Creek Chubs

Anyone have any experience catching or trapping there own creek chubs? Looking to try it out since they are so expensive if you can even find them.

Small bobber small hook and a chunk of crawler.I catch the heck out of them in any small stream I try in really.

A cat guy from up here just posted this the other day on YouTube.

They are pretty aggressive once its warm. Once you find them, it doesn’t take much to catch them. I’ve caught them on inline spinners one after the other.

For some reason, I was fascinated by fly fishing when I was a kid. Since I had no trout to fish when growing up, creek chubs were the only fish that I could catch on the dry fly. They rise pretty readily to a small hopper or Royal Wulff. Even at the age of 12 with a big, slow fiberglass fly rod, I could catch them.

In my mind, I was wading the famous trout streams of the East…

Grouse

I think my biggest issue will be being able to find a creek where they will be holding up. What size creeks and deep holes are you guys talking about? By the way I am in the Fargo area.

I don’t think you necessarily have to look for creeks. I’m over in grand forks and you can trap them in big ditches up here.

Just need to get out and look. If you dont find them in one spot go look at others. If they are not there go look some more. Took me about three days looking the other summer to locate some good spots.

So how does this work with all the invasive rules? As far as know you can’t trap or catch anything out of the creeks unless you want to send minnows in for testing Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Oh the good old days when a kid could go trap and catch minnows all day with out any thought of breaking the law.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

For some reason, I was fascinated by fly fishing when I was a kid. Since I had no trout to fish when growing up, creek chubs were the only fish that I could catch on the dry fly. They rise pretty readily to a small hopper or Royal Wulff. Even at the age of 12 with a big, slow fiberglass fly rod, I could catch them.

In my mind, I was wading the famous trout streams of the East…

Grouse

Ha! Grouse, that’s great-I did the same thing as a kid! Grew up reading too many 40′ and 50’s era Field & Stream, Sports Afield magazines…had a whole trunk full.

I have been scouting on Google Earth for awhile now and chose a couple spots I am going to try out. I have been looking for larger ditches that flow off the rivers or tribs off the river. Hopefully I can find a couple spots! As far as invasive species and trapping the chubs I am not sure on that I guess. May have to do some digging before I head out.

Are you not good to go as long as you bring water to put them in. Doesnt seem any different than taking minnows out of the boat and putting them in fresh water.

In Wisconsin you can’t trap minnows and leave the body of water they were caught out of, with them alive.

After trapping them I just planned on putting them in my cooler with an aerator. Seems like there wouldn’t be any issue with that. I’m not exchanging of any water.

I know a place that sells them as “river bait” as in wild caught from the river. Great pike bait.

I know for sure in the state of MN that you can NOT trap or seine a spot tail shiner from a river and transport it any where with out the water being tested. Cost to test the sample minnows and water is about $700 I guess.

You can even wash the things in soap if you want and then place them in cooler full of tap water and it doesn’t matter. It’s illegal. Plain and simple if you don’t trap the minnow in the same water you plan to fish then it’s a no go.

Now I’m not sure about creek chubs. Maybe they have their own set of rules?

This rule must not be enforced much because I know quite a few guys who seine there own shiners in the spring of the year. Also know a couple guys who seine and trap there own creek chubs. Haven’t heard of any guys being caught or fined. Do bait store suppliers have to get some type of testing done then, or do they have some special permit?

Well I’ve heard of plenty of guys getting busted or at least sternly warned! Chance it if you want but it’s like driving around with a bucket of zebra mussels in your boat. I think the DNR is going to get cranky at you! Good luck.

Joe Scegura wrote:

Well I’ve heard of plenty of guys getting busted or at least sternly warned! Chance it if you want but it’s like driving around with a bucket of zebra mussels in your boat. I think the DNR is going to get cranky at you! Good luck.

MN rules here:

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/fishing/fishing2016.pdf#view=fit&pagemode=bookmarks

Page 22. The only restrictions are the number taken, and if they are from waters designated as infested.

Well I did some calling around and it sounds like the main problem is with spot tail shiners. They have their own set of regs I guess. Each bait dealer needs to get the minnows and water tested prior to trapping them. It sounds like you are good to go with creek chubs in noninfested waters. Looks like I will be using creek chubs this summer after all! Happy fishing boys!

Thanks for all the clarification! I set out my first trap last night so going to check it out after work today!

What kind of trap did you use? I heard chubs hate wire mesh traps? Guys that catch a lot of chubs told me to use glass traps. They call em pickle jars. They are about the size of a gallon pickle jar.

I’ve only caught chubs with a hook so I have no idea how to trap em. Let us know how you do.

I just used a standard galvanized mesh minnow trap. I haven’t heard of any type of glass traps. Sounds like something I could break pretty easily haha

We used to use metal mesh. Throw a couple slices of bread or a bagel in for bait. In a good spot within 10-15 minutes you should have some in the trap.

Checked out my first trap in a drainage ditch off the river and only came up with fatheads. Do you move onto a whole different area or just try a different part of the creek?

Joe Scegura wrote:

What kind of trap did you use? I heard chubs hate wire mesh traps? Guys that catch a lot of chubs told me to use glass traps. They call em pickle jars. They are about the size of a gallon pickle jar.

I’ve only caught chubs with a hook so I have no idea how to trap em. Let us know how you do.

LOL The guys who told you wire mesh traps don’t work are liars or have no clue of reality. Glass minnow traps are a joke….and have zero need/use to trap any kind of minnow in this region.

Like I said I’ve never trapped creek chubs. I know shiners love wire mesh traps but had no idea about chubs. I did however hear from another bait dealer that it’s easier to catch chubs on a hook and line than it is to catch em in a trap.

Steve what type of trap do catch your piles of creak chubs in then?

Wire mesh will catch all you want and in short order, if they are in the creek. Bait with bread or a bagel.

Joe Scegura wrote:

Like I said I’ve never trapped creek chubs. I know shiners love wire mesh traps but had no idea about chubs. I did however hear from another bait dealer that it’s easier to catch chubs on a hook and line than it is to catch em in a trap.

Steve what type of trap do catch your piles of creak chubs in then?

chubs respond well to wire mesh traps. Bait heavy with bread as they will clean a trap out quickly. You can fill a trap in 20 minutes if there are a lot of minnows in an area.

Joe Scegura wrote:

Like I said I’ve never trapped creek chubs. I know shiners love wire mesh traps but had no idea about chubs. I did however hear from another bait dealer that it’s easier to catch chubs on a hook and line than it is to catch em in a trap.

Steve what type of trap do catch your piles of creak chubs in then?

I use what I would call a box trap—maybe 15″ or more high and 2-3 ft. square or rectangular. The vertical funnels being on either 2 or all 4 sides. Easy to build with a 2/2 treated frame etc. or buy already done.

Examples…. http://brainerd.craigslist.org/sgd/5614320037.html