As mentioned in my previous review, the section on fish traps was one of the more deficient sections of “The Official John Wayne Handy Book of Bushcraft”. There is a mention that one of the means you can make a fish trap from is from a water bottle. It is also stated that traps will only catch very small fish.
A friend of mine recently mentioned using soda bottles as fish traps.
The way this is usually shown, a cut is made just below the conical section of the bottle. This part is inverted and inserted into the rest of the bottle.
Obviously, only fish small enough to swim through the nozzle can enter the trap.
Not much of a meal!
I began to think about ways to improve on this. The obvious one was to cut off the nozzle and provide the trap with a bigger entrance.
Keep the neck to make a useful clip.
Before I could think too long on this, I was reminded of one of my favourite youtube channels.
This features a very ingenious lady in Cambodia.
Check out some of her other videos, which feature PVC fishing bows, recipes and many other varieties of traps.
◦ Note that the screw‑threaded part is removed and the area around the new opening cut into “petals”. In this video the petals are clearly shown being cut into points.
◦ Holes have been made in the base of the trap so water flows through. This lets the smell of the bait out to attract fish. This also allows them to drain as they are removed from the water.
◦ Each trap has a closed smaller bottle attached to it to act as a float and suspend the trap clear of the bottom.
If aiming for bottom dwelling fish, you may need to weight the trap.
◦ The funnel part of the bottle is secured to the larger part. This is a good precaution if aiming for larger fish.
When I first started watching this I thought she was cutting “V” shaped tabs in the outer part to hold the funnel in. That should work.
What she is actually doing is making holes and securing the two parts with cord [or you could use grass or plant stems].
Reaming matching holes and using wooden pegs carved from a stick would make the trap easier to take apart to remove the fish.
This site shows the innovation of a flap cut in the funnel for easy removal of fish.
Such a trap can easily be made with just a penknife with a reamer.
Four good‑sized fish from three traps is pretty good going!
For many other uses for plastic bottles, take a look at Plastic Bottle Cutter's channel!