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Step 1
Purchase some hardware cloth in a ½-inch mesh size. To make a basket trap for fish that is 2 feet square, you'll need a piece of hardware cloth that measures 2 feet wide by 8 feet long. Hardware cloth is pliable, easily shaped and not expensive.
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Step 2
Measure 2-foot lengths along your hardware cloth. Lay a board across it to help hold it down. Then, bend the hardware cloth into a 90-degree angle at each 2-foot point that you've measured along the cloth. Bending the hardware cloth in this way forms a box. Your box will turn out to be 2 feet on each side and will be 2 feet deep.
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Step 3
Turn your hardware cloth box into a basket trap for fish by enclosing the ends that meet. Use a thin, lightweight piece of wire to lace the ends together.
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Step 4
Cut a piece of your hardware cloth big enough to cover one end of your box. Use another piece of thin wire to lace your cover onto the box shape. The lacing of the wire is not difficult to do. Simply lace as if you were lacing a shoestring. When you are finished with this step, you'll have a basket trap box with no top.
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Step 5
Make a V-shaped opening to allow fish to go in, but not let them go back out. Cut two pieces of your hardware cloth. Lace each piece to the outside edge of the box with your wire. This will allow the pieces to swing and you'll have a door for your basket trap. Each piece will be a bit longer than half the width of the basket trap.
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Step 6
Point the V shape toward the inside of the basket trap you've made for fish. Swing the pieces together, leaving a gap between them measuring 3 inches. Use a loop of wire to hold them in place. Then, you'll have a basket trap for fish that allows you to swing one door back and dump the fish you've caught into a bucket.
