Catching minnows while night fishing?

[Grumpy]

Seems to me like someone could hang a minnow trap off the side of the boat right under a light and catch some of the zillions of minnows that come around the light. Anyone tried that?

[CrappiePappy]

Seems to me like someone could hang a minnow trap off the side of the boat right under a light and catch some of the zillions of minnows that come around the light. Anyone tried that?

... IF the fish that are swimming around in the light .... ARE "minnows" !! IF they are Shad or Silversides, they'll probably just avoid the trap and swim under or by it.
Chances are ... if you've got a big mass of circling fish under your lights, they're Shad. If there are just a scattering of pencil shaped fish, that stay mostly on or near the surface, they're Silversides. "Minnows" usually seem to try and hide in the shadows/shade ... not really sure whether they'd even be attracted to the light

... cp

[thudpucker]

Grumpy's got a good thought though.

At night, especially on a bright moonlit night when you see a lot, the little fish are feeding on the surface. Often you see a whole herd of them being chased to the surface in such a fright they skipperdedoo right up out of the water for several feet in all directions.
What's that? Minnows?

And if its Shad or something else, don't the Crappie eat them too?

What method would y'all suggest for catching minnows out on the lake?

[CrappiePappy]

Grumpy's got a good thought though.

At night, especially on a bright moonlit night when you see a lot, the little fish are feeding on the surface. Often you see a whole herd of them being chased to the surface in such a fright they skipperdedoo right up out of the water for several feet in all directions.
What's that? Minnows?

And if its Shad or something else, don't the Crappie eat them too?

What method would y'all suggest for catching minnows out on the lake?

Those skittering fish are most likely Silversides. Shad don't usually scatter, unless something smacks right into the middle of them.

Best way I know how ... to catch Shad ... is to use a cast net.
Best way I know how ... to catch Silversides ... is to use a white light over the side of the boat - ease along the bank - and dip them as they follow the light - using a long handled dip net (preferably wire screen/mesh, cone shaped).

I think where the misunderstanding is occurring ... is in the interpretation of the word "minnow". A Shad is sometimes called a Shad minnow, a Silverside is sometimes called a Silverside minnow ... and a Fathead/Creek Chub/Shiner/etc is usually simply called a "minnow". For the sake of clarification, I only refer to "minnows" when I'm talking about Fatheads, Bluntnose, & Chubs. When I'm talking about Shiners, Shad, Silversides, or any of the other "baitfish" species ... I usually call them by their specific name.

I'm referring to Brook Silversides, when I say "Silversides" ... as they are the ones I'm most familiar with, and are most common in my home waters. That would be this little guy :



"Brook Silverside is a very slender, elongate and translucent fish. The head is flattened with a beak-like snout and a lower jaw that slightly projects toward the front. Upper and lower jaws have minute, needle like teeth. The long, sickle-shaped anal fin has one spine and 20 to 26 rays. Two dorsal fins are located on the posterior half of the back. The first dorsal has 4 spines, and the second has one spine and 5 rays. Scales are small and cycloid with 75 to 84 scales along the lateral line. General body color is pale green. The dorsal scales are outlined with black specks, the sides are silvery with a bright silver horizontal stripe, and the belly is silvery white. The fins are plain, except for a spinous dorsal fin and pigmentation near the tip. Adults usually average 2 to 4 inches in length.

Brook silversides seldom venture below the upper three feet of water, and most of their time is spent within inches of the surface. The up-turned mouth and flattened head are adapted to a surface-dwelling life. Young fish forage in open water on cladocera, copepods and other small crustaceans. As they become older, the fish move toward shore and feed on a diet of both aquatic and terrestrial insects. The fish is very active in the daylight and moonlit nights but lies motionless near the surface on dark nights."

... cp

[thudpucker]

Thanks for that heads-up.
What we buy here must be your fat-heads!
I dont know what I'm seeing out there at night. I'll take a net of some kind out with me and see if I can catch some.
I'm gonna assume this much about Fat-heads; if the Crappie are down at 20' or so, then the Fat-heads are probably down there as part of the reason the Crappie are there. They both like the same pressure and temperature!

That makes for a pretty long handled Minnow net!

[i-catch-cartags]

I,ve got one of those minnow traps & yes you can catch some of those thread fin shad in it just take some bread or dog food to put inside. Also like pappy said for the larger shad the best way i,ve found is to use a casting net.

[thudpucker]

I have a great big Pickle jar. It was used to catch minnows in a Creek in Louisiana.
I guess I could bait it, and lower it to where I thought the Crappie were......?