Very low cost metal bait cages.
Ideal combination of strength, flexibility, and mesh to securely keep your bait in the cage instead of it being carried off or picked off.

Walmart metal disposable grill toppers $5 for a three pack
Wire snips
Zip ties.

Should work well. I use something similar, a couple of mesh sink strainers held together with binder clips.

https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Strainer-Diameter-Kitchen-Basket/dp/B07Q7W4Z4C

That is a good idea Doc-

Back just after I had the pond dug I was using those cylinder type traps along with pin fish traps to help stock the pond-

I used several different baits but I finally simply used an orange cut in half-
That 1/2 orange caught me more Bluegill and small catfish than any other bait I had used before like cans of cat food, weiners, bread, ANYTHING-

I had never heard of using an orange until I saw it somewhere here on the TFF-
Very easy to find, lasted several days too-

Just another option and you won’t need a bait cage-

Dang I like this ideal too!

Interesting; would never have thought to using an orange.

I will have to try this in freshwater and saltwater.

Very interesting.

After I saw the orange thing work. I used it a lot-
Only in fresh water though-
Please let me know if you try it-

Will do

Tried oranges today five hours.
No success.

Dang it -
It may be time of year, any success with something else?
It absolutely worked for me-
Good luck-

I went all in on oranges.

Agree, I think it was too early for oranges…..most of the fish caught were in 7fow.
Oranges were in 3-4fow.

It was real-

Don’t give up on it, one major benefit was how long lasting it was before the need to rebait-

Tuna fish failed yesterday in both traps….seven hours
One was deployed in 5fow; one in three feet.

Cold front probably had bait heading deeper.

The traps were a big success catching bluegill with bread and tuna fish in a pond.

I then very successfully caught blue crabs down at the coast using the bluegill as bait.

Glad you had success Doc-

Sooooo-
You caught blue crabs with blue gill?