BigBendFishing.Net

are pinfish traps worth buying and if so how long do they have to soak before you get some fish in there?

I've bought some from RMS and have been real happy with them. Put a can of catfood in there and you'll have a couple of pinfish with 2 hours. I've never gotten more than 7 or 8 out of one trap in a day, so I'l usually set multiple traps if I'm going on a big fishing trip.

procraftwes wrote:are pinfish traps worth buying and if so how long do they have to soak before you get some fish in there?

We always just use an ultra-light and have never had any problems filling the baitwell. I have never used a trap.

Never used a pinfish trap but used freshwater minnow traps growing up and also Flint River Pirate's ultralight method. Not that the results necessarily mirror, but with minnow traps it seemed it took 2 to 24 hours for a few to work up the courage to quit flirting with the trap and actually enter but once a few went in after 2 or 3 days many more would enter. Again, can't say if same goes for pinfish but will be interested if anybody else can confirm if leaving a few days makes many more enter.

As for Flint River Pirate's ultralight method, I too gather mine with ultralights now. Either using small single hooks with lead to get them near the bottom, tipped with a piece of gulp OR I use a sabiki with all hooks also tipped with gulp. Can catch them on sabiki without gulp but much faster tipped with small pieces. Also if you try this method, make sure to keep a close eye on the bottom two hooks as the pins hugging the bottom love the bottom two and once they are stripped the productivity drops way down... probably catch about 95% on the bottom two tipped hooks.

BBG

Thanks ill try some sabiki rigs i didnt have that much success with them last time but i was wading..

I think they are around $20 and of course, the success of the trap depends on where you put them. I have one that I move around depending on where I want to fish. I would at least give it 24 hours to accumulate bait, if not a week. ...Speaking of which, maybe I should go check it tomorrow.

how do you mark where you keep yours(vaguely) i was wondering about setting one up but was afraid if i marked it(other than gps) someone would find and steal it..

we were allowed at the beginning of the week to use a friends trap,and it soaks for a couple of days.(north of keaton)Usually LOTS of pinfish,but not with catfood, bread.gps was the way it was marked.yesterday the trap was not available so we used the reliable hook and gulp method.we had plenty to use and they were fresh and feisty.using a combo of gulp and pins we kept a total of 12 nice trout and released probably 20 more.Dont be suprised to find large things in a pinfish trap.
Dark colored heavy plastic jug with name on it.Dont make it expensive cause unfortunately others will liberate them from you.
Bob

Never used one, but seems ta me that if they tend ta enter once one or two are in it just put yer bait and one or two pins in the trap ta start wth

Definitely a good though wevans, but isn't it sacrelig to come home with live bait left??? I thought everyone fished till the live bait was gone, limit or not?

I mark it with a hand-held gps. Here is the problem you will have: People will not steal your traps but they will steal the bait out of your traps. There is a stiff penalty for "molesting traps" as I believe it is a second degree felony, I may be mistaken. It is of course pretty much unenforceable. I would like to think that if you're going to steal from a trap, you should AT LEAST re-bait the thing. No worries though, karma will get them. Moral of the story: Don't place your trap in a relatively high volume area.

Also if you plan on leaving them overnight or a few days, zip tie the door shut. That way if anyone steals the bait you will know.

One of the best suggestions I've heard was from ole ATTICUS. I believe it was he who suggested that you mark the trap with one of the larger clear plastic drink bottles. GPS will put you with in a few feet but you'd be surprised how much looking you can do in a 50 foot radius. The clear bottle is easier to spot when you get close but doesn't attract the attention of something that stands out.