Based on our success last year, we are making the baiting process as easy as possible.  Place one whole smelt in each minnow trap before fastening the two parts of the trap together.  The oily smelt will last the 3-days of sampling, even though it may be preyed upon and start to naturally deteriorate.   Simply leave the smelt in the trap while removing trapped fish and crayfish each day.  Then reset the trap in the same or a new site.  Extra smelt will be provided in case the original bait is lost.  At the end of the week, please dispose of the extra worms and smelt and wash the coolers. 

 

Secure the sections of the minnow trap together with a zip tie (see attached Figure).  Attach a line and the weight to one end and a float line to the other end.  When practical, tie the float line to a fixed object on shore and use flagging tape to mark these sites; else attach a buoyant float. 

 

Label the float or flagging tape with a unique number or letter for your sampling area with the permanent Sharpie marker.  Some floats may already be labeled.  You may either use the old system or change to your own. 

 

When using a float, use an adequate length of rope to insure that the float remains visible at the surface should the river stage change or the trap get moved to a deeper area by a boat wake. As a rule of thumb, the length of line from the trap to the float should be 2 to 3 times greater than the depth of the water. This year the potential for high-water conditions in your sampling area is great.  Some years we have lost more than one-fourth of the traps.  Please set your traps securely so this does not happen again.

 

Gobies and young carp prefer shallow water over the deeper main channel habitat so it is not necessary to only fish deep water.

 

If you think a spot is more amenable to tying the minnow trap on shore than using a float, flagging tape has been provided to mark the spot.  You may also want to mark the shoreline with flagging tape where you set traps with floats to aid in relocating sample sites.