# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Fishing >  fish trap

## rebel

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-...in-30-Seconds/

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## Batch

I built one of these and didn't catch diddly. 

The banks behind the house are rocky and steep. I'll have to try it in a different spot.

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## Rick

It's actually a good all around trap. Not only for fish but for crawfish as well.

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## rwc1969

I've caught plenty in em, but use a 2 or 3 litre bottle and secure the top to the bottom with wire, staples, twist ties, zip ties, etc. Otherwise they fall apart pretty easy, especially if they're loaded with minnows or in a fast current.

I have a storebought wire mesh trap and have caught just as much in the bottle traps. Plus, the bottle traps only cost 10 cents and if someone snags one you're not out 10 bucks.

The wide mouth 3 litres are best as they allow bigger creek chubs, shiners and bigger crawdads to get in.

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## edr730

the glass jugs made to trap minnows are the best traps with cracker crumbs. I've spent much time doing this. We would fill the traps about every seven minutes when the trapping was half way decent. We would catch them all summer starting about the begining of may.

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## SurvivalFaith

could catch fish with a two-way flow of water

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if you want to use bamboo as raw material. Like this image below :
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## rebel

I hadn't thought about crawdads or the need to secure the top.  I guess you could also enlarge the opening for larger fish.  Yea, you could make your own trap but, I see these bottles everywhere.

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## Julie362

That's really neat! I want to try it!

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## COWBOYSURVIVAL

Here you go! Lots about Crawfish traps...



http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...rawfish&page=9

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## Alaskan Survivalist

I don’t know anything about crawdads but I think they are something like shrimp and I make my own pots for catching them. I can fashion all types of pots from nets but this method is much faster. I saw these in a store for 80 dollars each and just went home and figured out how to make them myself for a couple bucks. I use 1 inch wire mesh. It is a legal requirement to allow smaller shrimp to escape. I cut into 2 foot squares and bend up corners. You can count the squares to get measurements.

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2 pieces like this need to be made.

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Set one on top of the other overlapping corners and tie with bailing wire. I just twist wire once around it and twist with pliers until it breaks off. Now top, bottom and sides are made.

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Now entrances are made for corners. Still using 1 inch mesh cut out 4 of these.

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Using ½ inch mesh cut out 8 of these for the ramps. Remember to just count squares for measurements. 

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Then fold each one twice where shown.

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Tie 2 formed pieces of ½ inch to one piece of the 1 inch material like so.

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Do a little hand forming to round entrance and bend sides to match corner.

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Tie 2 completed entrances on opposing corners with bailing wire. 

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Tie a third using cotton string. This is designed to deteriorate over time so that incase pot is lost it will not continue to trap shrimp.

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The last entrance is tied loose on one side to serve as a door to bait and empty pot. 

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I cut a piece of 1 inch mesh that I fasten elastic cord to for a door catch.

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Then that is tied to door. 

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I paint them black. This one is complete except to fasten rope in several places so it will not dump when lifting and placing bait. 

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I’m allowed up to ten of these but 2 are all I need to satisfy my personal need.

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## COWBOYSURVIVAL

Nice trap AS I may try one for crawfish. Actually I just enjoy making stuff! Not sure if we can use'em for shrimp here or not...I'lll have to check into that. Usually shrimp are caught here castnetting over bread balls.

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## Alaskan Survivalist

> Nice trap AS I may try one for crawfish. Actually I just enjoy making stuff! Not sure if we can use'em for shrimp here or not...I'lll have to check into that. Usually shrimp are caught here castnetting over bread balls.


Our water is deeper than it is in Florida. I've been there to visit relatives. I'm quarter Seminole. You guys do a lot of things different. We have 30 foot tides so can just walk out at low tide and dig clams. Down there I had to dive for them. I really liked fishing with a spear gun, something I don't do up here. Florida is the only other place I have fished but I have dreams of Tuna fishing in South Pacific some day.

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## crashdive123

Nice tutorial and trap AS.

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## Rick

Yes it was. That was worth some rep. Nice job.

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## Alaskan Survivalist

Thanks guys, I could talk fishing all day!

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## COWBOYSURVIVAL

I finally learned to give out some rep! Thanks AS!

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## asemery

Cotton twine tied in funnel shape and placed on a mason jar.  For demonstration only.  When using in streams to eliminate breakage I place the net on a plastic bottle.  Great for minnows and has caught crayfish.  Tony
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## Atento

> Nice trap AS I may try one for crawfish. Actually I just enjoy making stuff! Not sure if we can use'em for shrimp here or not...I'lll have to check into that. Usually shrimp are caught here castnetting over bread balls.


Actually they're not so much like shrimp as they are like tiny lobster, the people in Louisiana are very fornd of them, look up cajun cooking for good recipes.

If you live in Northern California, go to the rice paddies at harvest time the canals that empty the fields of water are just packed full of crawdads, thousands of them look for the deep holes just after the main rush of water has exited the fields. Bring many 5 gal. buckets, you will not believe how many are in there.  use a rather fine mesh dip-net.  I would suppose anywhere there have rice paddies would be the same, I just know about Northern California, been there, done that.

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## pgvoutdoors

> Cotton twine tied in funnel shape and placed on a mason jar.  For demonstration only.  When using in streams to eliminate breakage I place the net on a plastic bottle.  Great for minnows and has caught crayfish.  Tony
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In Ohio and many other states I've fished, glass bottle traps are illegal. Nice looking trap though.

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