Pinfish Traps

[NauticalWheeler]

Any suggestions for a good trap or where to buy??

These are probably more expensive than some, but they're high quality IMO.

http://www.catchnbait.com/pinfish-bait-fish-traps.htm

I put a small non-descript float on them and make sure the float stays under the surface so it takes a GPS to find them unless someone gets within 20 ft of them at idle speed. I got 2 and place them far enough apart so that if someone finds one and steals it, they are not likely to find both.

[Tipbone]

I agree with Naticalwheeler, the traps from catchnbait.com are quality. I have a cheap Frabil trap I got from Gander and it does not keep the pins so well. a buddy with the other trap, at the same dock, would fill up the trap.

the best bait is fish scraps or left over buffalo chicken wing bones. for some reason, those pins love hot wings!

[Panhandler80]

You're soaking too long. If you have a diurnal tide, which you likely do, I'd try to check it after 6-8 hours. Here's some other input that I gave a guy a while back on what I"ve experienced wth traps....

http://forums.floridasportsman.com/s...ghlight=chofer


I have used them all of all different sizes, shapes, colors and coatings. None of the differences there seem to matter one iota.

There is no science to it, but I will say that WHEN they are deployed for a given area is of the utmost importance. Somtimes I'll drop them off the dock and they'll be loaded in half an hour. Sometimes 6 hours later I'll have none. Clearly it's a tide things. I don't know if they just want moving water, or if it needs to be going a differen direction, or what. The lowly chofer (as we call them up here) can actually be a little trickier than people give him credit for. I try to make sure that my traps are out for a full tidal cycle (12 hours here since we're semidiurnal up here) and have always had better luck in daylight hours than over night. Also, if you have multiple traps and a way to deploy one in a little bit different depth, then I woudl recommed that. I usually put one about halfway down the dock, and the other off the end. Almost invariably one will significantly out perform the other.

Haing good bait helps too. mackeral carcass (or steaks) is always good. As is any other oily fish. Mullet work pretty well. I freeze a lot of our smaller carcasses for bait.

Oh, another option for trap bait (and something I started doing last year). Dealing with the frozen carcass can be a pain sometimes, especially on the traps with the small doors if the cacass is frozen and is too large. On Thursday or Friday I just carry a cooler to work with me. On the way home just stop at a fish market and see what they have laying around. I started doign this and it"s really a lot easier than anything else. The first time I asked for some help and the guy gave me some. Next time he saw me he jsut said, "You know where they are... help yourself." Now I just pull up around back and walk right into their cooler where all the guts and heads are kept before they go to the dumpster.

[PCFisher]

I always baited mine with the tips of chicken wings. The chicken last longer and I always had a trap full of fish.