be...

[FRESHBAIT]

So true grumpy.  Our last snow storm I think I spent like 30 minutes shuffling my feet around in the general vacinaty before I found my grade stake I laid accross the hole. 

[gamefisher]

I pulled my traps yesterday as well, it was time, getting more and more chubs and suckers, less and less shiners.

[FRESHBAIT]

I would love to get into a mess of big chubs and some suckers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Got lots of shiners and dace

[TinyTim]

I found a little private bog to try. Danny and I put in a couple traps day before the storm, and he's all excited to go check em today and see if we got any. 

[FRESHBAIT]

Good Luck tiny,  I'm sure Danny will catch a mess of em.  That kid can fish. 

[gunn308]

I have done a search on salt in my bait tank I only have shiners and I'm on a well how much do I add per gallon ? can I use kosher salt ? I have plenty since I gave up adding salt to my food after I had the big HA. Some posts say add a little one guy said 1 cup for 12 gallons but he was keeping river run shad my tote is 15 gallons with a WallyWorld aquarium filter pump and aerator bait looks active and healthy.

[FRESHBAIT]

Probably about a tablespoon. 

[TinyTim]

I found a little private bog to try. Danny and I put in a couple traps day before the storm, and he's all excited to go check em today and see if we got any. 

Well, we got a few, not as good as I'd hoped for, but at least we now know they are in there, just have to experiment till we find more.

[Indie]

This year was doomed as far as bait trapping. I was saved last weekend when I happened upon a trapped school of mummichog now I'm all stocked up. Turned them into about a dozen crappie on the jigrod this morning before the cold got to us. Really like these tommies! 

[GasBlaster]

This year was doomed as far as bait trapping. I was saved last weekend when I happened upon a trapped school of mummichog now I'm all stocked up. Turned them into about a dozen crappie on the jigrod this morning before the cold got to us. Really like these tommies! 

that's what I'm going for next . I have a tip on a spot I need to check out . I hope to get a few tommies to try with my shiners

[Coach]

Well, we got a few, not as good as I'd hoped for, but at least we now know they are in there, just have to experiment till we find more.

WTG Tiny

I sent you a PM

[hawgzilla]

I have done a search on salt in my bait tank I only have shiners and I'm on a well how much do I add per gallon ? can I use kosher salt ? I have plenty since I gave up adding salt to my food after I had the big HA. Some posts say add a little one guy said 1 cup for 12 gallons but he was keeping river run shad my tote is 15 gallons with a WallyWorld aquarium filter pump and aerator bait looks active and healthy.

Table salt is fine but make sure you get salt WITHOUT iodine.

[gunn308]

Thanks guys, kosher salt doesn't have iodine, I don't want pickled shiners. This is my first year keeping bait it sure is nice being able to go down cellar to load the bait bucket and not having to fire up the chainsaw on the pond out back and throw in the traps every time I want to go fishing.

[GasBlaster]

Thanks guys, kosher salt doesn't have iodine, I don't want pickled shiners. This is my first year keeping bait it sure is nice being able to go down cellar to load the bait bucket and not having to fire up the chainsaw on the pond out back and throw in the traps every time I want to go fishing.

Gunn308    look at the bottom of page 2 of this thread .  If you have a pond out back then thats what you need to keep bait in . Trouble free system for sure.

[barkspud]

I would say no.  Because of how the trap is configured, they can't really find their way out in any sort of numbers I would think.  They have no reason to leave, no predators can get them and there's food.  If you disturb them by pulling the trap and not taking them out, I've heard that they will become panicked and really try to find their way out but I don't pull the trap just to check it.  When I pull the trap they are going in the bucket regardless of numbers. 

I usually leave my traps in for 72+ hours and have never checked them at night.  It's just too dangerous to be out on thin ice alone, early season, when they are trapping well. 

Well thats not always the case they can find there way out almost as easy as they get in. As far as predators ive was finding eels in my traps as well as some other bait trappers here. Somtime there still in the trap somtimes not. Been a good year for catching eels through the ice

[barkspud]

I was digging bloodworms yesterday morning and stumbled across a pile of those mummichogs. Sevral other digger are going to bring coolers tomorow to fetch up a good bunch. I have never used them for bait but alot of my friends do. Im a coastal transplant from up north so not used to these types of bait. Always been a smelt or green back guy and dase for perch and pickeral.

[Bear32]

  How late in the season do you guy's keep trapping? Is there a point when they aren't active? 

[Grumpy]

my grandfather would keep his mummichogs/chubs in just a few inches of water. he says they drown in deeper tank with shinners. That is if you store them for longer period of time.  if u have a bunch of them, they cloud up the water quality because of low water volume... so change their water several times, keep shallow , no airator, they should keep good. Gramp said they would put the mummys in moss wraped in foil and no water carry them in pocket all day , they live fine!

[maineute]

I made a thread over in the bait section of the board about how I made my black trap catch bait. here is the link. thought you may be interested.http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=213314.0 that is it for me. I am done trapping for the season. I have enough.

[Wolley]

looks good. Ive got a black one like that but never had the ring around the hole. if i ever get around to using it again im going to paint it.

[maineute]

looks good. Ive got a black one like that but never had the ring around the hole. if i ever get around to using it again im going to paint it.

In my opinion I don't think the paint made a difference. I was thinking of painting it back to black to see if it did but I don't need any more bait.

[rickl1968]

I have seen the difference in the colour of my traps.
My black one gets only a couple of minnows in it everytime, my galvanized one does good but my rusty old one does the best.
No rings in any of them.

[SALTY BAY]

This year was doomed as far as bait trapping. I was saved last weekend when I happened upon a trapped school of mummichog now I'm all stocked up. Turned them into about a dozen crappie on the jigrod this morning before the cold got to us. Really like these tommies!

I like mummies as well. They are very hardy staying alive for a long time and swim slow but lively, I catch a lot of rainbows on them, not too mention everything else.One of my favorite all around live baits even during open water season as there "hardiness" allows you to cast them out a few times without them dying!!

[Scalloper]

I have a 30gal cooler in my woodshed at camp with a aerator in it. It works but I am constantly changing the water and with these colder temps it ices up badly. So,today I stoped into Pet-Co in Bangor. I bought a 150 watt tank heater and a 50 gal Bio filter, NEXX Filter. This should keep the bait much better. The NEXX filter seems to be ideal as if you need more filtration you can buy another one or two or three and stack them. After using bio filters in lobster tanks for years this should work well. I'll let you know how it works out.

[Sinnian]

Sounds good, just make sure the heater doesn't keep it too warm.

[Mainesalmonslayer]

Roger that on the bio filters,i love mine once the bennificial bacteria takes hold it will stay crystal clear,good luck.I use a heater also but i only have about a inch of the heater in the tank,i see they have ajustable heaters now which is handy.

[Scalloper]

I will only use the heater when the temp is below 10 deg and iceing occurs in the tank.
   I went to camp sunday night there was a ton of ice in the tank/cooler. I put the heater in and the monday am it was all gone so I turned it off. Then I got the bio filter fired up. Man what a great set up  the water cleared right up and has a good amount of current. The smelts and shiners are at the bottom of the tank and doing very well. I am hoping this tank will hold 20+ dozen of smelt and keep them for weeks if needed. If not we will go bigger and better  . Bait and gas to buy bait gets costly so I really need the best set up I can get. Its tough because we have no where to buy smelts within 50 miles on here so.