Shiner trapping

[merk42]

I had to figure some thing out... the mink were wiping me out by mid dec-jan,  my pond has big flow and never gets more than 3 or 4 inches of ice, I've only walked across it once or twice a winter.. The minnows have been in the cages for 2 months now and are all alive... they seem fine with the setup... Tell the truth, Im a bit surprised, but happy... In the morning I just go out with the dip net fill my bucket and off i go...used to be much more involved...(

[fishingidjit]

Merc, Nice design, do you run bubblers in the tanks to keep the tops from freezing /getting crushed?

[Guinea]

Merk, is that giant shiner wearing Carhartts? lol

That is a really great set up you have going.

I just went through this post, because I had forgotten that I bought a trap last year on a whim (I found it stored in my portable a few weeks ago). Thanks for starting the thread, Erb, and thanks for all the helpful answers you guys. I'd like to expand on this. Has anyone started their own  small scale farm? Is this a stupid question?

[Erb]

Thanks for the responses on this thread. I am just about done shiner trapping for the year. Just gonna buy them. Tried 30 ponds not a single shiner. Today set a trap and it came apart and lost half. Looking forward to cold weather to do some real fishing.

[merk42]

Merc, Nice design, do you run bubblers in the tanks to keep the tops from freezing /getting crushed?

The cages are made of 1/4" coated hardware cloth, supported by 2" welded wire, as I thought they could fold up under ice and snow. One is 3' in diameter and one is 4'. The top and bottoms are bent pvc, one made with rigid pipe (hard to bend) the other with black water pipe (much easier to bend). I'll include a link for the prototype I started with. The top of the cage flips over half way for access. So far there only been negligible ice to get through. I now cover both cages with a sheet of blue board to keep the slush, snow and ice from building up on the top. This also may help to keep it from freezing a bit. They are 4' tall in 3 fow, so 1' stays above high water for access. I think the round shape is a key part to success, but I'm not sure why...

No bubbler, pond has big flow from springs and filtered runoff. This pond barely freezes 2-4 in on average. The dog will cross it but I have only walked across it a few times in 30 years... So its never hard to crack into it. This is the first year I've tried this. So far we are pleased. So are the mink, as many minnows remain in the pond body...I started moving minnows into the cages in late Nov with no die off so far. Before the mink found this smorgasbord of free food I used to throw the trap in the morning and in 10 min I'd have a days worth or more to fish with, once they showed up I threw the trap in the day before an outing and keep them overnight on the bubbler. Last year they wiped us out in lat january and we were buying bait...BAH...Not the money, its the hassle and a bit of driving too. Not to mention this native bait, which also live in the lake we fish, are terrific bait... all sizes too. I give some to a pike friend as I catch some megatrons at 7-8". Also some great pech size too, although I've caught little perch on big bait..  The changes I made were 1/4" mesh, black water pipe, and I added the outer welded wire for strength. Stay tuned, so far so good!  Here is the link to the cage model.

[800stealth]

Awesome setup Merk

[Erb]

FINALLY! After trying for over two months 30+ different places and methods. A buddy of mine who traps showed me a place and in two traps I caught enough for probably my season. Only issue I move back to unh on Monday and they won’t like me having a tank of fish in a dorm! I have tried to build a much smaller holder than Merks but learning from him. Going to keep in the pond next to my house anything you have to do when keeping them in ponds?

[merk42]

Hey, Great! That cage will be fine. This is just my first season trying this concept out so I'm not sure if there are good things I could be doing for the minnows... So far I haven't done anything for them and they are lively and alive! I have some fish food but have not offered any yet! Will keep this thread posted if any changes occur. Next week I will be bringing a big slug of minnows up to the bobhouse as it will be moved to our "sweet spot". We keep them in a zippered "sock" under the ice. it sits vertically on the bottom. They do well in it.