Minnows

[Mitch]

Three questions! What is the best thing to put in a minow trap for bait?
What is the best way to hook a minnow?
What size hook should I use?
Thank you in advance. Mitch

[crappierascal]

The best bait I've used for minnows is crumbled up saltines and bread in the trap. The smaller pieces float out around the trap to lure them to the area, then the rest is up to the minnows. If I'm just using a minnow I hook it through the upper back, trying not to hit the spine. If Im jiggin a minnow I hook it through one of the nasal openinngs and then through the lower jaw.

[Jason Piper]

I use saltines as well in my trap. I like to hook them through the eyes when I'm fishing shallow and through the lips when I'm fishing deep. I use a #4 tru turn hook.

[roybuoy]

# 4 hook and through the lips

[Tommy]

#4 through eyes or lips

[crappiequeennc]

#4 through the eyes.Welcome and happy fishing.

[CrappiePappy]

baiting a minnow trap can be done with several things. Crackers and bread are some of the cheapest ... but things like pieces of hot dog, fish entrails, biscuit dough, dog/cat food, and even pieces of white styrofoam have been known to work.

As to how to hook a minnow:
Normally I hook them thru the eye socket (behind the eyeballs, not thru them) ... but you can also hook them thru the back (between the top fin and spine), or thru the tail (again, avoiding the spine). Hooking them "thru the lips" can mean slightly different things - actually just "lip" hooked, or hooked from under the "chin" and out thru the "nostrils" area.
I've used a lot of different sizes of hooks ... from #6's to 2/0's - I settled on a #1 Eagle Claw Aberdeen light wire bronze hook, for most minnow fishing applications. I can usually pull this hook free (bend it open) with 4lb test line ... and I don't remember ever having a hooked Crappie bend it open (while reeling them in). In fact, the two 2lb Crappie I'm holding in my Avatar picture, were caught on minnows hooked thru the eye socket with #1 Eagle Claw Aberdeen light wire bronze hooks :D ......... luck2ya ...cp

[crappieseeker]

I always get a laugh when I see this question. One time a guy asked me what we could bait his minnow trap with to get the minnows to go in. i asked him where he was gonna place his trap and he said in a stream with moving water. I told him you dont have to bait it that they will swim in it anyway. He told me I was crazy. I took his trap and placed it in the stream and within no time he had more minnows than he could have used in a month.

[huntin-n-fishin]

I would put some dog food in some stockings and tie them to the inside. I have used this as chum sometimes and it ought to work as bait as well. It last longer because the pieces dont float off.

[driller]

I have used stale bread crumbled up and put in an onion sack.