Minnow Trapping Help

[fishingmaster2097]

Hi, I want to try Minnow Trapping for the first time, and then I could take some bait to go fishing with. I live in Calgary, AB. I just want to just catch some bait so I could catch some trout or Pike with. Am i Allowed? What are the rules?

Thank You So Much,
FishingMaster2097:)

[Guitarplayingfish]

Check your regulations, they will say.. Non-gamefish only (ei shiners, suckers, etc) Pretty sure you have to kill them as soon as you get them too.. I put them in a salt water solution for a while and get them nice and salty, than dry them best you can with a paper towel or something and put them in the freezer! wouldn't hurt to get a minnow identification book if your unfamiliar with species and non-game fish.

Also, Dog food and compressed balls of bread work very well.

[fishingmaster2097]

Ok, Ill try and see what kinds of species Ill catch, and what size of hook and bait would you prefer to use for these little minnows if you were to go fishing for them with a rod and reel?:) Or should i just use a minnow trap?

[EZM]

Ok, Ill try and see what kinds of species Ill catch, and what size of hook and bait would you prefer to use for these little minnows if you were to go fishing for them with a rod and reel?:) Or should i just use a minnow trap?

I have not heard of anyone catching minnows on a hook before. Not sure if they make a size smaller than 32. I doubt it would be small enough anyways or how you would even go about it. I'm sure they would'nt be much of a fight.

Go with a minnow trap. Put in some 50% powerbait/ 50% bread dough balls in there. The minnows come in as the ball starts to come apart. Remember to check the regs.

[fishingmaster2097]

ok sweet, ill try and pick me up one

[Guitarplayingfish]

I have not heard of anyone catching minnows on a hook before. Not sure if they make a size smaller than 32. I doubt it would be small enough anyways or how you would even go about it. I'm sure they would'nt be much of a fight.

Go with a minnow trap. Put in some 50% powerbait/ 50% bread dough balls in there. The minnows come in as the ball starts to come apart. Remember to check the regs.

50% powerbait sure sounds like an expensive way to go about catching minnows. Just my opinion.. I guess if you've got the cash, why not.

[WayneChristie]

forget the fancy bait,use dry catfood in a ziplock bag with a few holes punched in it, in a minnow trap, works the best of anything Ive tried, and it lasts for days, put your trap in the irrigation ditch, but you will have to wait for spring to do that when they are running. make sure you toss the perch back. some of the tiny waterbugs you will catch sting just like a bee too, found that out the hard way. :scared0018:

[Speckle55]

I have just used the bread dough balls in minnow trap but did two pulls a day and got lots .. put them in a Newspaper between the pages then rollup and freeze then when you are fishing you open to page 2 and take out your minnows then page 6 and so on.. :sHa_shakeshout:

Food for Thought
David

[Fishtracker]

Anyone have an idea of how to catch minnows through the ice? Would be great to drill an extra hole and throw a trap down, but the traps I've seen are to wide to get down the hole.

[Guitarplayingfish]

Your best bet would be to stock up before the winter.. hahaha just don't forget next year!

[Red Bullets]

I have not heard of anyone catching minnows on a hook before. Not sure if they make a size smaller than 32. I doubt it would be small enough anyways or how you would even go about it. I'm sure they would'nt be much of a fight..

There are fishing derbies in Europe/UK/ that are for the smallest fish. I have read about a derby winner with a 1/64 ounce minnow of some sort.He used a 20 ft. rod with 20 ft. of 1/4 lb. line so he must have been using size #32 or smaller.

[Dan Foss]

That last post about the 20 foot rod...... no comment

Anyways, trapping minnows, use dog or cat food. works just as well. As far as the rules read the regs. you cant just trap minnows anywhere. You are only allow to trap minnows in lakes / rivers that you are allowed to use baitfish. so in essence, no where around Calgary. cant leave a minnowtrap really for more than a day unchecked(more like 12 hours imo). so just do your research on it before you do it. I was thinking about it last spring and just decided that for me, it was unreasonable to do it.

[Red Bullets]

[QUOTE=Dan Foss;1254784]That last post about the 20 foot rod...... no comment



So why did you comment for then?

You should watch this maybe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMi-gDooIS4&feature=related

Here is another link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__yEsuN9tRI&feature=related

[Dan Foss]

[QUOTE=Dan Foss;1254784]That last post about the 20 foot rod...... no comment



So why did you comment for then?

You should watch this maybe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMi-gDooIS4&feature=related

Here is another link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__yEsuN9tRI&feature=related

Well to each his own I guess. Personally I think that is crazy. but a very interesting concept.

[Gust]

There are fishing derbies in Europe/UK/ that are for the smallest fish. I have read about a derby winner with a 1/64 ounce minnow of some sort.He used a 20 ft. rod with 20 ft. of 1/4 lb. line so he must have been using size #32 or smaller.

The 20 foot rods, what's that called again, tench fishing,, I saw a guy tring out a tench rod (if that's what it's called) at severn but the fish he got were a bit too feisty to lift to shore.

