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How to Make a Minnow Trap Out of Soda Bottles

Empty 2-liter soda bottles make a simple and efficient minnow trap. Once inside, the fish cannot find the funnel-shaped entrance to escape, so they are trapped. Minnows are often used as fish bait, but this would be a suitable project for children to observe and release the minnows. Release the minnows into the water where they were found to avoid the inadvertent introduction of an invasive species.

Things You'll Need

Two empty 2-litre soda pop bottles
Knife
Awl
String
Bread
Flagging tape

Instructions

- 1
  Cut through the side of the bottle just above the bottom to remove the bottom using the knife.
- 2
  Cut off the top part of the second empty soda bottle about one third of the way down from the top, which will give you a funnel formed from its neck. Unscrew the lid.
- 3
  Take the top of the second empty bottle and place it inside the first empty bottle so that its neck points inside.
- 4
  Punch a small hole through both layers of soda bottle using the awl. Punch a similar hole across from the first and two more holes between those two.
- 5
  Tie the two soda bottle parts together using a string threaded through the punched holes. Leave a long piece of string attached to the trap.
- 6
  Punch holes in the side of the soda bottle. This step is optional , but additional holes will make the trap sink faster. If you want transport the minnows in the trap, you may not want the additional holes.
- 7
  Bait the trap with white bread and sink it into the water. If the water is shallow enough that you need to wade in to retrieve the trap, position it so the opening faces the shore. When you approach the trap, you will drive the minnows deeper inside the trap instead of scaring them towards the exit.
- 8
  Tie the end of the attached string to a tree or other immovable object on shore. If you will be leaving the trap unattended, tie flagging tape to the string to find it more easily to alert people to its presence.
- 9
  Check your trap regularly. Do not leave it unattended for long periods of time.
- 10
  To drain your trap and remove the minnows, unscrew the top of the soda bottle that forms the body of the trap and hold it over the water or a bucket. The water and the minnows will flow through the bottle's neck.

Animals & Science