bait bait bait

[Braun]

those of you who trap your own minnows, is there certain kinds that you notice seem to produce better? do you salt them? Any certain tricks you use in the freezing process to preserve them better?

[steelhead]

Troutperch


Walleye candy.

[Braun]

lol. also illegal

[Speckle55]

Put in News paper in rows and freeze then un roll as needed.. David

[Braun]

Put in News paper in rows and freeze then un roll as needed.. David

individually freezing them isnt a terrible idea. I would eventually put them in a tub. is there anything more annoying than showing up to the lake and still having your bait frozen into a disk shape......:angry3:

[chubbdarter]

minnow secrets

[Braun]

i know you have some chubb....

[steelhead]

Trout-perch is the name of a baitfish. Look it up. They are listed in the regs.


And yes, they are totally legal.



STEELHEAD

[tacklerunner]

Trout-perch is the name of a baitfish. Look it up. They are listed in the regs.


And yes, they are totally legal.



STEELHEAD

That's correct. Only illegal in bodies of water where baitfish are NOT permitted.

[DaveFish]

What type of minnow traps dya guys use? Thinking of upgrading from my franken 2l pop bottle setup.

[steelhead]

Tacklerunner added


"That's correct. Only illegal in bodies of water where baitfish are NOT permitted."




An excellent point to add. Thank you.


Because of that rule i can imagine it would be unlawfull to capture and retain baitfish from these lakes also.



But really, Trout-perch are an excellent bait to use. If ya can find em. He he. Walleyes dont sniff em, bump em or tail swat them, they just slam them down without a second thought.


STEELHEAD


I never had luck with minnow traps.

[Braun]

Hmmm. I thought it was unlawful to trap "gamefish" minnows. at first glance it would seem common sense that your not allowed to but I guess that would really need to be defined in the regs, i'll post what I find.....

[commieboy]

Hmmm. I thought it was unlawful to trap "gamefish" minnows. It first instances it would seem common sense thatyour not allowed to but I guys that would really need to be defined in the regs, i'll post what I find.....

The Trout-Perch is NOT a gamefish.
http://www.mywildalberta.com/Fishing/GameFish.aspx
http://www.fisheries.org/units/AFSmontana/SSCpages/Trout-perch.htm

[Braun]

I get ya. sorry. still early in the morning for me.....

[Gust]

put your minnows in a sunny window and sun-dry them out (good if you want to split with your GF), then freeze them. When you get to your fishing spot, hook'em on and they will slowly rehydrate. A friend of the family puts WD-40 on them first but I wouldn't try that myself as it's a Major pollutant. When the bait rehydrates it releases fish oil in the process and they last longer on the hook.

Ta-Dahhh

[chubbdarter]

i know you have some chubb....

when i used to trap my own bait...i used to mix a 1/4 cup of sea salt in 5 gallons of water. I would let the minnows sit in this weak solution for 12 hours. The solution stopped the belly browning of the minnows and the fermenting of their innards which caused gas, i hate floaters.

The last few years ive been lucky and have ordered minnows by the case to last me all season.
I get them obviously frozen from the supplier. I then wrap every tub separately in plastic wrap and heavy paper.
Now the crazy part
every 2 months i bring them out and let them thaw out covered in water. once they are thawed out and have resaturated the solution with all the effects of being frozen gone, i wash them off good. I wash them till they smell like fresh killed minnows. Drain all the water and repack them again for the freezer. Late in the winter i get a few in every tub that floats or has a brown belly.....my dog thinks they are doggy treats
This i know seems extreme but remember my stock doesnt turn over like a tackle shop bait freezer. In order to get the quality i want i must mass order at first sorting. Doing this i dont get freezer burn, funky smelling minnows(which draws in burbs), no scale loss and a non mushy minnow.

[Braun]

wow. thats awesome. my girlfriend bathes our lizard once a week. i am not sure what she would think of my bathing and cleaning my minnows once a month...... Awesome advise though. I will definitely be doing some version of what you used to do with your ones you caught. do you ever pack your minnow salted like the ones you find in the store? i think they just pack sea salt in the tubs just before freezing them.

[chubbdarter]

wow. thats awesome. my girlfriend bathes our lizard once a week. i am not sure what she would think of my bathing and cleaning my minnows once a month...... Awesome advise though. I will definitely be doing some version of what you used to do with your ones you caught. do you ever pack your minnow salted like the ones you find in the store? i think they just pack sea salt in the tubs just before freezing them.

i experimented and more salt...made them stiff and un-natural....also the salt made the scales shrink and fall off the minute they hit the water

[Braun]

good to know. thanks chubb. too bad the only place around calgary where your allowed to catch bait is chesterslough. looks like ill be setting up a trap on the days I take my boat out at travers and other walleye lake. Unless I am missing a water body somewhere?

[jacenbeers]

Instead of catching your own minnows you could spend 4 dollars at Hong Kong International Supermarket and have 50 capelins that can be cut into small pieces and they work super well.

[Braun]

i do that with my smelts. but walleye in the lakes are a little more finnicky i think

[chubbdarter]

this officially turned into a pcr thread now

[Braun]

lol. ya i dont think so. I dont need bait help for PCR. Pack a tuna sandwhich for lunch, spit on a hook and stick it down there and your likely to get a bite

[npauls]

Baitless jig heads or a colored single hook will catch eyes at PCR. I know I have done it haha.

And ya if you are hunting for walleye in real reservoirs then you will be wanting to have good minnows, worms, and leeches. Chunks of cut up smelts and stuff just won't do the trick very often.