# Piggy Perch in a Trap



## jodyisfishing (Jul 25, 2006)

OK, any tips or tricks to catching piggy-perch in a trap near shore (location, depth, bait, etc....)? I figure some of you might have some suggestions, as there are always great comments on here and have not seen this one.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

I've found the best spot for a trap is near a fish cleaning station where the offal goes into the water. I bait it with a small tin of seafood flavored cat food. don't open the can, just perforate it with a scratch awl or screwdriver. Poke about 20 holes in it, put the tin in the trap and lower it down. Let it soak for an hour or two. I've got best results dropping the pot around midnight and coming back about 5am. Mainly because I beat any potential trap theives and the cleaning station is pretty much empty during those times.


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## CAJUN THUNDER (Sep 6, 2006)

some crushed up crab works good to.


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## Calebs Retreat (Sep 13, 2005)

*depth*

i have one of the traps from academy and I have yet to catch a darn piggy. will try the cat food and crab...i been using bread and/or corn...what depth do you put it at?


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## fishinfool (Jun 30, 2004)

we used to put them around the cleaning tables on pier 19, just on the bottom. there are or were rocks there so if there was no fish cleaned then there was good structure for them. we used to chum with baby chicken feed. (got a couple pounds from a feed store) we were never as succesful as we needed to be with traps and usually resorted to rodnreel. the traps work ok for small ones like for trout.


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## great white fisherman (Jun 24, 2008)

Use any fish guts or carcuss, lower around a pilling around a dock or bulk head. 3-4ft of water. Cleaning docks are great. If you want big ones for offshore fishing have to catch them hook and line or we use a cast net.


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## BIG PAPPA (Apr 1, 2008)

*rocky areas*

Rocky bulkhead areas worked well when you can't leave the trap around a cleaning station/table area. we always have loaded up with frozen shrimp as the bait. Palm sized piggies are the normal catch.


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## REELBEAST (Aug 3, 2007)

Don't forget to open the trap up just a little bit for bigger perch. Most traps come with the openings a little small for the bigger perch. I have two traps one for inshore and one with bigger openings for offshore. I like the idea of cat food, never tried that before, we usually just throw in a backbone from a filleted fish, but sometimes we do not have the luxury of fresh fish. :cheers:


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## Casey C (Dec 7, 2004)

I will give out all of my fishing secrets except the piggy secrets.


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## GradyWhite (Oct 23, 2006)

I have had great luck with chicken necks (cheap) in traps right off my dock on Tiki.


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## Crossroads (May 21, 2004)

****, I like fried chicken necks. I like to use shrimp heads for perch traps when I've been eating fresh shrimp.


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

save up your shrimp heads and freeze em and ball up with some bread or hotdog buns


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## lucas_shane (Mar 9, 2009)

we always just put them below a cleaning station. seem best right at sun up til it gets hot and then right at sun down. put the traps on bottom and bait them with a backbone from any ol fillet of fish. we have great success on catching 4 to 6 inch piggys !! good luck


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## STxFisherman (Jan 15, 2006)

The perch like the shade during the day. Put your trap in a shady area.


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## Fishhead56 (Feb 4, 2007)

When trapping, Don't do this..
Set trap for an hour, pull trap count 5 piggies and through back, wait 30 mins and pull trap to check and count 2 piggies. ect...
When pulling traps remove caught fish before resetting. If left in the trap and get jerked from the water a few times they try harder to escape, and will.

How do I know?.......well you know, Just sayin..

K2


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## Joester (May 22, 2008)

shrimp heads from last nights cook work great. We usually de-head the shrimp and freeze the heads so as not to stink up the trash. Throw the frozen heads in the trap and like the others said, drop behind the fish cleaning stand and retrieve very early....Good luck


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## Lord of the Salmon (Feb 17, 2008)

Calebs Retreat said:


> i have one of the traps from academy and I have yet to catch a darn piggy. will try the cat food and crab...i been using bread and/or corn...what depth do you put it at?


First thing, check the entrance doors on the trap. I had a similar problem and it was that the doors weren't open enough. Also, look for obvious escape points (other than the doors). If there area a couple of clips missing on one of the sides they will squeeze through the gap.

Place the trap near cleaning tables, docks, or rock structure. My experience is that if you don't have some in the trap in the first 20-30 minutes you need a new spot.

As for bait, almost anything works. I use old offshore bait like squid or sardine that is past its prime. Chicken works, as do pork neck bones. Miscellanious fish cleaning waste works to (junior game wardens can **** on this one).

You will not get big piggies with these, maybe 3" max, probably closer to 2". To get the hand size ones you would need for AJ and grouper, use a rod and reel with some dead shrimp or squid (the party boat moorage areas around pier 19 are great for this and squid works well because it is difficult for them to steal it).


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## fishnstringer (Oct 20, 2006)

*O.K. Casey C,*

we'll opt for the rest of your fishing secrets, if your going to be like that!:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:


Casey C said:


> I will give out all of my fishing secrets except the piggy secrets.


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## Totally Tuna (Apr 13, 2006)

Try this site. Pretty good info. Looks like their traps would be better than what I've found locally.

http://www.catchnbait.com/bait-fish-trap-tips.htm


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## Kenner21 (Aug 25, 2005)

http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/forum/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=32036&start=1

I'm going to get one of these, heck if anything it'll give me something to do when I'm bored and it won't hurt to have a couple dozen piggies when trying to catch a ride offshore. I know scamps love those little suckers.


