Alternative 2 Liter Bottle Fish Trap
Using a 2 liter bottle to catch small fish in rivers and streams is ingenious in its simplicity and ease of deployment. There are a lot of variations to designs out there, and most of them are worth checking out. One in particular is incredibly easy to put together, and it is proving to be very effective. Let’s take a look at the steps and see how this alternative may be useful the next time you’re looking to catch some bait fish.
Preparing the Bottle
The first step is to remove the label and rinse out the bottle. Then, take a knife and cut out a hole in the upper half of the bottle along one of the sides. The center of the hole should cross the area where the main body tapers into the top section. Make the hole about 3 inches in diameter. Next, take off the bottle cap and discard.
The next step is to make a series of small holes around the bottom quarter of the bottle in order to allow water to move through the trap. They will also allow water to drain out of the bottle when you lift it from the water. Make about 4-6 holes that are about the diameter of a disposable pen. In fact, you can use a pen to make the holes, or you can use your knife as well. Keep in mind that these holes should be big enough to drain the water but small enough to prevent the fish from escaping once they become trapped.
Next, we want to fashion a handle. The easiest thing to do is to take some string, cordage, fishing line or thread and tie it around the top of the bottle, just below the lip of the cap section. Make sure that the string is long enough to be anchored to a nearby object in order to prevent the trap from getting loose and drifting downstream.
Setting the Trap
The secret to success is to use the right bait for the location that you are fishing. You can use anything from worms to insects, hot dogs, cheese or even bread. You can even use cheese or other sticky material to form a paste that can be used to wad your bait together into a ball. Insert the ball through the hole that you made in the side of the bottle. Place the bottle vertically in water near the river or stream bank that is deep enough to submerge the whole trap. Secure the string to the shore and simply wait.
Water will fill and circulate through the trap. This will carry the smell of the bait to the surrounding area and hopefully attract some fish. They will swim inside the hole you made, eat the bait and most likely get trapped in the bottom. Check the trap periodically and empty it of the fish you catch before placing more bait (if needed) and re-setting the trap.
There are to important things to consider when using this simple design. First, you want to try and place the trap in an area that has vegetation or debris because this is where small fish tend to congregate for shelter. Second, you may want to adjust the size of the hole if it is too big that fish are escaping or too small to trap the size of fish that you want. Feel free to experiment and improvise, but at the end of the day, there’s nothing easier when it comes to trapping and catching bait fish.