[WayneChristie]

That last post about the 20 foot rod...... no comment

Anyways, trapping minnows, use dog or cat food. works just as well. As far as the rules read the regs. you cant just trap minnows anywhere. You are only allow to trap minnows in lakes / rivers that you are allowed to use baitfish. so in essence, no where around Calgary. cant leave a minnowtrap really for more than a day unchecked(more like 12 hours imo). so just do your research on it before you do it. I was thinking about it last spring and just decided that for me, it was unreasonable to do it.

just wondering where you got the rule about leaving the trap for 12 hours? havent seen that anywhere. Im going to see if I can get a commercial baitfishing license this spring, if I can find anyone from F and W with a clue

[fluxcore]

I guessing the Red Deer river would be off limits for minnow traps?, Any spots around Red Deer?

[Geezle]

I have not heard of anyone catching minnows on a hook before. Not sure if they make a size smaller than 32. I doubt it would be small enough anyways or how you would even go about it. I'm sure they would'nt be much of a fight.

Go with a minnow trap. Put in some 50% powerbait/ 50% bread dough balls in there. The minnows come in as the ball starts to come apart. Remember to check the regs.

Last season we were catching spot tail shiners out of Wab while jigging for perch when the pike bite was slow. They were surprisingly large too, mixed right in with the perch (I've seen the same thing on the cam this season but haven't bothered to try for them) and I was getting them on a 1/32oz jig with a finesse tail, both with and without a maggot.

I'm not at all saying this would be a particularly productive way to do it, but in some cases, it can be done.

That being said, trap them :)

[FishingFrenzy]

You can take a size 22 hook with a tiny bit of powerbait and jig for lake chub
Can be productive if you find a good school.... better off with a trap but it is kind of fun catching them with a hook.

[Dan Foss]

just wondering where you got the rule about leaving the trap for 12 hours? havent seen that anywhere. Im going to see if I can get a commercial baitfishing license this spring, if I can find anyone from F and W with a clue

its not a "rule" but more of a rule of thumb. Most people leave a trap over night and check it in the morning

[fish gunner]

There are fishing derbies in Europe/UK/ that are for the smallest fish. I have read about a derby winner with a 1/64 ounce minnow of some sort.He used a 20 ft. rod with 20 ft. of 1/4 lb. line so he must have been using size #32 or smaller.

these derbys are called matches and yes 20' is not uncommon on the continent in fact bolinase rods can be much longer they are used for line control at long distance they are used with floats over 20 grams and can cast very long distance. the format of a match begins with a lottery to draw your peg. your spot on any givn canal, river, lake. there is then a set time to bait your peg say 15 min. a horn sounds to indicate lines in the water.now you have a set time to fish 4,6,8 hours in which time you catch as many pounds of fish as possible.at the end of the time your catch is weighed and your weight is posted. winner has the higest weight.poles are an other method used and they can be at length of 16 meters.bass pros fish for chump change when you find out what top matches pay, the largest pot in the uk 1 million £ and that was a few years ago.I have posted before some euro coarse fish will embarrass a trout of the same size as to fighting quality the barbel springs to mind.

[fish gunner]

I guessing the Red Deer river would be off limits for minnow traps?, Any spots around Red Deer?

bigalow res north of trochu moves with minnows

[Levy]

Collecting Bait Fish
Catching bait fish (such as suckers) by angling, bowfishing or spearfishing is allowed from all waters open to fishing with these methods, even at waters where the collection of bait fish by other means is prohibited. Anglers may collect their own bait fish by minnow trap, dip net and seine net, but these fish must not be sold. The commercial collection of bait fish requires a Commercial Bait Fishing Licence. The following regulations apply to the collection of bait fish for personal use as bait:
 The collection of bait fish is not permitted in waters having a bait ban or restriction on the use of bait fish, and in some other specified waters (see Fish Management Zone regulations pages 26 to 77).
 The possession of live bait fish is prohibited. All bait fish kept must be killed immediately. Please do not kill more than needed because bait fish are important food for many sport fish.
 Fish other than bait fish must be immediately released unharmed. Game fish such as perch must not be kept.
 Seine nets may not be larger than 3 m in length and 2 m in depth.  Minnow traps may not have dimensions greater than 60 cm in length
by 30 cm in width, depth or diameter.
 No more than 2 minnow traps may be used at one time.  Minnow traps must bear the operator’s name, address and Sportfishing
Licence number.
 Crayfish cannot be used as bait. It is unlawful to possess live crayfish.

[Levy]

http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/vexhibit/fishes/family.cfm This is a great website for identifying minnow species. I personally prefer Seine nets over traps. You can catch enough fish for the year with a couple of friends in the right lake, creek of river. I hit up the beaver and catch tons of juvenile suckers, the odd six inch lake chub, log perch, sticklebacks, Iowa Darters, Dace, Fathead Chubs, and sometimes i get full sized suckers. its quite a surprise when you draggin your net up the bank and theres big fish pelting your legs trying to get out. I have even caught a whitefish before. Here is a pic of a typical minnow haul using a trap from a few years back. I used cat food and it was in the creek for maybe ten minutes.
http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l505/levy23/IMG_1926.jpg