# How to use a live bait trap



## deano

There seems to be some interest from others in how to catch small fish in bait traps, so I thought I would make a short post sharing some of the knowledge I have picked up catching poddy mullet.

*Step 1 - Find a good location.*










A likely looking spot - a nice shallow area where large predatory fish can't access the bait fish. At this spot (in Botany Bay) you can see the poddy mullet run (swim) away when you walk around the water's edge. Once you decide on a spot, start by scattering bread in the general vicinity you intend to place the trap. This will start to attract the fish into the general area while you prepare your trap.

*Step 2 - Bait the trap*


















You can see from the photos that I have attached a few small sinkers to the bottom of the trap using silicon. This provides a rapid decent and ensures the trap lands the right way up.

To bait the trap, simply break some bread up into the trap. I find white bread is best because it seems to dissolve/disperse better. With the bread in the trap, place the trap in shallow water (just enough to cover the top of the trap) and shake the trap side to side to break up the bread inside (this will create a milky solution as the bread disperses).

*Step 3 - Burley the immediate area*










Break up some more bread and throw it in the water in the immediate area around the trap entrances - this will help the fish find the way in.

*Step 4 - take a step back and wait*










Take a few steps back away from the trap. You don't need to go far - I have tested this out and poddy mullet will feed as long as you are at least 1-2 meters away.

As soon as you step back you should notice the fish start attacking your burley. Once they are feeding, it is just a matter of them finding the entrance to the trap. In my experience, I have come to believe that poddy mullet are really dumb! It's not they they don't want to go in the trap, it's just that they are too thick to find a way inside it. If the water is too deep, the mullet will simply swim over the top of the trap in circles wondering why they can't get to the bread. Once one is smart enough to find a way in, the rest seem to follow (the commotion from the first also pushes more burley out the trap entrance which kind of illuminates the way in for the others). It may take 5 minutes for the first fish to find its way in, but you will often find that a second fish will go in straight after the first.










*Step 5 - The end result*










One perfect size poddy mullet - ready to catch that 80cm monster flathead lurking in your local estuary!


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## deano

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## Jay

they are some really good and simple intrusction, well done deano. also where did u buy the trap?

Jay


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## Peril

Top stuff Deano. Thanks


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## deano

Jay - I bought the trap (I think it was on special for about $7) from my local tackle store. They aren't too difficult to find - I have seen them in other stores. There were also traps like the one pictured below available for around $10-15 (and you can get them on ebay for $10). I don't know how they compare, but they look bigger and I would think they might out-perform the small plastic ones???


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## Jay

thx. ive seen the 1 pictured in big w


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## Jeffo

Dean,

Great post mate, simple instructions.

I have been keen to get hold of some poddies for a spot fo flatty fishing

Cheers

Jeffo


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## FishinDan

Nice work Deano! Certainly kicks a$$ over my MSPAINT version of the coke bottle! :lol:

I have to say, that first pic just screams "Bait fish live here!"


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## Davey G

yes poddy mullet ARE dumb...

another cheapo effective way it to make a trap out of an empty 2 litre juice container. cut a small rectangular hole in the base approx 5cm x 5cm and use the same technique. However the shop bought versions are cheap and work much better.

another way to get a bucket full of poddys is when you are using the trap, rig up a small longshank hook on a bit of thin mono and use a small bit of bread/dough on the point of the hook. most times collecting poddys for bait I actually catch more doing this than I do in the trap..

good tips deano


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## Dodge

Couple of pieces of 50mm clear plastic hose work OK with end blocked as the fish have no reverse gear and use the same as Deano suggests


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## Gunston

Thanks Dean
I often wondered if those traps really work.
Obviously they do!!

Chris


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## Guest

Awesome Mate

Thanks for that, I like your addition of the siliconed sinkers. Have to get mine out again and have another go. Never could succeed with mine.

Cheers


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## grimo82

Davey G said:


> cut a small rectangular hole in the base approx 5cm x 5cm and use the same technique.


Wouldnt that be a square hole?? :? sorry couldnt resist 

On the topic of mullet, how do people rig them live?? through the bottom lip or top fin??


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## Y-Knot

dunno about you fellas, BUT there is no friggin way PoddyMullet is gonna fit in a trap that small. Ive personally met the bloke and i dont think anything smaller than a shipping container is really gonna hold that lad. And i'd be using different baits, maybe a few beers and a steak dinner to get his interest, and rather than leaving in shallow water i reckon outside the doors of say Ummm BAR 20 should surely catch an unwary Poddy... :lol: :lol:


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## deano

grimo82 said:


> On the topic of mullet, how do people rig them live?? through the bottom lip or top fin??


That depends on how they are going to be fished. If they are going to be slow trolled, then a live bait hook goes through the lip (I usually go through both bottom and top lip). If I am drifting the bait beneath a float, then I rig it just behind the pectoral fin. If I am anchoring it above the sea floor, I pin it just behind the anal fin.


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