Fish trap review

MrMikeB · #1 05/03/2007, 05:13 PM

Hey all,

Anybody have anything to comment on about "The Trap" fish trap you see in the stores?

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_...ap.asp?CartId=

I picked up one from MarineDepot and I have to say, what a POS?! It 'says' the door will easily slide down and the fish will magically be caught. Uh - huh, sure, I have to practically beat the lid into the slot to get it to close. Which for some odd reason, me beating the lid into place does not seem to encourage the fish to actually enter the trap - go figure.

I am sure I am doing something wrong, but there were no instructions as if the manufacturers just assumed the mere sight of the trap would enable a primitive instinctual beacon within the fish's' brain and in their trap-induced trance, would waltz right in and close the door behind themselves.

Freakin' $40 @#%#@$%@#$!!

pbetito · #2 05/03/2007, 06:05 PM

Mike...Look how much you post. Your problem is that you probably couldn't SHUT YOUR TRAP long enough to catch a fish

They are garbage BTW and can be man made for the wonderful price of free!

juaninsac · #3 05/03/2007, 06:14 PM

You need to have two lines to pull--one opens the door, one closes the door. It is frustrating that they don't show how to thread the fishing line.

A few things that I found helped--glue two pieces of small plastic on the door to keep it from floating out the top, add a small rock or shell inside to weigh the trap down, and drill a small hole in the top of the trap to fit a turkey baster. The idea is you blow into the hole to suspend the food. Adult live brine shrimp is ideal to place inside if you can get it.

All in all, overpriced. It'd be simple enough to DIY a large one with a 10 gallon tank and some acrylic.

kevin95695 · #4 05/03/2007, 06:20 PM

Take a plastic soda jug. Remove label. Cut top off. Invert. Insert in base. Waterproof tape in place. Tape fishing line on contraption. Bait. Go fishin'. Works. Just ask KMP. His evil damsel now lives in my tank.

MrMikeB · #5 05/03/2007, 06:22 PM

Jaun, you are the man! I will give it a shot... I am surprised that given the demand, there isn't a better fish trap on the market. This coupled with the lack of customer support/instructions, and an outrageous pricetag is deplorable.

I want learn how they did that old Bud Light commercial and got all those fish to jump in the boat. Now that would useful.

little_d · #6 05/03/2007, 06:33 PM

I have the same trap and it works all the time, tied a small piece of rock to the top of the lid where you tie the string to. When you let go the rock would push the lid down. Works everytime for me. One other thing I did to it is drill a small hole on top and use a clear plastic pipe to drop pellet into the trap.

MrMikeB · #7 05/03/2007, 06:38 PM

I knew you all had it figured out... gonna try some of your tricks!

jlfnjlf · #8 05/03/2007, 06:59 PM

Mike,

I have a trap if you want to use it.

John

Paliya · #9 05/03/2007, 08:29 PM

Mike,

I just got this trap and it worked perfectly! Try putting the trap door in backwards or upsidedown, or rightside up... there will be an angle where it will slide right in. Also - unscrew the back of the trap and put some frozen food in the 'compartment'. Screw it back on and drop the trap in the tank. Fish will be right inside the tube in no time. It took my foxface about 20 minutes to figure out where the smell was coming from.

...and if all else fails, you can borrow mine and try your luck with it. It worked for bkmorris also.

-Pat

Reefugee · #10 05/04/2007, 10:50 AM

Pat,

Do you have a picture of the trap that you purchased?

Minh

bkmorris · #11 05/04/2007, 01:08 PM

minh, i still have pat's trap because i borrowed it to catch my pygmy angel. it's the same one in the marine depot link though.

DrDNA · #12 05/04/2007, 02:58 PM

I got a fish trap from John at Yourreef that worked okay, I think it was made by Aquamedic. I just don't have the patience to sit around and wait for the fish to swim in.
However, since I was trying to extract a couple rogue damselfish, I eventually just used a really small baited fish hook. Worked like a charm

MrMikeB · #13 05/04/2007, 03:01 PM

You did wha?!? Did you have a beer in the other hand?

How funny... I thought the idea of people sitting around their tanks with a lounge chair and a fishing pole was just in jest. You actually fished your damsels out?

DrDNA · #14 05/04/2007, 03:46 PM

No, I wasn't "reefing while intoxicated"

Yes, I used like a #18 treble hook baited with a mysid shrimp to fish out a blue devil and tan and white damsel. Yeah, my wife thought it was pretty funny too.
What's that saying... "if it looks stupid but it works, then it isn't stupid..."?
It was kind of fun too

Those little bastards were harassing everyone else

Quote:

Originally posted by MrMikeB
You did wha?!? Did you have a beer in the other hand?

How funny... I thought the idea of people sitting around their tanks with a lounge chair and a fishing pole was just in jest. You actually fished your damsels out?

bkmorris · #15 05/04/2007, 03:51 PM

i've heard of people using baited hooks when all else fails.... but cut off the barb of the hook so it's easier to remove without mangling too badly.

DrDNA · #16 05/04/2007, 03:56 PM

yeah, Brooke is right, remember to file off the barb (especially in case you hook the wrong fish!).