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## troutomatic1488 (Jun 18, 2006)

*perch trap*

the absolute best bait in the trap is speckled trout heads but it is illegal to use any part of a game fish for bait sand trout work well shrimp is ok but they eat it up pretty quick different bait wil get you different results use shad and you wil get mostly crabs get try different bait also i will give you a tip most people dont know they will only enter your trap during daylight hours what you have at dark is all you are going to have and if you leave it in the water overnight alot of what you have in the trap will leave the cleaning station is the easy way can usally pull your car right next to where you are trapping it is the simplest bait that you can catch


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## capt. david (Dec 29, 2004)

we catch them in the canals here in jamaica beach. best bait is hotdogs.


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## KIKO (Oct 24, 2006)

I like to chum a cleaning table or even at a grass flat and chum the area and we throw the cast net. We do this even on the same spots we are fishing. We have never caught piggys when its dark. The biggest trout I've caught have been on live peggy perch 2"-4" long.


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## En Fuego (Jul 26, 2006)

Anybody know where you can buy the coated mesh wire to fabricate one of these on your own?


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

Some Home Depots carry the green coated mesh but would also like to get some of the heavy black coated.


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

capt. david said:


> best bait is hotdogs.


Yessir. The crabs like chicken and the pinfish and piggies like hotdogs, cheaper and greasier the better.

Two ways - a trap or a bait box in the water with a hatch on top. Fish traps, meh, a lot of work and them little [email protected]&!ds are smart.

Kid-power is the best. Promise some small money and some big icecream and you'll have a whole passel of them catchin' all the livies you want.

Real men don't mess with little baits. We Sabiki for hard-tails, threadfin, and big stuff like that, about the size of your hand or even bigger. Just funnin', folks ... it's all good. :cheers:


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## 2slick (Dec 5, 2008)

Swells said:


> Yessir. The crabs like chicken and the pinfish and piggies like hotdogs, cheaper and greasier the better.
> 
> Two ways - a trap or a bait box in the water with a hatch on top. Fish traps, meh, a lot of work and them little [email protected]&!ds are smart.
> 
> ...


I don't catch many piggies, but can catch all the pin perch I need (heck, they'll eat anything). I have been surprised at the people that have spent years down here on the coast and still call a pin perch a piggy.


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## Red Tuna (May 19, 2007)

Last summer I had some luck catching the big 4-5" piggies close to Bridge Bait on the rocks under the bridge. Use a tiny hook and dead shrimp bits under a bobber, and if they are there you can catch them one after another. However there are times when for whatever reason you won't catch any. 

Only problem is you have to arrive even earlier in the morning before you go offshore!


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## Capt.deano (Sep 13, 2007)

Its kinda the same thig as the Cat food but try a can or two of tuna fish inside of a panty hose. I like to call it the "Panty basket."


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## jodyisfishing (Jul 25, 2006)

*Perch Trap Build Instructions*

Saw this on a catfish board. Thanks for the great feedback.

http://www.catfish1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38891


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

TROUTOMATIC said:


> the absolute best bait in the trap is speckled trout heads but it is illegal to use any part of a game fish for bait sand trout work well shrimp is ok but they eat it up pretty quick different bait wil get you different results use shad and you wil get mostly crabs get try different bait also i will give you a tip most people dont know they will only enter your trap during daylight hours what you have at dark is all you are going to have and if you leave it in the water overnight alot of what you have in the trap will leave the cleaning station is the easy way can usally pull your car right next to where you are trapping it is the simplest bait that you can catch


I've got to totally disagree with this daylight theory. I set my trap around midnight, and pull it up before sunrise, and it is full of Piggies.


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## chris33 (Feb 23, 2006)

*Leave One behond*



Fishhead56 said:


> When trapping, Don't do this..
> Set trap for an hour, pull trap count 5 piggies and through back, wait 30 mins and pull trap to check and count 2 piggies. ect...
> When pulling traps remove caught fish before resetting. If left in the trap and get jerked from the water a few times they try harder to escape, and will.
> 
> ...


Leave one piggy in the trap and that will attract others to try and join him.


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## 6396rogert (Mar 14, 2009)

jodyisfishing said:


> Saw this on a catfish board. Thanks for the great feedback.
> 
> http://www.catfish1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38891


This is a good looking freshwater trap... thanks for the link...


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## hog (May 17, 2006)

This is the one I have. The hardest thing for me is finding a place to put it thats decent and where it wont get stolen...









*JUMBO SIZE
FISHERMAN'S JUMBO PLUS BAIT FISH TRAP
Item # 1817
Dimensions 18" High x 17" Wide x 24" Long, 1" square mesh* This Pinfish/Live Bait Fish Trap was designed specifically for commercial use or for the serious fisherman who's fishing day far exceeds the average. Trapping in excess of 100 pinfish, spot, porgy, squirrel fish, sea bass, perch, bluegill and many other live bait is not uncommon in high populated schooling areas for this real beauty.
*Featured with Exit Wall* 
*Price...$49.99*

*Hog
*


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## lilsamo (Aug 8, 2005)

Keep the trap off of the bottom. I use a standard perch trap and I bait it with pogie meal. Mix the meal with water to form a paste and pack it into a cricket cage from Academy-$4. I load up on the piggies. dead shrimp works good, too. Just keep the trap off of the bottom. Good luck!


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