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How to Make a Mesh Minnow Trap

Minnows are a common bait fish used to catch a wide variety of sport fish, including bass and walleye. They're not optimum for high heat days when they may not live long enough on the hook to provide an optimum bait. A mesh screen bait trap placed in shallow water with an overhang will collect the most minnows and protect them from sun exposure.

Things You'll Need

Window fly screen
Rubber bands
Needle
Nylon thread (black or white)
Paper clips
Knife
Plastic paint bucket with lid
Malleable steel or aluminum wire
Drill
Knife
Tape

Instructions

- 1
  Cut out the bottom of the bucket out with the knife, using deep, short strokes leaving roughly 1/2 an inch of plastic before the edge of the bucket.
- 2
  Begin drilling holes in the plastic lip left at the bottom of the bucket, roughly at 1-inch intervals. Cut out the middle of the lid of the bucket using the same procedure described in Step 1, and likewise drill holes in the plastic lip left on the lid.
- 3
  Measure the screen so that you have roughly 6 inches of screen beyond the rim of the bucket on all sides. Repeat this step twice so that you have two similarly-sized circles.
- 4
  Wind two pieces of your wire into a sturdy circle measuring 2 inches in diameter. Place these circles at the center of your mesh.
- 5
  Cut the mesh along the inside of the wire circles, holding the wire carefully in place. Use the needle and thread to carefully stitch the wire circles into the mesh so that it frames the cutout portions.
- 6
  Form the mesh into 6-inch tall funnels using the bucket rim as a guide, folding the mesh and sewing along the crease so that it holds its shape. Leave enough excess mesh along the edges so that it can be later stitched through the drilled holes.
- 7
  Stitch the mesh of one funnel into place at the bottom of the bucket using the drilled holes so that the metal ring faces the interior of the bucket. Use a large rubber band to hold any excess mesh flat against the side of the bucket.
- 8
  Stitch the mesh of the other funnel into the holes drilled into the lid. This will allow one funnel to be easily removed so that the minnows can be harvested.

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