How do you hook minnows for drop shot.

[Tjames09]

Trying to figure the best way to keep them lively on the drop shot dead stick. Seems like hooking above the dorsal fin was the best way to keep them alive. Anything else seems to kill them.

 

Considered split shot as well, not sure the +/- if there is any.

[grimsbylander]

Hooking through the back doesn't seem like a very natural presentation for dropshotting. I never use live bait but through the lips seems like the only way to offer a natural presentation. All my plastics are dead and they work just fine.

[manitoubass2]

Id hook through the tail

[Acountdeleted]

I used to do through the dorsal all the time.

 

Recently though I've seen Chris K clobbering it while hooking through the lips. I've been trying recently. I think there is an art to it. Must come from the dexterity he gained tying all of those flies.

[grimsbylander]

Id hook through the tail

That makes more sense. Either way, that minnow needs to be horizontal.

[GBW]

up from the base of the jaw and out the 'nose' and the barb will keep the minnow on 95% of the time

[manitoubass2]

I use the through the lips too! Works great! Deadsticking I tail hook, it irritates the minnow and they go nuts

 

I find through the nose you get the most natural presentation , if you can do it right.

[Tjames09]

I use the through the lips too! Works great! Deadsticking I tail hook, it irritates the minnow and they go nuts

 

I find through the nose you get the most natural presentation , if you can do it right.

 

Doesnt this kill the minnow? Unless my minnows are to small...or the hook is to big. Was using a #2 circle hook.

[PUMP KNOWS]

How big are the minnows?

[manitoubass2]

No, if ya do it correct it actually keep the minnow alive long.

 

Just dont go in to far, its like a finess hook

[AKRISONER]

definitely hook through the lips. the trick is to not be hooking too far back that it goes through their skull but not too far forward that it falls off.

[GBW]

definitely hook through the lips. the trick is to not be hooking too far back that it goes through their skull but not too far forward that it falls off.

yup! hence i said 'out the nose'. between the lips and the eyes as you are not 'braining' them and killing it.

[Tjames09]

yup! hence i said 'out the nose'. between the lips and the eyes as you are not 'braining' them and killing it.

 

How small of a hook are you using to achieve this? Im using just your standard size minnows around 2"

[OhioFisherman]

 

Doesnt this kill the minnow? Unless my minnows are to small...or the hook is to big. Was using a #2 circle hook.

 

" drop shot dead stick " Not sure what that means? Never used live bait on a regular drop shot rig though.

 

Circle hooks sold in my area are usually used by people fishing for bigger catfish, and most of those hooks seem like they are made with some pretty heavy wire that are intended for bigger bait and fish?

[BillM]

 

How small of a hook are you using to achieve this? Im using just your standard size minnows around 2"

 

Use a #8 or #10 steelhead hook, that's all I ever use through the ice. Minnows will stay alive just fine.

[GBW]

 

How small of a hook are you using to achieve this? Im using just your standard size minnows around 2"

currently I have a pack of #6 hooks for steelhead/trout

[AKRISONER]

this is what i use for dropshots

 

 

ill shoot you a PM

[Big Cliff]

Is there a right way????????

 

It really depends what you are fishing for and how aggressive the bite is. Through the head or through the tail; For perch I have used both! For perch and walleye I use a #6 hook, sometimes I'll put it through the eye sockets (doesn't seem to kill them) if you are jigging at all this seems to make it look like the minnow is darting up off the bottom to grab food (I usually use a larger than needed bell sinker and bounce it on the bottom, my thought being it stirs up a bit of sediment which would generate food for the minnows). Now, if the bite is slow or I am getting a lot of hits but having trouble setting the hook I will hook them as close to the tail as I can get the hook through, this gives them a chance to taste the minnow without feeling the hook, give it a little extra time when you get a bite before setting the hook (2-3 seconds) and watch your hook ups soar!

 

For walleye I strictly hook the minnow through the eye sockets, almost all my walleye thorough the ice come on a #6 single snelled hook with a minnow hooked through the eye sockets. The one big difference it that I crazy glue a small piece of red wool (about 1/2" long) to the shank of the hook, I believe it looks like blood in the water and makes it look like the minnow is hurt (easy prey for a walleye) ( have proof that I and another young man who shall remain nameless for the moment put over 20 walleye on the ice in an hour and a half using this technique).

 

Over the years I've tried MANY variations, I'm not even going to try to list them all but at 71, (and I can remember fishing in puddles with a stick and a string) (never mind the wise cracks about what did I have for supper last night cause I'll ask my wife and she'll tell me ) I've got a lot of years of trying

[manitoubass2]

Yep ive had the most success through the tail Cliff

 

I dont do it much anymore however.

 

Hardly ever use live bait

[Big Cliff]

Yep ive had the most success through the tail Cliff

 

I dont do it much anymore however.

 

Hardly ever use live bait

I use plastic minnows a lot of the time but the hook up goes the same and the results are similar.

[misfish]

I was shown a way that the minnow stays natural and it , to my surprise, stayed alive.

 

You put the hook through the mouth and bring it out behind the head. Missing the brain. Dont ask how they dont die, as I dont know, but works.

[manitoubass2]

I was shown a way that the minnow stays natural and it , to my surprise, stayed alive.

 

You put the hook through the mouth and bring it out behind the head. Missing the brain. Dont ask how they dont die, as I dont know, but works.

Because its like hooking through the tail, its just going through meat. Theyll die eventually but they live long enough to serve their purpose.

 

Thats how I hook minnows on jigs most the time

Edited January 16, 2017 by manitoubass2

[Old Ironmaker]

I like Cliffs red wool trick. Learn something new everyday. With small minnows I hook through the eyes below where I think the brain is. Please don't tell that animal rights group, please.

 

For dropshoting I use the dropshot 360 degree swivel hooks. They need to move 360 degrees. So head or tail. Never the back. Only use live bait for perch now, maybe a massive shiner in Fall looking for a wall hanger Bass or Pike.

[misfish]

I like Cliffs red wool trick. Learn something new everyday. With small minnows I hook through the eyes below where I think the brain is. Please don't tell that animal rights group, please.

 

 

 

Back when there were large schools of rainbow smelts here on Simcoe, we used wool strands on a hook. They never took the hook, but thier small tiny teeth would get caught in the wool. It was a blast to get them this way.

[GBW]

If on a jig I have gone in the mouth of a minnow and out through the eye socket and YES they do stay alive and active. I too have gone away from live bait but won't turn it down if offered...