I’m debating between the two, cast net seems more fun but minnow trap seems more practical. Will both yield good results? I’m on a shallow narrow river/creek about 3-5 ft deep, although there are several 7-10 ft holes.

I like cast nets for open water and schools of shad . Traps for creeks . I learned to cover my trap  with rocks , to keep the kids from swiping it .  Cast nets in creeks snag on everything and tear up fast . Traps need to be left for several hours or overnight .

Just now, scaleface said:

I like cast nets for open water and schools of shad . Traps for creeks . I learned to cover my trap  with rocks , to keep the kids from swiping it .

Gotcha. Do cast nets not work well in creeks? I like the idea of being able to get bait as I need it. How well do traps work? I’m looking for shiners I think.

Just now, Ohioguy25 said:

Gotcha. Do cast nets not work well in creeks? I like the idea of being able to get bait as I need it. How well do traps work? I’m looking for shiners I think.

I edited my post and covered that .

Seines work well in creeks . I seined a lot of creeks by myself .Its a quick way to get bait . Just roll them up until  you get a manageable length for one person . If there are two people it works better .

4 minutes ago, scaleface said:

I edited my post and covered that .

Seines work well in creeks . I seined a lot of creeks by myself .Its a quick way to get bait . Just roll them up until  you get a manageable length for one person . If there are two people it works better .

I actually have a fractured foot right now so not really an option unfortunately, but I am 100% going to try a seine as soon as I can. So you definitely wouldn’t even try a 3.5’ cast net @ 1/4” in a 3-5 ft deep river? I’ve seen my buddy do it before, he caught minnows. How will it get torn up? If so what’s my best option for minnows? 

Trap.  Easy and effective.

17 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

Trap.  Easy and effective.

Is this a good one?

 

https://www.memphisnet.net/product/3804/traps-fish-minnow

 

What do I use as bait and how many can I expect after 24 hours? Will I be guaranteed shiners most of the time?

Perfect!

 

Bait:  3-4 crackers. Break them up a little, but not crumbled.

 

If you are in the right spot you can catch a couple of dozen in an hour or less.

1 minute ago, roadwarrior said:

Perfect!

 

Bait:  3-4 crackers. Break them up a little, but not crumbled.

 

If you are in the right spot you can catch a couple of dozen in an hour or less.

I tried this w bread in a homemade version w a water bottle, didn’t work. Any idea why?

30 minutes ago, Ohioguy25 said:

So you definitely wouldn’t even try a 3.5’ cast net @ 1/4” in a 3-5 ft deep river? I’ve seen my buddy do it before, he caught minnows. How will it get torn up? If so what’s my best option for minnows? 

I tore a casting net up in a creek . If there is nothing to snag it on , its an option .

Maybe they didn't want to come in or maybe they did and pulled a dine & dash!

I've caught a lot of minnows with traps made from pop bottles and bread for bait. I do remember one time that the minnows just weren't interested and I have no idea why

1 hour ago, roadwarrior said:

Maybe they didn't want to come in or maybe they did and pulled a dine & dash!

I set it there for about 20-30 min in about a foot of running water just past some rapids where I see plenty of minnows while I fished off the bank. Is it possible it wasn’t a long enough time or deep enough?

1 hour ago, MGF said:

I've caught a lot of minnows with traps made from pop bottles and bread for bait. I do remember one time that the minnows just weren't interested and I have no idea why

Please tell me how you did it, in as specific detail as you can! What size bottle, bait, location, duration etc. How do you keep crawdads from going in?

8 minutes ago, Ohioguy25 said:

How do you keep crawdads from going in?

You do enough minnow trapping you will get drowned snakes .  I never caught one alive .

I'd rather use a net. A lot of minnows will sit in gravel spots with little to snag on and it's fast and easy to get as many as you need.

If it's a nice clean bottom creek a net will work fine...if there is junk in it like wood, rock or chunks of concrete I would use a trap. A cast net likes to get tangled in everything and you will tear it up trying to get it loose in my experience.

11 hours ago, Ohioguy25 said:

 

Please tell me how you did it, in as specific detail as you can! What size bottle, bait, location, duration etc. How do you keep crawdads from going in?

We've used different sized bottles from 2 liter to 16 oz (or whatever they are). I'm assuming you know how to make a trap out of it? Flip the neck backwards, punch some holes in it, put some weight on it and tie a string to it.

 

We usually catch minnows on one of the boat ramps on the river when we see a bunch of minnows of the size we want. I've used them for crappie and walleye. I just crumble some bread into the bottle and toss it in. I usually drink beer while I wait for the traps to fill. I can see the trap so when there are a bunch of minnows in it I pull it in.

3 hours ago, MGF said:

We've used different sized bottles from 2 liter to 16 oz (or whatever they are). I'm assuming you know how to make a trap out of it? Flip the neck backwards, punch some holes in it, put some weight on it and tie a string to it.

 

We usually catch minnows on one of the boat ramps on the river when we see a bunch of minnows of the size we want. I've used them for crappie and walleye. I just crumble some bread into the bottle and toss it in. I usually drink beer while I wait for the traps to fill. I can see the trap so when there are a bunch of minnows in it I pull it in.

How long does it usually take?

I use the standard wire cage trap with inverted entrance holes. Old timer showed me how to rubber band a small to medium hard dog bone using toothpicks to hold band tight outside trap. We lower them down and overnight you will have a hundred or more. Should have a bubbler in a large plastic bucket for each trap set. Dog bone lasts for several days. Up here different kinds of shiners will make up the majority while sticklebacks and daces also appear. Even find baby bass, pickerel, and trout as well.

1 hour ago, Tatsu Dave said:

I use the standard wire cage trap with inverted entrance holes. Old timer showed me how to rubber band a small to medium hard dog bone using toothpicks to hold band tight outside trap. We lower them down and overnight you will have a hundred or more. Should have a bubbler in a large plastic bucket for each trap set. Dog bone lasts for several days. Up here different kinds of shiners will make up the majority while sticklebacks and daces also appear. Even find baby bass, pickerel, and trout as well.

Nice, if I’m kayaking will a frabill flowtroll minnow bucket w holes in the water not work? My issue is I’m worried the water will get warm even w an aerator, I’m on the water 6-7 hours in the blazing hot sun. 

I was more talking transporting them home to a bait tank. If I was using them right then to fish with I would use a flowtroll so they stay adjusted to water temp they will be used in, no need to aerate with a steady flow of water.  

2 hours ago, Tatsu Dave said:

I was more talking transporting them home to a bait tank. If I was using them right then to fish with I would use a flowtroll so they stay adjusted to water temp they will be used in, no need to aerate with a steady flow of water.  

Oh nice that’s a good idea, how much is a bait tank, and is it difficult to keep running?

It needs to be temp controlled to an extent and of course good aeration but not that complicated. You need a large poly type tank to hold in and controlled PH water. When you buy suckers or shiners or smelt from a bait dealer you are looking at one.

2 hours ago, Tatsu Dave said:

It needs to be temp controlled to an extent and of course good aeration but not that complicated. You need a large poly type tank to hold in and controlled PH water. When you buy suckers or shiners or smelt from a bait dealer you are looking at one.

Gotcha. Seems like a lot, how long do they even live for? I might just stick w getting them every time I go out of the trap and tossing in the frabill, one less step. 

I would agree with you, I used to commerical smelt fish and sell to bait dealers thru the winter and that drew me into baitfish storage. When I  moved away from that shiner trapping was much smaller scale and usually involved keeping them for several days. Your system will work well to trap and use that day or the next.    Dave