Small traps to catch reef fish?

[Betta132]

I have an idea for catching the types of reef fish that like to hide in holes. Make bottle traps, tuck yummy food into them, place them in random little alcoves with bobbers connected so you can find them, and then spend a few hours snorkeling to look at stuff. After that, go back and see what you have.
Would that work at all, do you think? Also, would it be legal? It's a form of trap, and it's definitely under maximum fish-trap size.
Maybe minnow traps, too, the mesh kind. Just put them out and wait to see what swims in.
This wouldn't be for commercial use, it would be more along the lines of "Let's see what we can get". In other words, variety over quantity.

[rjallen]

Years, and mean years ago, I collected in the Fla Keys. I used traps for some species. What was then called the Florida Marine Patrol was okay with it as long as you let protected [game fish in those days] out of the trap and attended the traps on a daily basis while deployed- to prevent ghost fishing. I believe it is no longer allowed in most of Fla. Octopus and crabs can destroy everything in the trap if you leave it fishing over a long period, especially over night. What ever you do, start with the local authorities.
I checked my traps every 4 to 6 hours. We had a surplus of urchins in those days and were actually encouraged to kill them because they were thought to damage the coral. I used fresh urchin and the fish would wait in line to enter the traps. THIS, or course, WAS BAD INFORMATION. PLEASE DO NOT USE URCHINS FOR BAIT. Make sure you can find your traps to prevent ghost fishing.

RJ