Trap openings TOO big?

 

no , i v'e tried to manuever them to all diff sizes for 2 weeks already, i'm guessing the perch are spooky cause there are alot of 2 lb bass patrolling the area ???

 

I dont see a flaw in your choice of baits, but your comment on the bass in the area is spot on. We had the same problem with our perch traps so we started setting them in area where the bait would be hiding anyway ie: weeded,brushy, up close to the shore areas. It helped alot with our traps.

 

instead of dog food, try poking about 15 - 20 small holes in a can of cat food..I found it works better than dog food..

 

Get you some cheesecloth, spread it out, dump a mound of corn meal in it, then wrap the cheesecloth over it to make it a soft ball sized bait, and use a rubber band to secure it in the bundle. When you toss the trap in you'll see that corn meal go everywhere, but it will matt up. The cheesecloth keeps enough in that the fish can eat on it without destroying it, so it keeps attracting.

 

CORN or FLOWER + SALT dough balls . Let them dry out for a couple of hours in the sun or bake them a little. Corn tortillas also work.

 

ok thanks all, will try your mixes

an update.......the square piggy perch style trap had a doz good perch this am
i used fresh crab trash from a few blue crabs from the coast and some bread mixed in.

the clover leaf trap didn;t have but 2

big design issue , i'm thinking.....

1 6 lb yellow cat last night was it, Brazos fell about 2 feet since last night.

 

paint your trap white and put white styrofoam in side

 

1 more yellow last night about 12 lbs, cold front and falling river really sux

 

I have used everything in this thread over the years, but never done better than the time I used a double handful of leftover chicken bones from KFC. Loaded up my traps! Try it.

 

thanks,

pulled the lines for a few days

1 small 4 lb blue and a nice cottonmouth on a small perch (dead)

 

How'd you cook that cottonmouth? :biggrin:

 

Did you guys build your own traps or buy them somewhere? I need one and am looking for a good one or advice on how to build one. The ones sold locally are around $40.

BTW, the guys I've seen catching lots of perch in their traps at Rayburn use canned cat food!

 

cottonmouth kabobs of course LOL

i built 2 diff kinds buy a roll of 1/2" hardware cloth 25' long this will make 2 easily and a big bag of 4" zip ties. snips and gloves and beer......

roll out and measure for 2' bend up 1' then in, measure for another 2' bend down another 1' , that makes your box. zip tie the ends well.

next cut a piece of 2'X30" hardware the long way to give 2ea 1'X30" pieces.

tie wrap these in the ends of the box to both corners only, then zip tie them 8" along the front face, then angle them to the center to make a sharp cone and tie wrap all in place.

finally snip out the center wire in the vee starting about 3 squares up and 3 down, so that you have an entry that you can bend in that is 2 squares wide and about 14 squares tall.

it should end up looking like a 2 entry piggyperch trap.

next get an old lic. plate and cut in half and drill extra holes to make a door in the top somewhere and tie wrap in place and use a bread tie or similar to hold closed.

the other clover leaf style didn't work as well . so i won't waste the time describing it.