Baitfish Trap Question

[antgogz]

I belong to a lake that recently had winterkill where most of the fish died. I am looking to catch some type of bait fish to start putting in there. Does anyone know the best bait to put in a trap and how long to leave it there to attract baitfish????

[FASTEDDIE29]

Let your leftover bait go in this no name lake. Catch small bluegills or whatever and accidently spill that bucket full of panfish into the water body your speaking of! On another note, stale bread, bagels, cat and dog food and numerous other baits will fill your traps.

[AndyS]

Store bought shiners work just fine, grab a couple of extra dozen or two, and ooops, into the lake they go.

[jimmythegreek]

shiners are your best bet, theyre cheap if you buy the small ones and they reproduce quickly. they are all trucked up from southern states for NJ, only herring are trapped on LH and then resold april 1st to october 31st. roundvalley lost most of its bait to lake trout and they tried hard to stock herring w minor to no success and switched to shiners which they say spawn 3 times a year. I dont fish RV much but the few times I was out last year I actually saw some small bait balls on the sonar which was a first for me at least there

[yumasdad]

FRANK'S tackle used to net herring from YANDA but not sure if the new guys have the permit to harvest there anymore.

Skunksville is filthy with baitfish, it is unreal how much bait is in there & how the high O2 content is which explains that place pretty much...go @ dusk with a casting net & fill up your boat.

[NJSquatch]

I don't think it is legal to use a cast net in lakes

see page 31 - http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/2...fsh15-regs.pdf

has anyone had success catching herring?

[flatcreek]

Wasn't it some of you guys telling someone a few weeks ago, how it was illegal to stock fish in the state, when he was relocating trout.

[Suntzu]

Yup and that was putting fish in the same river they came from
Here now some if the same guys and it's ok to release fish from a different state in our lakes and rivers
Maybe it was just me

[MudCat08]

is you go to some small creeks and rivers you may be able to find mosquitofish (they are a type of killifish that live in FW), net those out with any type of legal net, pretend to use them as bait, and then accidentally tip over their container to let them go into your lake or pond.
I think besides sunfish these are some of the more useful fish to have in a lake as they do eat mosquito larvae in the margins (they normally hang out in stagnant water) and are excellent prey fish for anything from bass fry to larger adult fish.

Establishing a population of those should be good for your lake.

[Mark B.]

Originally Posted by Suntzu

Yup and that was putting fish in the same river they came from
Here now some if the same guys and it's ok to release fish from a different state in our lakes and rivers
Maybe it was just me

The release of any fish from private aquariums, food markets, or the transfer of fish from one waterbody to another, is expressly forbidden and poses series threats (transfer of disease, parasites, or introduction of invasive species) to the state's fishery resources. The introduction of even commonly encountered fish species can pose a threat to established fish populations, resulting in increased competition, stunting, transfer of disease, or parasites resulting in a decline in the overall fishery. A fish stocking permit assures against the release of invasive fish species, minimizes the risk of disease or parasite introduction, assures fish are stocked at proper sizes and rates, and that the stocking is consistent with established management goals for specific waters.

See http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/fishperms.htm#stocking