Conference wahoo::fishing

    
    Two suggestions:
    
    1. Try putting a small can of cat food inside the trap.  Just punch
       a bunch of holes in the can with a large nail to let the "odor"
       out.  You may attract crawfish this way as well!
    
    2. Place the trap at the mouth of a feeder stream if one is available.
       Shiners and minnows seem to congregate near moving water.
    
    Good luck!
    
    -Joe- 

    ...one more thought...
    
    Check the size of the opening in your minnow trap.  Shiners can
    get somewhat large, so make sure that the opening will accommodate
    them.
    
    -Joe-

    I LIKE TO MAKE A SUGGESTION THAT WORKS FOR ME. PUT YOUR BAIT IN
    A 2"X2" HARDWARE CLOTH ENCLOSURE (1/4"MESH). SUSPEND THIS BAIT FILLED
    CUBE VIA THREE WIRES ATTACHED TO THE OUTER SHELL OF THE SHINER TRAP,
    SUCH THAT THE BAIT IS HANGING IN THE CENTER OF THE SHINER TRAP WITHOUT
    TOUCHING ANY OUTER MESH. THIS TECHNIQUE FORCES THE SHINER TO HAVE
    TO ENTER THE TRAP INORDER TO EAT THE BAIT, OTHERWISE THEY WILL EAT
    THE BAIT FROM THE OUTSIDE OF THE TRAP AS IT RESTS AGAINST THE SIDES
    OF THE TRAP WALLS. THIS IS HARD TO EXPLAIN WITH WORDS ALONE. IF
    YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS SEND ME YOUR MAILING ADDRESS AND I'LL DRAW
    YOU A SKETCH AND SEND IT. THIS TECHNIQUE OF SUSPENDING THE BAIT
    IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRAP SHOULD INCREASE YOUR TAKE SUBSTANTIALLY,
    PROVIDING THERE ARE SHINERS TO BE CAUGHT.
    

    I understand what you are saying about suspending the bait. The
    purpose being to create a "Straight eye view" for the shiners. They
    cannot get the bait without entering the trap.  Thanks, I'll try
    it.
    
    Joe: Have you tried the cat food idea? The literature in the town
    library says these shiners are meat eaters, All suggestions and
    ideas so far indicate grains (corn oat meal(s)) and bread.
    
    

    As you mentioned...shiners are meateaters...and what is cat food
    but meat?  Yes, I've used this technique quite successfully.  Canned
     dog food also works well.
    
    -Joe-

    I HAVE HAD PRETTY GOOD SUCCESS BY USING CANS OF CAT FOOD IN THE
    TRAP TO BRING IN SHINERS . USE AN ICE PICK AND PUNCTURE IT MANY
    TIMES , IT WILLNOT WASH AWAY AND WILL ATTRACT THE BAIT FISH . USE
    THE CHEAPEST AND WORST SMELLING STUFF YOU CAN GET .
    

    RE: TRAPPING SHINERS
    
    		I'V BEEN TRAPPING MY OWN BAIT FOR YEARS AND I THINK
    IF YOU TRY DRY DOG FOOD AND MACARONI YOU'LL GET ALL THE SHINERS
    YOU NEED

    I understand the dog food part because of the grain and meat mixture.
    
         Two questions:
    
           1. Dry dog food or canned; as in the cat food idea?
    
          2. Cooked macaroni or uncooked (hard) ?

    I purchase shinners from my local fishing house and pay $3.70 a doz. I
    would like to explore catching my own but I don't know the first thing
    about finding where to catch them. Can I get them in a lake, river?
    What timwe of day, when during the day, etc..
    
    Ken

    re: .9
    You can catch shiners all day and all evening at Long Pond in
    Tewksbury, MA using a small hook and trout worms. You'll likely nab a
    few black crappies and largemouth bass in the process. Standard catch
    for my daughters is about four shiners for every three black crappies
    caught in 30 minutes in the evening.
    
    The best time to nab minnows in Northern New England is in the middle
    of June. In Southern New England you can grab them in early June and
    late May. My daughters were still nabbing young bass and suckers from a
    rock pile in shallow water last weekend (using aquarium nets). 
    The suckers you buy in a bait store usually come from farms. The bait
    stores I frequent get their shiners from Arkansas and New Hampshire.
    
    You might want to keep in mind that European Redfin Shiners are now
    illegal in MA, so if you catch any, you might just want to toss them up
    on land for the raccoons to deal with....

    	Buy a minnow trap, put some bait in it (i.e. fish carcass, bread,
    chicken livers, etc.) and put it in a pond/lake that has shiners for a 
    day or so and then go and pull it. Most common minnow traps are under $10.
    
    	I think that so long as you don't sell the bait, no special
    license is needed, but you may want to give the F&G boys a call to
    double check on this.
    
    	Ray

                RE:10
             And of course your daughters were releasing the bass,
         right...???  

    re 12,
    
    Yes my daughters ALWAYS release the Bass. 

    re: .12
    
    Uh, what *he* said in .13