Minnows hanging by the Bubbler.

Comment

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on January 2, 2012 at 8:51am

We always had to purchase minnows but when you're young you always like to see the bait cooler full,  so we added 2 or 3 dozen out of the traps to make sure dad would stay out all night. We argued that as long as we had bait we had a chance to catch a slab! Sometimes he would go along with our age old philosophy........

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on January 1, 2012 at 10:43pm

I've always understood that the best bait is that which is local, so catching your own has merit. I suppose now the one problem with that is the tine it takes to do so. Traps need to be in the water several hours, if not overnight, to get a decent haul of the little buggers. Your average day trip doesn't really leave time for that.

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on January 1, 2012 at 8:26pm

When my parents lived on Toledo Bend reservoir we would keep several of the little "keg" style traps tied to the dock with dough balls and cat food in them and just transfer them to the floating style bait buckets to go fishing....We Crappie fished heavy at night in the Winter months back in those days so we went through hundreds of minnows a week......

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on January 1, 2012 at 8:16pm

Thanks, Jeff. I call these just, "minnows." As I mentioned elsewhere, a shiner is something altogether different to me.

I have read that the common minnow, shiners and the many other small bait fishes commercially available are actually all part of the same family of fishes.

Have you ever tried to catch your own on a trap? 

Comment by Leo Nguyen on January 1, 2012 at 6:36pm

Channel cats, gill, river monsters, don't care..they all make smile from eat to ear and belly full..

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on January 1, 2012 at 3:11pm

These are the minnows I'm referring to as shiners David....Most often I get the 2 to 3 inch variety for Crappie and Perch....

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on December 30, 2011 at 4:30pm

These are shiners and they do pretty well in a bucket until the Summer time and then I add ice to the water and that helps to get them through a hot day......If you fish a Herring around these blackwater rivers in North Carolina you'll get a channel cat before anything else has a shot.......

Comment by John Sheehan on December 30, 2011 at 3:18pm

Those are shiners or Herring? ...fatheads and shiners live longer than herring under bucket conditions but Herring might be preferred by Bass and Crappie.What do you think?

 

Comment by John Sheehan on December 30, 2011 at 3:15pm

2 D cells yes

 

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on December 30, 2011 at 2:53pm

I've had good luck with mine John, had them several years and they still get good battery life....The one you got for Christmas takes "D" cell batteries?

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