How to Build a Fish Basket

Fish are not the most intelligent of creatures, and you can construct many simple traps to catch large amounts of fish. One such trap is a basket trap. The idea of a basket trap is to catch fish as they swim into an enclosed space. This is a common trap design and quite effective if built properly.

Things You'll Need

  • Roll of 1-inch chicken wire mesh
  • Tin snips
  • Pig rings
  • Pliers
  • 125 inches of 10-gauge wire
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut out the metal for the outer cylinder of the basket from chicken wire with tin snips. Make the cutout 6 feet by 5 feet.

    • 2

      Form the rectangular piece of chicken wire into a cylinder by bending it. Bend it along the 60 inch side so that the cylinder ends up being 72 inches long. Use pliers and pig rings to secure the cylinder together.

    • 3

      Close one end of the cylinder by pressing the two sides together. Secure the two sides together with pliers and pig rings.

    • 4

      Cut the 10-gauge wire into two 60-inch lengths and one 5-inch length. Bend both 60-inch lengths of 10-gauge wire in to loops. Place one loop inside the cylinder, 17 inches from the open end. Secure it in place with pig rings and pliers.

    • 5

      Place the other loop of 10-gauge wire just inside the opening of the cylinder. Secure it in place with pig rings and pliers.

    • 6

      Cut two triangular pieces of chicken wire. Make one side of each triangle 60 inches long. The opposite point of each triangle must be 23 inches from the midpoint of the 60-inch side.

    • 7

      Fold both triangles together into cones. Fold so that the 60-inch-long side becomes the opening of the cone.

    • 8

      Cut the end of one cone off at the point where it has a 6-inch diameter. Cut the other cone where it is 9 inches in diameter, but cut on a slight angle, so that the cut ends up being about 1 inch closer to the point of the cone on the other side. Discard the cut-off closed ends of each cone.

    • 9

      Cut a door for the 9-inch-diameter cone from chicken wire. Secure the trap door in place with pig rings and pliers, but leave the pig rings loose so that the door can swing.

    • 10

      Place the 9-inch-diameter cone inside the cylinder, on the loop of wire 17 inches deep inside the cylinder, with the point of the cone toward the closed end of the cylinder. Secure the outer edge of the cone to the wire loop with pig rings and pliers.

    • 11

      Place the second cone in the same orientation as the first at the mouth of the cylinder. Secure it to the wire loop with pig rings and pliers.

    • 12

      Cut out a 8-inch by 8-inch square from the closed end of the cylinder with the tin snips. Secure it back in place with two pig rings on one side to use as hinges, and the 5-inch piece of 10-gauge wire on the other side to act as a latch. This will be the hole through which you place bait and remove any fish that you catch.