Minnow bait

[Harry]

What do you all use to catch minnows, if you catch them instead of buying them?

I rarely buy them and usually catch them in a minnow trap. Usually grab a piece of bread, pretzels or whatever is handy before heading out. catch has had mixed results through the years

My brother-in-law was told this trick and passed it along to me and I to you. DRY DOG FOOD !!!
Just a small handful is all thats needed. Not sure what it is about the dog food that attacrts the "mini's", but it has filled the trap all 4 times I've tried it so far.

So what do you all use ?

Fish skin, and horseshoe crab works well too but not always handy.

[mikeydean]

i just us the styrofome that comes with the basket....it works...poor is that poor does!!!*003**yay*

[JTDLXSKIFF]

I've used corn flakes with some success.

[Bull54]

BACON!!!!!!!!!!!! It out produces anything I have ever tried hands down!

I buy a lb of bacon and take 2 slices together and put in a "snack bag" and freeze them. Then when I need them I take the 2 slices out of the snack bag and use a zip tie int he basket to keep it in there because if you don't they will pull it out of the cage. And I have watch the big minnows literally push the little one out of the way to get in the cage!

Powerful stuff!

[tag]

Raw or cooked?

[81bandit]

I store dog food in a Maxwell coffee container. It has the plastic lid on it. I just keep it in the outside building beside of my traps. Does good for mud minnows. I have caught shrimp and small crabs in it also. I found out why I never catch mullet minows in my trap, only with my cast net. I always thought they were too smart to fall for the trap. I always knew they were some type of vegetarion. Mullet feed on aquatic plants and algae.So the have no intrest in the baits we use. LIGHT BULB came on once I was told this. I typical catch all my bait at one time for the entire time I am at the beach. I place them in a 5 gallon bucket that I drilled holes in. When I would go fishing I would stop at our pier. get the minnows and drive to the boat ramp. I am wanting to try something different this year.
I have left mud minnows in my live well for 48 hours by mistake before without any aireation. When I returned the minnows were alive and active. So what I am wanting to do now is, catch the minnows bring the back to the house. I am thinking if I put them in an old cooler, put some type of pump and place frozen water bottles in the cooler. I was told not to put ice in the cooler because of the clorine in the water they use to make the ice. Has any tried anything like this before? Any suggestions? BTW mud minnows at my local bait store $4.80 per dozen.

[JTDLXSKIFF]

Quoted: 81bandit
"I have left mud minnows in my live well for 48 hours by mistake before without any aireation. When I returned the minnows were alive and active. So what I am wanting to do now is, catch the minnows bring the back to the house. I am thinking if I put them in an old cooler, put some type of pump and place frozen water bottles in the cooler. I was told not to put ice in the cooler because of the clorine in the water they use to make the ice. Has any tried anything like this before? Any suggestions? BTW mud minnows at my local bait store $4.80 per dozen."

Should work out well for you and is similar to what I do now. You will still need to change out the water every couple of days to remove the toxins. In a pinch and on really hot days I have put a hand full of store bought ice in my minnow bucket to cool the water down with no real signs of ill effects to the bait. I would do this every couple of hours until the bait was gone. I count myself as either being lucky or the small amount of ice didn't contain enough chlorine to cause problems. The good ventilation on top of the bait bucket probably helps as well in allowing the chlorine a path to evaporate out of the bait bucket. For aeration I use one of those small stone air pumps but then I hardly ever get more than a dozen minnows at a time. When I remember to grab it I use a water bottle containing frozen tap water. Lasts longer and really keeps the minnows docile and slow moving. In a five gallon bucket you may want to use two. This is a cheap and easy way to keep the bait cool and frozen bottles last way longer even when the bait bucket is sitting in direct sunlight the entire time. I have kept minnows alive for over a week under my carport and out of direct sunlight using this method. It could possibly have been longer but I needed bait to catch the bigger fish. fishingsmilie*

JT

[Harry]

BACON!!!!!!!!!!!! It out produces anything I have ever tried hands down!

I buy a lb of bacon and take 2 slices together and put in a "snack bag" and freeze them. Then when I need them I take the 2 slices out of the snack bag and use a zip tie int he basket to keep it in there because if you don't they will pull it out of the cage. And I have watch the big minnows literally push the little one out of the way to get in the cage!

