How To Catch Minnows

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The live bait of choice for crappie is minnows. Crappies are almost exclusively minnow eaters. They migrate all over large lakes in search of schools of minnows to prey on. Anywhere you find large numbers of minnows, chances are crappies are nearby.

Although the term 'minnow' is commonly used to describe any small, silvery fish, the minnow family (Cyprinidae) represents the largest family of fishes in North America.

Hook minnows lightly either through both lips, the tail, behind the head, or through the back. Take care not to damage the lateral line. This kills the minnow and crappie will not eat dead minnows.

The size of the minnow you use is also an important factor. You can't use a 4" minnow in a lake where the crappie are typically only 8" long. Likewise, using a 1" minnow where the crappie are typically 2+ pounds may cause the crappie to simply ignore them.

Finding the correct size minnows at the local bait shop, then keeping them alive for maybe days can be a real chore, not to mention expensive, so the best way to make sure you always have a fresh supply of the correct size minnows is to catch them yourself right where you intend to fish. Once you master catching your own bait at the location you intend to fish, you will always be rewarded with a good catch by giving the crappies what they are actually used to eating.

With this "give them what the want" philosophy in mind, I experimented over and over figuring out the most efficient way of trapping live minnows. Now I always catch my own crappie minnows everywhere I go. Here's the equipment you'll need and an explaination of how to use it...

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This special minnow-attracting submersible light is sold exclusively by Bass Pro Shops and is the only one I tried that actually attracts bait fish. By itself, it will float on top of the water, so you will need to attach a 1lb triangle weight to the clip on the bottom of the light to keep it anchored on the bottom.

The light only draws 1 amp of 12v DC so you can leave it running for days without running down your Marine battery. It comes with a submersible 15 foot cord and battery clips.

The special 'green' tube isn't replaceable, but it is rated to run for about 2500 hours before the entire unit needs replaced. I bought mine in 2007 and it's still running great.

Place this light under water near your minnow trap (below) and it will attract minnows like sugar attracts ants. As an added bonus, when you're not using it to catch minnows, it makes a great camp light that doesn't produce a glare or attract bugs.

Another Bass Pro exclusive, this isn't one of those cheap minnow traps that you cut your fingers on and starts rusting the minute you put it in the water.

This is a nice vinyl-dipped heavy-duty steel mesh trap. The 2-piece torpedo shape design allows for easy baiting and minnow removal. The waterproof vinyl coating will help you keep from harming your minnows while removing them from the trap and will let the trap last for many years.

Just before dusk, bait the trap with bread balls and submerge it near the shore next to some rocks or other cover that bait fish like. Now submerge the special underwater light close to the minnow trap and let the team do their thing for a couple of hours. When you get back, you'll have a trap full of fresh minnows.

If you plan to fish from shore or you don't have a live-well in your boat, get an old Coleman ice chest and use it to keep your minnows alive and fresh. Just fill it with the same lake water you are getting the minnows from. To avoid the expense and hassle of constantly changing batteries in those little aerateors, stop by PetSmart and buy a 12VDC aquarium air pump and use it on the same battery you are connecting your underwater light too.