Hey guys. Over the summer i have a project for school to collect 15 different species of forage fish and document them and what not. Anyways i have a couple of minnow traps and have place them in a couple different rivers, streams and creeks with little to no luck. i have a few species but it seems that i keep getting those same ones, time and time again. I was wondering if anyone could help by giving me some tips on bait and techniques for different types of forage fish. At this time im trying for central mud-minnows and log perch, darters and sculpins. If anyone has any tips they would be greatly appreciated.

If you're going for diversity, you should get a seine. Minnow traps are selective in that you have to bait fish to get them in there. A seine will just pick up whatever's in your way. Still selective, but much less so.

If you're going for diversity, you should get a seine. Minnow traps are selective in that you have to bait fish to get them in there. A seine will just pick up whatever's in your way. Still selective, but much less so.

I agree with him. A dipnet or a seine is a better option. I tried different bait for minnow traps (gravy train works best, followed by ritz crackers) but the fish species i get are limited. What I catch in minnow traps are fallfish, common shiners, bullhead, pumpkinseed, largemouth bass, yellow perch, and once i got a white sucker. Even placing them in spots where other species are abundant leads to no luck getting them.