Powerful stuff!
Powerful stuff indeed, I love BACON !!! ;D


I store dog food in a Maxwell coffee container. It has the plastic lid on it. I just keep it in the outside building beside of my traps. Does good for mud minnows. I have caught shrimp and small crabs in it also. I found out why I never catch mullet minows in my trap, only with my cast net. I always thought they were too smart to fall for the trap. I always knew they were some type of vegetarion. Mullet feed on aquatic plants and algae.So the have no intrest in the baits we use. LIGHT BULB came on once I was told this. I typical catch all my bait at one time for the entire time I am at the beach. I place them in a 5 gallon bucket that I drilled holes in. When I would go fishing I would stop at our pier. get the minnows and drive to the boat ramp. I am wanting to try something different this year.
I have left mud minnows in my live well for 48 hours by mistake before without any aireation. When I returned the minnows were alive and active. So what I am wanting to do now is, catch the minnows bring the back to the house. I am thinking if I put them in an old cooler, put some type of pump and place frozen water bottles in the cooler. I was told not to put ice in the cooler because of the clorine in the water they use to make the ice. Has any tried anything like this before? Any suggestions? BTW mud minnows at my local bait store $4.80 per dozen.

Not to sound stupid, so forgive me if I do, but what is a "mud minnow"? Are they a local thing? I've never heard of them.

[Gunnar]

Mud minnow= killifish=mummichug. Local names for the same baitfish *rod*

Gregg

[Bull54]

I use the Bacon RAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*thumbsup*

[Bull54]

There are some "sticks" you can buy that fit into the plastic drink bottles. I do not know what their actual name is but you can get them at Walmart. You freeze the stick then when you have bait you can take one of these sticks and place in the bait bucket. It cools the water but not fast enough to kill them it works great!!!!!!!!! There is no chlorine to worry about and when don't rinse off and refreeze it till next time. The sticks are about as big around as your thumb and about 6-7" long.

I change my water every other day but fortunately for me I have a boat ramp about a mile from the house so I can run down there and do that easy. I have a bucket I drilled holes in for purging finger mullet. And I put it in the water at the ramp then pour the minnow from their bucket into the bucket with holes in it. This allows them to be poured into the fresh water. I rinse the the regular bucket then refill it with fresh water. Then the bucket they are in with the holes in, I will pull it up and hold it till all of the old water has drained out of the bucket, then refill it again with the minnows still in it and repeat this until all of the old water and the gunk from the regular bucket has drained out of the holes. ( I am making sure all of the stuff that was in the minnow bucket toxins etc are drained out of the holes before I put it back in the fresh bucket.) It seems like it is a lot of work but it only takes about 5-10 minutes. My minnows will stay fresh for over a week with this method.

For those of you that may not know this: IF you take a bucket and drill holes in it(with a lid) and if you want to keep finger mullet, after you put your mullet in the bucket place it int he water, off your dock or your boat over night. By doing this the finger mullet will purge themselves so when you put them in your live well you will not have all the gross foam and stuff. Your water will remain clean and clear for them as you fish.

Hope this helps.

[81bandit]

Heres a link, more than you want to know about the mud minnows

http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/mrri/acechar/specgal/mummicho.htm

[Dave]

I break up clams or oysters found in the area and put them in the traps. Works quicker than anything else I've tried. Mud minnows are usually the target minnow here in Eastern NC. For small pinfish, toss a handful of uncooked rice near a fish cleaning station and you can use a cast net catch all the good and hardy flounder bait you can use.

[beanlep]

I usually use dry cat food. This weekend I caught around 100 or so over 3 days easily. I would have around 2 dozen in about 2 hours. I place the trap where the top is just above the water line.

[Naturallight]

I use a couple small squid. Couple hrs. in 2ft of water near a public launch and the trap is full.

[rudderdog]

dry dog food soaked in menhaden oil, fish heads, broken up grab, or the latest is do no throw away those used gulp baits if the tails are cut off are just worn down, put them in an old gulp bait bag, punch a few holes in the bag and then put the bag in the minnow trap...clean and easy to use.