Minnow trap?

So what is a good minnow trap. I see frabil make some pretty inexpensive ones. Those good enough to just place in the lake or creek to see what there?

I have two of those round ones that split open in the middle. They work great in minnow infested creeks but not at all in the lake off my dock. Weird.

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11544830&cp=4406646.4413993.4414792.4414811

Mike

We have pretty good luck using the cheap round wire frame traps up in the BWCA to keep the group in bait and we never seem to run short. We get a lot of nice shiners and chubs along with the occasional rockbass or small walleye that found a way to squeeze into the trap to feast on the minnows.

Bread works OK as bait. Left over pancakes from breakfast work even better.

Frabill Black Minnow Trap

Any idea where to get replacement close pins for those? I lost one. I just emailed Frabill as well.

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Any idea where to get replacement close pins for those? I lost one. I just emailed Frabill as well.

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We tie our retrieval line so that the knot keeps the two halves closed and we ditched the pins as they seemed unnecessary. Works good for us. Your mileage may vary.

I’ve got one of the smaller Frabill ones that I’ve used just like James, if I’m trying to catch a few minnows on a camping trip. It also works great for trapping crawfish if you put in a cut sucker minnow.

If you’re looking for a much better trap there is a place up by St. Cloud that has some really nice ones. I have one of their cylindar traps that we use up at our cabin to catch shiners for the Spring minnow bite – http://ktraps.com/cylinder-minnow-traps.html

I’ll be up at Mille Lacs for the AIM tournament and sthe shiners are long gone from our creek so you’re up and want to stop over you can borrow it

One more thought. If you’re using it anywhere with current the bread will disintegrate and wash away pretty quickly so we also add in some dry dog food which stays in the trap for several days.

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I’ve got one of the smaller Frabill ones that I’ve used just like James, if I’m trying to catch a few minnows on a camping trip. It also works great for trapping crawfish if you put in a cut sucker minnow.

If you’re looking for a much better trap there is a place up by St. Cloud that has some really nice ones. I have one of their cylindar traps that we use up at our cabin to catch shiners for the Spring minnow bite – http://ktraps.com/cylinder-minnow-traps.html

I’ll be up at Mille Lacs for the AIM tournament and sthe shiners are long gone from our creek so you’re up and want to stop over you can borrow it

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Those are sweet.

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One more thought. If you’re using it anywhere with current the bread will disintegrate and wash away pretty quickly so we also add in some dry dog food which stays in the trap for several days.

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Will touches on a good point regarding bait. If you plan to use your minnows right after trapping them, as is our case up in the BWCA, using bread works fine in the absence of current. If you plan to stock pile minnows and try to keep them around for a few days don’t use bread. The minnows gorge on it and “bloat” from eating the bread which kills them in short order. You can actually see their bellies stuffed full of bread crumbs through their skin and the stomach becomes distended. 8 hours later you have floaters. Of course this isn’t an issue for us because we basically trap them and use them within a couple hours but I thought I’d point it out for someone that might want them to stick around for awhile.

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So what is a good minnow trap. I see frabil make some pretty inexpensive ones. Those good enough to just place in the lake or creek to see what there?

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Mike – I use the cylindrical Frabill minnow traps for harvesting bullheads and they work good for minnows and bullies. A couple of tips about using the traps:

#1. I zip tie my traps on one side so that the halves of the trap don’t come apart and you lose one side. Those Close Snaps that come with the trap have a habit of opening up and you can lose half the trap if the two side are not connected somehow. Zip ties are easy and the trap still opens easy to empty bait but you won’t lose half your trap if it opens accidentaly.

#2. The minnow trap regs are on page 76 of the 2014 MN Fishing Regulations. One thing to note: The opening of the trap may not exceed 1 1/2 inches. The opening of the new Frabill traps are 1 inch which work fine for minnows but enlarging it to 1 1/2 inches will get you some nice bullheads.

#3. Traps must have a waterproof tag bearing the name and address of the owner. I just buy these laminated luggage tags from Office Max and laminate my printed name and address and zip tie the luggage tag to the trap. Works good and have lasted for quite a while.

#4. I use dry dog food or chicken livers as bait and it works good for bullheads. Like James said – bread works good for minnows too. I buy these knee high ladies nylon socks at Walmart and they work good for holding bait. They come in these little plastic egg type container and cost 33 cents each for two nylon socks. The are nice and long so you just put your bait in and tie a knot in the sock. They leach out the bait scent as they sit in the trap. Attracts minnows and bullheads just fine. When you check out at Walmart tell the checkout lady how much you love the nylon socks.

