minnow catching and jig design

D

DB731

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Feb 10, 2013
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I like to do things myself, so I am curious.

What method do you use for catching live minnows? I am specifically debating DIY minnow trap vs a line with several small hooks - in terms of time efficiency.

Also, for jigs, is it critical for the weight to be close to the hook? If the weight is fixed let's say 2 inches up the line from the hook, does that adversely affect the action?

Thanks
 
Wire minnow trap with bait. Available at Wally World for cheap. If you use a line with hooks you may catch larger fish since your minnows will be in the water and struggling.
 
Minnow traps cost less than $10 and are professionally made. I bait my minnow trap with scrap meat, bacon grease (in a vegetable can that has been frozen in the freezer), and chicken bones.
I catch crawdads in my trap also, great catfish bait.
 
..in the case of a minnow trap, is there any need for additional bait buckets, aerators, etc? I would think one could keep the minnows in the submerged trap (catching new ones in the process) with periodic removal to select another volunteer?
 
Put em in a flow troll. Repeated trap movement may damage the bait.
 
As a teenager I made many traps using a half gallon Mason jar and a piece of window screen. I have used the commercial wire traps and they are very effective. A trap can take hours to work. When I used them regularly I would normally set one then return the next morning. A seine and two people in a small creek can do very well in a small amount of time if you work as a team. To me a jig is a hook with the weight attached to it. If you're referring to a plain hook with a sinker on the line it should be attached far enough away from the hook to allow the minnow to swim freely.
 
A jig is weight attached to the hook. If you want to add weight away from the hook , do it.
 
fishiker said:
If you're referring to a plain hook with a sinker on the line it should be attached far enough away from the hook to allow the minnow to swim freely.
Click to expand...

As far as jigging plastics, does it matter much how far the weight is from the plastic?
 
Not a jig, but I fish a fly I tie on a #14 hook that is basically a mosquito larva black thread bulge at the hook eye taper down to a thin tail half way around the hook bend. In small creeks chubs and small gills hammer it fished on a tenkara fly rod .
Roy
 
The wire cage minnow traps work very well.Around here the commercial guys put a few white packing peanuts in the traps to help attract them.Hot dogs are great to bait the traps with,no mess.
 
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