07-27-2003, 02:33 PM
I purchased my net from Sportsman's. I have caught minnows at Renegade and at Soldier Creek. Any docks at Strawberry or Soldier Creek holds lots of minnows this time of year. One trick to keep the net from snagging on the bottom is to not let it sink to the bottom before pulling it in. (I learned this the hard way after twice having to get on my boat to retrieve my stuck net from a different angle.) One catches regular chub minnows and red shiners (which are also a species of chub) at Strawberry. You may occasionally catch a trout minnow, which is illegal to keep. I have an old ice box that I put 3 -4 inches of water in that I dump all of my minnows into. Then I go through the minnows when I am done catching them and throw back any trout minnows, and put the minnows that I keep immediately on ice. I have caught many fish on both, but I have had the most success fishing with the shiners, probably because they are more colorful. Both should work well for all fish species around here that are minnow eaters. I have caught lake trout with them and have had cat fish hit them. They work well because their skin is tough enough that they stay on a hook (if kept cold before and after freezing) even after being frozen. If you add a little water to the bag (unless you are rich like BLM is and own one of those machines that vacuum seals the plastic bags) you will experience less freezer burn.
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