#5. I don’t tie my traps off on the shore. They are a little too tempting for someone to pull in who was walking by and saw the string or rope. I attach a piece of a pool noodle as a float on a short piece of rope. I wade out and check my traps. I’ve never lost a trap that way and haven’t seen any evidence of anybody fooling with my traps. Only takes a few minutes each day to check my traps.

Awesome information Steve… I love the pantyhose tip to keep bait from washing away!

Great info guys.

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Any idea where to get replacement close pins for those? I lost one. I just emailed Frabill as well.

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We tie our retrieval line so that the knot keeps the two halves closed and we ditched the pins as they seemed unnecessary. Works good for us. Your mileage may vary.

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Sounds like a good idea James as after emailing Frabil and getting a response from Plano (must be the parent company now) they wont have any until Aug for their most common trap around here. As a result I wont be buying anything with the name frabill or plano on it for a long time.

Mike,
I still fish with the old glass minnow traps I have 7 of them. They seem to outfish the metal or plastic traps, I have used all 3 and will take the glass traps over anything else. I use ground up cracker crumbs for shinner minnows.
I still have an old address and phone number for glass minnow traps. I think they are still in business.
Stream & Lake Tackle Inc.
3305 Remembrace Rd. N.W.
Grand Rapids MI 49599

Phone #616-791-2311
Fax 616-791-9752
Mike, I know you can still buy them online, but look for the traps with plastic lids, reason being sometimes sand and mud makes opening traps with metal lids kinda tough.

http://www.minnowtraps.com/glasslist.html

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Mike,
I still fish with the old glass minnow traps I have 7 of them. They seem to outfish the metal or plastic traps, I have used all 3 and will take the glass traps over anything else. I use ground up cracker crumbs for shinner minnows.
I still have an old address and phone number for glass minnow traps. I think they are still in business.
Stream & Lake Tackle Inc.
3305 Remembrace Rd. N.W.
Grand Rapids MI 49599

Phone #616-791-2311
Fax 616-791-9752
Mike, I know you can still buy them online, but look for the traps with plastic lids, reason being sometimes sand and mud makes opening traps with metal lids kinda tough.

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Mike,
I tried calling the number listed above their new number is 616-457-5867 When I called I was quoted new traps are $39.00 plus $12.00 shippng

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I buy these knee high ladies nylon socks at Walmart and they work good for holding bait. They come in these little plastic egg type container and cost 33 cents each for two nylon socks. The are nice and long so you just put your bait in and tie a knot in the sock. They leach out the bait scent as they sit in the trap. Attracts minnows and bullheads just fine. When you check out at Walmart tell the checkout lady how much you love the nylon socks.

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Another option that works well for holding minnow trap bait is milk filters. You can buy a couple thousand filter tubes for a few bucks at Fleet Farm. I think the white color of the filter helps attract minnows too.

I picked up two frabil minnow traps tonight for 8.97 a piece.

Canned corn works great for bait too. Lasts longer then bread.

Great info guys and got my traps set. Getting a few minnows so far. Going to keep moving them around and trying different locations to up the catch.

I have been using the Gee’s G-40 galvanized for years. I tried the Chinese black vinyl junk and they always fell apart. You pay a little more for the Gee’s but the quality is unmatched. They fit tight and last a lot longer. I live close to the factory and I can buy the seconds there cheap. Plus all of the accessories They have this clip (it’s called an E-Z open) that you put on once and you never have to take the trap apart to bait or release your catch. check out this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKVCvHsXEtw.

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This design is what we have used for many years.

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Yep. The cheap ones I picked up last year are starting to rust on spots and sure do not close as nice as those.

Sorry I didn’t see this thread before you decided to buy those. You have about 2 months before the rust eats ’em up. I did some research on this. It seems that all of the Chinese imports use what’s called expanded metal. A sheet of tin that is pierced or slitted and then stretched to open up holes (or diamond shapes). Then they weld it around the hoops along with the tabs and hinges. The whole thing is dipped in a vinyl bath. When finished you have what looks to be a somewhat durable and economical purchase. When the trap goes in the water the pinholes in the vinyl allow water in and around the unseen metal. You take the trap out and hang it to dry… but instead the water is now trapped inside the vinyl and begins the process of rusting the already stressed metals(from stretching and welding). Do yourself a favor and buy the better traps. MADE IN THE U.S.A. Look for the mesh that has squares not diamonds. If you like black for less visibility in the water, paint it. I have been using the Gee’s G-40 galvanized (MADE IN THE U.S.A.)for years and never had any issues. The quality is ten times better and the halves fit together tighter than any Chinese galvanized or black vinyl. If you have any issues there is a number to talk to a real person that works there. Whew…sorry so long but that’s what I found out.
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