How to Make a Fish Trap

Determining Your Needs

Decide on the dimensions of your trap. The size of the trap will vary depending on the fish you hope to catch and the waters you plan to trap them in. Minnows or pan fish for bait can be caught in a trap 12 inches (30.5 cm) by 24 inches (61.0 cm), while large catfish, carp and suckers require a much larger trap. You also want to be sure your trap is not taller than the depth of the water if you plan to use it in shallow areas.

Choose a shape for your trap. Many are rectangular, with a 1:2:4 height, width, and length ratio, but cylindrical traps work well if there is not any current in the water to cause them to roll and become fouled.

Select the material you will use to build the trap. In Alabama, where trapping catfish is a long-standing tradition, craftsmen build the finest traps using white oak strips, woven together with galvanized steel or copper wire. Because such traps require considerable skill and time, it’s easier to build a trap with a wire mesh fabric or poultry netting. The choice then, is the mesh size, determined by the size of fish you are trapping. For bait minnows, a hardware cloth in ⁄4 or ⁄2 inch (0.6 or 1.3 cm) mesh is fine. For suckers or carp, poultry netting (chicken wire) is less expensive.

Building a Fish Trap

Cut 12 pieces of lumber to build a box frame. You will need 4 pieces the length of your intended box, 4 pieces of your intended height and 4 of your intended width. For example, a trap that is 12 inches (30.5 cm) tall, 24 inches (61.0 cm) wide, and 48 inches (121.9 cm) long would require four 12 inches (30 cm) pieces of lumber, four 24 inch (61 cm) pieces and four 48 inch (120 cm) pieces. Larger or smaller traps would require the same amount of longer or shorter lumber pieces, respectively.

Create a box frame with the 12 pieces of wood. Arrange the pieces in the shape of a cube. First create 2 squares with the smaller lengths, with similar-sized pieces parallel to one another. After you nail the 2 squares together, connect them with the 4 longer pieces of wood, creating a box frame.

Cut the wire mesh large enough to fold around the box. Be sure you allow for some overlap at the seam. A 12 inch (30.5 cm) by 24 inch (61.0 cm) by 48 inch (121.9 cm) trap will require a sheet of wire 6 feet (1.8 m) long and 4 feet (1.2 m) wide.

Fold the wire mesh around the longer sides of your box frame. Create a 90-degree corner around each slat of wood by folding the mesh around the outer corner of your frame. Tie the 2 edges of the sheet together with plastic "snap ties" or light gauge wire.

Cut another piece of wire fabric for 1 end of the box. The piece would be a 12 by 24 inch (30 by 61 cm) rectangle in this example. Secure the sheet in place with the same ties or wire you seamed the box in the previous step. A larger or smaller trap will require wire fabric equal to its width by its height.

Form a funnel to place at the other end of the box. Use the same type of wire mesh. The larger funnel opening should be large enough to attach it to the slats of your box, tapering down to leave an opening facing the inside of the box that is just large enough for your target fish to swim into the trap, but not escape. In this example, the larger side of the funnel could be a 12 by 24 inch (30 by 61 cm) oval, and the smaller end might have a diameter of only 5 inches (13 cm), varying based on the size of fish you hope to trap.

Using a Fish Trap

Bait the trap. Place a spawn net filled with your bait into the trap, along with a large stone or piece of brick to weigh the trap down. Common bait used for catfish is chicken liver, corn, or even dog food. Other fish species should be baited with food they find most attractive. If you don’t have spawn net or another mesh cloth, you could use an onion bag or mesh fruit bag.

Secure the funnel. Instead of using zip ties, use wire that can be untied later to release or remove your catch, then retied for future use.

Tie an anchor rope to the trap. Anchor rope, available from outdoor sporting stores, will withstand its time underwater and is strong enough to withhold the weight of the trap and any fish inside. You will use the rope to pull your trap out of the water when you are ready to check it, so it should be at least 15 feet (4.6 m) long. You could use twine rope in place of the anchor rope, but it isn’t as strong or durable.

Place the trap. Take the whole apparatus, including the bait inside, to the fishing hole you plan to place it. Then simply drop the trap in the water in your chosen location. Secure the other end of the rope on the bank. If you’re trying to catch catfish, place the trap near their spawning grounds when the catfish are spawning.

Check the trap periodically. Pull the trap in slowly when you decide to check it, keeping in mind you never know what will be inside it. At the least, check the trap daily to make sure no turtles, otters or other predators have discovered it and either damaged it or gotten trapped inside. If you’re using a crab ring, pull the trap in as quickly as possible so the crab aren’t able to escape. Situate yourself downstream of the current to make the trap easier to pull out of the water.