We made some a few years back out of 1/2 inch wire mesh . I don't have any plans for it on paper but it was shaped like and about the size of a live trap for coons .12X12X30 inches So we first made the rectangle shape box with the wire . Then put throats in the ends like hoop net ends but they were V shaped with a slat cut in the V . Last we put a bait box right in the center and used a small piece of elastic for the lid of the bait box . That part resembled a crab trap bait box . The wire was that galvanized rabbit cage wire . I interlaced all the wire to each other so it was time consuming . The lil hog rings is what i should of used to piece it together . If you want it to float , use 3/4 inch pvc pipe with 4 90s and cut to length and width of your trap and tie wrap to the top of the cage . If the cage floats people will see it and it may get stolen . We will tie a string to it and toss it in the small ponds in the marsh where you can see the cocahoes swimming around .That was it . They were quite simple to make ...
Hope this will help give you some ideas .

Academy has some rubber coated wire perch traps . That is where I got my ideas for the throats of the trap . And also the door on the side to get the minnows out . All I did was change the shape of the cage . Made it longer and a lil taller .
Hope this helps ..

I started catching my own when marinas started charging the same price for minnows as live shrimp (which is ridiculous). You don't need a large trap, when you find them it will fill up fast. Just a basic $6 trap from a local store. Instead of blindly putting out traps (which was hit and miss), I'll drive along the road and 'sight fish' for them. Typical spots are just like 'fishing'....shallow water, near a fallen tree, at the mouth of a creek, or a dead end area.

Once you see them, just put the trap out near them. The strange thing is sometimes gradual moves are needed to coax their interest. But once the school notices, it fills up with 50-100 quickly.

Typical bait is chicken or old fish fillets.

Just like 'fishing', I have my hot spots along Hopedale HWY......

Those things are serious meat eaters ! We used bread for a long time , and one day we didn't have bread so we put cracked crab instead and loaded up . From then on cracked crab was the ticket .

Like dr spot says , sight fish . We will see a lot of movement in the lil shallow ponds and toss the trap maybe 10 or 15 ft to the middle of the pond and just tie the string off to the grass . When you come back just untie the string and drag the trap back across the grass . Within 20 30 minutes you'll have 50 to 100 minnows . Plenty without having to pay the high price at the bait shop !

great ideas, never thought of chicken????

i always assumed it was cat food or dog food mush in the cans.

i will definately make some like you had made choupic-man and thanks for the tip about not wanting it floating. i just wasnt sure what would be the right size to make it, i was wondering about a 24x24x12 high box but yours sounds much better and easy to handle. how was it rigged to get the minnows out?


since i will be at camp and already in the boat out in the marsh, where would be the good spots tolook to try? the side of the road they arent scattered by fish so they are easier to find there but what about in open water areas?

i never fished for bait before, well not minnows, so do i want to stay on the bank or drop it anywhere? is deep water ok like near drop offs?

how deep is too deep and how shallow is too shallow?

Never caught them in open water . Always around grass and like dr spot said around the small run outs . If you ride along side the grass and stand up in your boat and look out into the lil ponds you will see the pockets . Some have minnows some not . But you will see the minnows wakes if they're piled up in that one spot . Just about anywhere there is grass and water there will be Cocahoes .

I've caught them with the trap sticking up out the water . Never fished them deep , they mainly stay shallow . I've never put it out where you couldn't see the trap because it was too deep . If your at the camp you can leave them over night and pick them up the next morning . And if your keeping them in a holding box at your camp , you may want to float that one to keep the crabs off of them by the bottom .

ok so back up in the little cuts and ditches preferably where you see some swimming around.

i was reading on the web about killifish which is supposed to be the same thing as cocahoes and comments there said you cant catch them after dark because they stop moving and dont feed so i guess putting them out overnight wouldnt do much

@ choupic-man
how do you get the minnows out of the trap after you catch them?

Just cut you a hole towards the end near the corner .. But make sure the door is bigger than the hole you cut . It just works better and it's more escape proof . Use tie wraps for the hinges and a small bungee strap for the latch .

ok, thanks