Soap in bait fish traps?

[MagicRik]

i went out to buy a bait fish trap the other day and the guy told me to just put anything in as bait and is works yeah right two day its been out there and not a thing. but anyway he told me to put soap in the trap What drive through and a bath? whats with the soap?
Not sure about putting soap in the water, cant but good for the fish.

But the bait i did use was bread and some burley pelets ive got. ive not got a thing in there yet anyone know any good baits?

Thanks Rik

[borisdog]

Not perfumed stuff. The old Velvet animal fat type stuff is the go, anything like that that's animal fat based not chemical. Used to work great on cherabin in the Kimberley and NT

[Reefmaster]

Mate when i was a kid i would use soap in my traps when chasing fresh water Shrimp. The high fat content in the soap is what attracts them but i can't say i would ever use this form of bait in saltwater. Best bait in my opinion is mashed up pillie's with tuna oil. Maybe place your trap in a different spot might also see a difference.

Regards Greg

[baldyhead]

A bar of Sunlight Soap works everytime

[slyman]

Mate, I've been told that using soap in traps, although it works, is doing damage to the ecosystem. I'm not sure of how or what, but i think it maybe to do with phosphates. It's the same reason why when camping you have a shower/wash a good distance from water and not in it. I have had success with using the guts and heads from cleaned fish and also from tins of cat food, find one of those little single serve ones with a ring pull lid, puncture it a couple of times and pull the lid off then bung it in the trap. Anyone else use catfood?

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

Slyman, why would you puncture the can a couple of times if you then pull the lid off???????

Dave

[slyman]

well the cat food doesnt break up much, so i do it just to break the food up a bit little bit, i guess if you mash it a bit through the opened lid then it starts to disperse a bit too quick, holes thru the bottom and whatnot would allow the bait scent to disperse without losing too much of the stuff.

[mangajack]

Using soap in traps is ok as long as it is in running water or a large body of water. Graziers will boot anyone up the ring if they catch them using soap in thier stock watering dams as the stock will not drink from that water supply for a fair while until the slightest film of soap oils and fats is washed ashore and no longer noticeable.

I do use soap myself in creeks with sone sort of constant flow and it has little effect to stock or the fish. I do get good results with freshwater shimp with soap as a rule.

Jack.

[shayned]

Boiled spuds in my opera house traps attract a lot of fresh water shrimps.

[choppa]

slyman,,,,why use catfood when the cat works better?????????????????????????

[liltuffy]

[Flash]

Mate, I've been told that using soap in traps, although it works, is doing damage to the ecosystem. I'm not sure of how or what, but i think it maybe to do with phosphates. It's the same reason why when camping you have a shower/wash a good distance from water and not in it.

It is the phosphates, they encourage overgrowth of algae and other things.
Another thing is it can break the waterproof seal of a lake or pond causing the water to drain away.

[Flash]

slyman,,,,why use catfood when the cat works better?????????????????????????

First you use the catfood to bait the trap for cats, then........

[ontourf]

Rik

The best bait by far in traps is hot chips! Yes, hot chips ...for the same reason as the soap - the oil slick it sends off. I stumbled across this when I ran out of bread one day so had to dig into my lunch. Another tip, if the sand is blackish of muddy, stir it up with your feet - works a treat. I stumbled across this literally - slipping as I left the trap one time - and come back to a full trap, so did it every time after that.

Ontourfishing

[slyman]