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Do you guys have any experience with trapping or netting fish in any way? Examples= seine, fish trap, trawl, etc. If so what did you do and how did you do it? Was it succesful? Any tips tricks?
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When I was in high school, I got a commercial fishing license and trapped channel catfish. I made my traps out of 1x1.5 inch gauge wire. They were 2.5x5 foot cylinders with a cone shape throat in one end. The entrance hole would not allow a fish larger than about 5 pounds to enter so I only caught great eating fish. Each trap had a 4x18 inch bait box made out of 1/4 inch mesh wire. I used congealed cow blood for bait and dropped the traps in deep holes in fast current with the throat facing downstream. I had about 20 traps and was very successful. I caught about 300-500 fish per night. They were delicious and my family ate a lot of them but most were sold out of the local butcher shop where I got my bait. -
I trap Maine lobster in a wire trap for a living, but I have also tub trawled for halibut, seined for ground fish and Maine shrimp, dragged for scallops and sea eurchines. Caught blue-fin tuna commercially, trapped shrimp a couple of times, and that's about it. The only fish I've ever trapped other than minnows in fresh water for ice fishing were bycatch in the lobster traps.Comment
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Never mind I lied, I have trapped both suckers and alewives in shallow fresh water streams. And I've seined for herring before also.Comment
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What did you use to trap the suckers?Comment
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A series of rectangles made of 1" PVC pipe with elbows. The first rectangle is 3X5 the second is 2X4 the third is 2X2, stretched between each rectangle is a 1'' twine mesh which creates a funnel. Inside each funnel is a smaller funnel that creates a holding spot, as the fish that try and escape are forced to exit out a 6"x6" hole, which is the reduced end of each funnel. At the very back of the net is what is called a cod end, which is twine mesh in a cone shape, about 10 feet long, at the very small end of the cone is a hole where you remove your fish from the trap, you tie the "cod end" off with a rope, and tie the rope to a tree up stream. The largest of the rectangles is facing down stream, and off of each side of the largest rectangle is what are referred to as wing ends, twine mesh wings with weights on the bottom that "tend bottom", with floats tied to the top, at the end of each wing is another rope that is used to stretch the wings across the stream helping to funnel the fish, I'm sorry for such an odd description, but I make them myself and would know where to refer you to for a photo.Comment
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The suckers I'm talking about aren't bait size, they are about 14-24" long and weigh 3-4-5 lbs, something like that. The other option is to spear them at night with a flashlight and over-grown froggin spear.Comment
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I have used two styles of netting bait. With a sein net, I focus on areas that could channel the fish or crayfish to me, or block them in against the bank, rock, or shallow water. When they turn to flee, they swim right into the net.
the other technique I use is with a dip net. I will place a stone in the center of the net wo keep it on the bottom and place a piece of dough bait in the middle (flour, corn meal, patted into a heavy dense ball). When the minnows or crayfish arrive to feed, just raise the net and there you go!Comment
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I use a cast net to catch mullet quite often. I have two types of cast nets, one which is a brail net and the other is a bag net. I also have a net which is smaller for catching bait. All three of these nets are just thrown over the fish, but with the trick of making it spread out in a circle. Over the years, I have also used a gill net to catch mullet, a trammel net to catch flounder, and a shrimp net to catch shrimp.Comment
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Hi...
I've helped a friend net salmon commercially on the Chena and Tanana Rivers in Alaska. He used gill nets (and very successfully).
Not long afterward, he bought an ocean-going boat for salmon fishing, and made lots of money...!!Comment
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