Bait Traps

[Gary Barton]

Hi all amvery much a virgin at this as this is my first. Am seeking some ideas on making a bait trap have surfed around

and got many ideas. One idea people talk of is using a plastic juice bottle of the 2lt variety was wanting to know if a

milk bottle with its opaque sides would also work. Another idea thrown around was to use a fluro tube all cleaned out

not real keen on carrying a glass tube around with me so was going to use the clear plastic hose in 32mm diameter as, any

ideas if this would work effectively.

[Gribble]

Ive had limited success with the 2 or 3lt juice bottle type trap. The only way i could make it work was lay it on its side and fill about in inch of sand on the bottom, leave the open side up and place it in about a foot of water, this should give you a few inches above the top of the bottle. I found lightly toasted bread gets the baitfish going a little harder than just fresh baked bread. Wet it and paste it around the underneath of the hole in the bottle. Tie some dark colored rope around the neck of the bottle and stand back on the bank about a meter or so. Sparingly throw some bread upcurrent of the trap to attract the bait fishies, once they start gathering around you basically need to land the bits of bread on top of the trap, eventually you will see one mullet go into the bottle and then 10 or so of his mates will follow behind, this is where i reef back on the rope and prey that there at least 5 or so left in there. Then its back to step one.

Ive found this process very hit and miss because getting the mullet around the trap is easy, getting them into it is the trick. It took me about 2 hours and whole toasted loaf to get about 10 snack siced mullet. But its that old patience and persistence thing that will do it for you.

Of course if your in a state that allows the use of a casting net then its easy. If your in nsw then its illegal, im not sure why though because you just collect what you want and throw the rest back. Maybe someone abused it way back when, or the state is still run by greenies that live in the inner west, anyway thats a whole other argument.

Best of luck!

PS avoid those square prism bait nets you get from ******, they just plain suck.

[Gary Barton]

Thanks for the feedback, will get out there and give it a shot and try my luck.

[nathan1971]

ive found the round traps from tackle shops best for me.they have conical entries each end and each endcaps come off for pulling out the fish that went in.they have a tie point on top for string too.sometimes having cork handy for floating them but mostly they float on their own.put bread bits sticking out the entry holes to coax them to this part of the trap.and as said the key is once one is in leave it in they cant get out,others go in.like sheep.

[aries44]

Hi all amvery much a virgin at this as this is my first. Am seeking some ideas on making a bait trap have surfed around

and got many ideas. One idea people talk of is using a plastic juice bottle of the 2lt variety was wanting to know if a

milk bottle with its opaque sides would also work. Another idea thrown around was to use a fluro tube all cleaned out

not real keen on carrying a glass tube around with me so was going to use the clear plastic hose in 32mm diameter as, any

ideas if this would work effectively.

Get yourself one of the clear, collapsable plastic bait traps from a tackle shop - they are awesome for poddy mullet. I usualy get 20-30 poddy mullet in 15 minutes. Put some large pieces of crushed stale bread in and a 1/4 -1/2 pound lead sinker in it to keep it on the bottom. You only need to put it in shallow water - knee deep or less would be enough. You'll quickly get more bait than you'll need.

Aries 44

[Berleyguts]

I have more success with a 3 litre clear jucie bottle but that could be because when I used them, I was in a better location. In a little inlet off the Swansea Channel on a rsining tide early in the morning, I set the trap and walked off to flick a few lures - came back in 10 or 15 mins and it was full of poddies. One of those poddies snared me a 87cm flathead!

Get clear juice bottles with the little fold up handle on the lid, I'll tell you why shortly.

• Clean the labels off - try goo remover, eucalyptus oil, hot soapy water etc.
• Lay the bottle on its side and on the the (now) top side, make a cross-cut about 3 x 3 inches square (or whatever that is in the metric equivalent).
• Fold the traingular bits made by the cross-cut down into the bottle.
• Tie a snapper lead to the handle to weigh it down. Better yet, glue a small sheet of lead to the bottom side of the bottle (when its laying flat, that is).
• Now, why I like the handle - you can secure the bottle in the sand with a tent peg through the handle. This helps prevent it floating away in teh current if the lead is not sufficient.

Good luck,

Baz

[trouthunter]

I also use the same method as Burleyguts, the folded triangle prevent the mullet escaping. I cut out lots of small holes around the container

and few at the bottom as well. the reason is that I use 30lb fishing lines to tie the trap and throw from the shore and I don't have to step into the water. With added weight and holes for water to enter, the trap will set itself.

What I found best is that the water level above the trap opening only 3 to 6 inches is the best. Once I got more than 100 mullets in a 2 litre container packed, (size about 10 to 12 cm), I can't believe it myself.

[ieand]

One of those plastic goldfish bowls

Any one know where to get these from now? None of the pet / aquarium shops I have tried can get stock any more.