Yes you read correctly! Here in Cape Town we

[FeedingFrenzy]

Yes you read correctly!  Here in Cape Town we have people that are permitted by Provincial conservation authorities to trap and export platties for medical research.  I don't know if they still do it though with all this amphibian fungus that's annihilating rare amphibians and is supposed to originate from platties - worth thinking about - don't release platties anywhere!!!!

OK the trap!  Make a rectangular box frame out of pvc tube or any similar rigid plastic tube - either use pvc weld to fix together or irrigation elbows and T's.  It will look similar to the trap shown in the original plattie trap thread - the only major difference is to use chicken wire to cover it and make the funnel with.  It takes a while to rust badly but is relatively inexpensive enough to re-cover.  Don't make the trap too big - there's no need to - rather make a few smaller traps. 

Remember to make a flap or door that can be opened.  Also make the funnel entrance (the narrow end of the funnel) about the size of a coffee mug.  Make two funnels per cage trap - more platties can enter at once.  OK bait the thing up with bones - that's right, get some large meaty bones from the butcher and tie wire around it and hang it inside the trap. 

Very important - if the trap is going to be left for longer that half an hour to an hour then the top of the trap must be above the water - so that a gap is left for them to reach the surface and breathe!!!!!  Otherwise you haul out a trap full of vrot platties that drowned days ago!

 The reason for the chicken wire is that when you haul the trap in the water drains instantly and the trap is light and easy to remove.  The reason for the bigger funnel is that small carp and kurper etc are also attracted to the bones and so you will get a couple of small fish baits at the same time.

Oh and don't forget to tie a rope to your trap and tie it to a peg or tree on the bank!

 

[Ryan]

Why peg it? - is that for those mutha Whiskers that might lurk in the dam?

Platties are used commercially for frogs legs in french resturants - yum yum

 

[Andre Laas]

Hi FeedingFrenzy

That trap sounds real good, and the chicken mesh will also allow more of the bait scent to distribute in the water.

The interesting thing about the Platties that used to be exported (not sure if they still do) is that they were used in pregnancy tests before these fancy new rapid tests were around.

They would basically inject the female platanna with some urine from woman to be tested for pregnancy, and if the plattie would lay eggs within the next couple of hours, it means that the woman is pregnant (This is a very crude explanation). Weird and silly as this technique may sound, it was actually extremely accurate, and millions of our platties have been exported for pregnancy tests globally.

 

[Ignobilis Lunker]

Hey guys,

This is really amazing about the pregnancy test. Do the eggs that they lay hatch? that may be a stupid question.

Pls could you post pics of this improved trap? The last pics confused me. Is the concept that the platties push the one-way trap door open to get to the bait but cannot get out?

Thanks for the info!

 

[Andre Laas]

Sorry if this is bit of a hijack....

The pregnancy test was know as the Xenopus test (based on the platties clever name Xenopus laevis) or just frog test. It is based on the principle that the "gonadotropic" hormone in a pregnant woman's urine will induce ovulation in female platties. Adult females have large numbers of eggs at the ready, but will not deposit them unless stimulated by a male. The gonadotropic hormone in the urine of a pregnant woman however will induce the deposition of eggs in the absence of a male. Thus if an adult female deposits eggs in the absence of a male (after being injected with urine), it means that the woman is pregnant. These eggs will not hatch as they are externally fertilised by a male.

Another interesting fact about this is that laboratory bred platties did not work as well as field collected wild South African platties, and thus millions of platties were collected in SA and exported worldwide to become Xenopus pregnancy tests.

The disease that is believed to have been spread by these frogs is an fungal infection of frogs known as Chytridiomycosis, is believed to have resulted in the demise of millions of frogs world wide.

.... end of hijack

 

 

 

[FeedingFrenzy]

Correct Critter - on both accounts - the pregnancy test and the fungal disease!  The best place to capture platties is where water is relatively low in dissolved oxygen - they tend to be dominant under these conditions - so try your local sewerage treatment plants ponds - usually full of the buggers. 

To be entirely honest I do not condone the use of platties for bait - sure they are good bait but I find that catfish are not that bait specifiic that only frogs will work!  Besides the fungus there's also the possibility that any escapee can wreak further havoc by hybridising with other plattie species that may be present - we had the problem at Voelvlei here in the Western Cape - we have a smaller very attractive platanna - the Cape plattana Xenosus gilli - they are Critically Endangered. 

The problem started when we were fishing league competitions and Voelvlei carp are few and far between so we targeted smallmouth bass with platties and of course at the end of the day numerous of them escaped or were released and hey prest! hydrid started appearing in the surrounding natural waterbodies!

A similar situation could arise further north where the tropical plattana does occur.  Hybridising is a distinct possibility.  So lets be careful okes!  Day old culled chicks from a chicken breeder are a phenomenal bait!  As are carp heads - especially if you freeze them first so that the oils are released.

Just to answer the question about how the frogs get into the trap - not via trap doors - thats foer you to stick your hand in to pull them out - you must make a funnel like the fish traps.

 

[burgalmighty]

FeedingFrenzy you truly are an encyclopaedia of fishing information.

Perhaps a bit of a sub-question: Which frog/amphibian species, if any, can be used as bait for barbel in the Western Cape?

 

[FeedingFrenzy]

Thanks burgeralmighty, most appreciated.  OK which amphibians may be used in the WC?  None.  The conservation ordinance prohibits the capture or keeping of any wild animal without a permit.  They turn a blind eye to using platties - although they would not state this as official policy!

Regarding bait though - I've caught tons of catfish on crabs where there aren't any crabs present.  What I am trying to say is that catfish will take anything that smells like food - and the higher the energy value of that food the more likely they are to take it!  Any animal that hunts will not expend more energy to catch its food than the return it will get from it.  Barbel are no exception.  That's why oily fish works so well - high calorific value and easy to digest. 

The other bait that works wonders is the culled day old chicks.  They are easy to acquire if you go to a chicken farm and speak to them - most of the farm managers are actually glad to let you take a few big bags full because it is a serious problem for them having to store and then dispose of the little carcasses.  These little fluff balls are brilliant catfish bait - use a pair of scissors and divide them down the middle - like a Nando's half chicken - cut thru the head as well!  You can then quarter them - you will see that it is full of yolk - drives fish crazy.

The head is also brilliant - in fact I often prefer to thread a couple of half heads thru the eyes onto a hook - sounds grim but it is a magic bait and often gets results when fish are on a go-slow.  Apparently it has something to do with the fatty acids that are present in brains - an essential dietary component and one that is premium.

So no need to impale and drown amphibians.  There are numerous excellent baits to choose from.  As anglers we often think that we aren't using the right bait and that's why we haven't caught anything but there are so many more factors to consider - accurate casting into the right zone, good bait presentation etc.

 

[burgalmighty]

I thought as much.
I agree that there is no reason to make use of amphibians, legal or otherwise, if there is such a large selection of other baits available.
I've had such a blank run the last couple of weeks, but reading these posts always gets me amped to get back to the water again.
Thanks man.