PlanetCatfish.com

For the last three weeks or so been trying to catch madtoms in my local streams and lakes, but have caught everthing else that swims(darters, sufish, flathead, bullhead, even a turtle got his head stuck in the trap ). Does any one have any tips on catching these amazing fish. I have a couple that I bought a while back that are amazing, and would like more to attempt breeding. In the past attempts on catching them I used two different size minnow trap(mouth diameter). I know people have found them in cans on the floor of streams however thanks to local cleaning efforts there not all that much trash in the streams.

There are several methods of catching madtoms, but you need to look for the preferred habitat of most species (under rocks in areas with at least a moderate current).

One method is to employ kick seining (you need assistant(s), though).

String a bunch of empty cans and sink them into the stream beds. Do this only if you're sure the cans will still be there the next day.

The can I idea sounds really cool and brilliant. As soon as I am able to skip out of physical chemistry tomorrow I am going to try it. One question on the can methods is do you leave them un-baited of not, and what bait do madtoms seem to prefer? Thanks so much for your time and effort it means a lot.

I don't think it's necessary to bait the cans, although you might want to do that to increase your chances.

as far as catching madtoms with a minnow trap, I never had much luck with this. The minnow trap is fattest in its middle, so when you sit it in the stream bed the "lip" isn't parallel with the bottom. What I do is dig a small depression and sit the body of the minnow trap in while the lip of both sides stays parallel with the substrate. This will catch madtoms and darters more often because of their bottom-hugging swimming habits.

Depending on the sp. a 4" by 4" seine usually works really well and can be managed by one person. Find a section of the creek with lots of overhanging vegetation. Place the seine parallel to the bank and lift the bottom up through the vegetation (like scooping up with a fish net against the side of an aquarium). This method can also be used in weed beds with pretty good results. You will get even better results with a 10' or 12' seine, but will need two people and a bit of practice to get the "scoop up" timing right.
With a larger seine, start further away from the bank. Charge the bank from about six feet out with the brails at a steep angle (steep enough that the floats are submerged). Upon reaching the bank, use your lower hands to bring the botom of the brail up quickly. When the seine comes up, if done correctly, it should be stretched out like a hammock with lots of unhappy fishes inside. Many cyprinids, tetras, cichlids, and centrarchids will scurry over the top of the net and escape, but bottom dwellers (like catfishes and darters) will swim down into the net and be trapped.
One last piece of advice, I have noticed that many new collectors try to move the seine too far before pulling it up. You almost never want to run a seine more than about 6 feet or everything will figure out what is up and scatter out of the net.
If you collect alone a lot, consider building yourself a good hoop type net as they are easy to manage and the "hoop" part can be run along the substrate. I use a 4' by 3' square net I made out of PVC and a cut up old seine. The bottom piece of PVC can be run across to substrate to stop corys from escaping and catch sand and leaf litter dwellers. It is also usful for thick plants. Across the top I added a PVC "T" intersection so I can just cut a stick, stick it in the "T" and turn my hoop net into a giant sized fish net. This is handy for scraping the substrate in areas too deep to wade.
-Shane

I've had luck using a trap similar to one is used to collect aquatic insects, but you can only use it in fairly shallow water. I cut the end off of a 5gal bucket, drilled some small holes on one side, cut a bigger hole opposite the small holes, and glue a pocket, or codend, of fine mesh netting material to the larger hole. I stand in the stream and keep an eye out for foraging madtoms or pick a likely rock that a madtom might use for cover. I place the bucket over the rock with the small holes upstream, which allows water to flow thru and inflate the net pocket on the opposite side. Then I start pulling out rocks. The madtom usually ricochets around for a while, then ends up in the codend. It's nice because it only takes one person, and the game warden won't harrass you if you're collecting in a stream with trout. However, it doesn't work very well if the water is too much deeper than the bucket or if the current is too fast to keep the bucket in place easily. Some foam padding on the bottom improves the seal against other rocks on the stream bed.

Bill

Thanks so much for the ideas that sounds like a wonderful way to catch some. We have traps like that in the bug lab at school that are similiar! Thanks for your time!!!