Dead or Alive?

[pidge]

Hello out there everyone. I dont really post on here a whole lot, but many questions and stuff I think about come from others asking the same or simalar things. I went out Saturday for the first time icefishing up at Island lake in Orangeville. Had a great time and cant wait to try again. My question is as follows. We were using minnows as bait, but noticed after about 5-10 miniuts they would stop swimming/moving on there own. Is this normal? Because of the cold water do they normally die while on your hook? If so should I just keep it on the hook and continue jigging with the dead minnow? Any input? Thanks Greg.

[Roy]

How are you hooking them Pidge?

 

Edit: I usually hook them ahead of the dorsal fin but JUST under the skin...

[urbanangler1990]

fish will usually cant resist a minnow dead or alive, but jigging a bit more can help, btw any luck up there? i wanna go sometime...

[Greencoachdog]

Roy asked a very good question, a minnow should stay alive for quite a while when hooked properly... and behind the dorsal above the spine aand lateral line is a good place when a vertical presentation is being used. Another way I like to hook mine is... insert the hook point into one of the nostrils and out under the "chin", there is a fleshy area there and when the hook is inserted properly it offers little resistance to the hook. This takes practice, but when done properly... I believe it is the least injurious to the bait and keeps them nice and wiggley.

 

A lively minnow will certainly get more strikes than a dead or barely moving one.

[pidge]

Okay the way I was hooking them was through the mouth and having the hook come up between the nostrils. The way you guys are already talkin I'm pretty sure I had it wrong? Yes?

"Urbanangler" yes I did catch one pike in about 4 1/2 hours. The action wansnt hot at all. Talked to a bunch of people and only a few I talked to ended up landing pike. Good place to go although if your looking for something in and around the GTA.

"Greecoachdog" Thanks a bunch I will definatley try hooking them both ways next time out. I just had it opposite to your last rigging way, turn the hook down through the nostril...got it thanks.

"Roy" cant leave you out, thanks alot and I'll try your way as well, just before the dorsal, thanks.

Edited February 13, 2007 by pidge

[setomonkey]

I haven't used minnows much but the way you are hooking them sounds okay (through the lips).

 

Do you have a good supplier of minnows? I've noticed a big difference in how long they stay lively across suppliers.

 

Mike

[Raf]

Minnows get 'lazy' under the float/jig.. give them a lift every once in a while to wake them up. I dont think you are killing them.

[Jigger]

I was out one time and ended up taking the heads off the minnows I was using. I thought maybe the white eyes were turning the fish off also that maybe chopping the heads off the minnows would release more scent . But you know, I ended up with some fish that may or may not have been caught if I didn't behead those minnows . Oh, was fishing lakers and tipped a jigging spoon with the minnow bodies.

[pidge]

Yeah "Raf" thats what I was doing. I just kept jigging.

"setomonkey" I was using minnows that I got from the guy that rented me the hut. As to where they came from before arriving there, I dont know.

[Clampet]

Deadbait is good for Pike, although it should be large, like a smelt (yeah, I know I keep chanting that like some sort of mantra).

 

Roy has the right idea, although I prefer to hook a live minnow just under the "scruff" of the neck, right behind the head. If'n you you go too deep, you'll kill the little feller. This method allows for a better hooking percentage on those pesky fish that are hesitant, like ole mister Walleye.

 

Orangeville reservoir, doesn't have marble eyes (Walleye), but Pike, and they don't hesitate, they rush right in and smash your bait.

[trapshooter]

Minnow heads or tails work great for ice fishing so you're minnow doesn't necessarily have to be alive. Under a tip-up... definitely alive... being jigged however dead is fine. I catch a lot of fish on dead minnows. If the fish are active they will hit a dead minnow being jigged up and down and if you have it hooked better (backwards i.e. down through the skull first) you won't lose your minnow on every fish like you do when they are barely hooked through the lips or back. I also hook minnow's differently on different presentations... bare hook, jig, spoon or sweedish pimple with treble hooks for eg. Experiment, have fun!

 

Cheers,

ben.

[camillj]

I would say more than 90% of my Lakers have come on minnows that have been changed in the previous 2 - 3 minutes ... BUT this may also have been because of them getting noticed on their long descent .... active fish are much more likely to hit a bait that is falling (or rising) than one that is just staying put (at least in my experience)

[tjsa]

I have had minnows active for over 7 hrs., and some that seem to just give up after 10 minutes.

I believe it is oxygen and temperature related. Some we get the day before just do not perform, but ones I have had in my buckets down the basement with the aerator, are active all day, and I feed them goldfish flakes also every 3 days.

Temperature in the bucket is a major factor, along with oxygen, you sometimes have to change the water right away when you get onto the lake.

Think about it, you have them in a stable temperature environment, then take them into a different temperature zone, without aeration, or food, they slow down, to preserve their life. Its a natural reaction.

Hooking them through the lips should not be a problem, but it may make it a bit tougher for them to breath properly, hooking them just in front of, or behind the dorsal fin (your choice, I try both) makes their breathing easier.

We change the water in the buckets when out on the lake hourly, cause sometimes the water in the lakes is not oxygenated too well,

 

Quick temperature changes will affect your minnows also, they will get very lethargic very fast with even a small water temperature change. They like a steady change in temperature, so that they can acclimatize.

[crusty]

The walleye in Ottawa are highy pressured, a fresh minnow increases catch rates ten fold. It seems if your minnow gets attacked even litely your chances deminish rapidly. Within 60 seconds of a missed bite I recommend changing to fresh meat.

 

Pike are pike.... dead or alive. But an aggressive jigging action gets their attention.

[pidge]

Wow minnow information overload Guys I have to say thank you very much, I'm looking so foward to tryin out all those hooking minnow tips. Thanks very much once again.

[lunkerbasshunter]

dead baiting for pike is awesome! Although for walleye I always have had better luck wth live minnows.

 

CHeers!