How do you hook up your minnows...?

[bessiedog]

I tend to thread the snelled hook through the minnow or smelt twice, then leave the hook exposed you the back tail.....

I’ve been doing this for years.... but since I been fishing from shore I lately, and my hook sets were about 1 in three .....I tried the ole ‘just through the head’ style yesterday...

Hooksets rose to 3 out of 4 approx. ... I also noticed a way more aggressive hit by the fish.. no more pick up, sample, then light pickup and swim away...


Any thoughts on shiner or smelt rigging for summer fishin?

[DiabeticKripple]

just once right through the eyeballs.

It lets the minnow flop around, but you might lose more. I just bring an extra tub.

[oilngas]

Bessie i find the best way to thread a minnow changes from day to day. The "family" and I like to slip bobber Lakes and Reservoirs, so we'll start with everyone using their favorite from just through eyes, back, twice thru etc. horizontal, vertical, and sure enuff after 8 or 10 wally one method and presentation (i.e. distance from bottom, bit of added action etc.) will be hotter. So our lessons from slipping wally in Lakes, is to change and pay attention to what is working, also what is working will change with light conditions, chop etc.. Also I've switched to 1/0 and 2/0 bait holders razor sharp hooks (Matzuo is my fave) , those seem to be more effective at hook ups and we catch more side of the mouth fish. They tend not to swallow those and we feel we have healthier (i.e. not damaged) fish to release.

[Walleyedude]

If I’m pitching it out and hopping it or dragging it, I like to go in through the mouth and out the back just behind the head.

If I’m fishing vertical I like to “wacky rig” them. Through the spine somewhere mid minnow so that they hang horizontally when suspended.

[Coiloil37]

I’ll give you a tip that will have you out fishing everyone your around. This goes for open water and through the ice and I learned it by using an underwater camera and watching what was going on. It makes such a significant difference you won’t believe me until you try it.

Put the hook in the mouth and feed it around then bring it out the minnows back so the head of the jig is sitting just inside the minnows mouth. The minnow must be straight and don’t mangle it. You want it to look natural with almost the entire hook hidden. Then as much as possible pull your line back toward the tail of the fish so the minnow is sitting horizontal. Drop it to the bottom and it will sit slightly head down/tail up but for the most part horizontal. If it’s suspended they’ll take it but I prefer to tap it on the bottom by lifting it up a hair and then dropping it.
When they bite, drop the rod tip and give them a second then set the hook. More often then not on camera they grab it but one or both ends of the minnow are sticking out of their mouth. If they don’t feel resistance they’ll suck it down within a second or so.

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by DiabeticKripple

just once right through the eyeballs.

It lets the minnow flop around, but you might lose more. I just bring an extra tub.

X2

Using plain lead head jigs with no rubbertail bodies I put a minnow on through the eyes too and then put a very small little piece of rubbertail on the hook, like a stopper, to prevent the minnow from coming off as easy. Using a lighter lead head jig, with no rubbertail on it, also helps give the minnow more action. A big lead head jig makes the minnow just drop to the bottom too fast and has less action. Use a twitchy retrieve. Colder the water (before ice in Oct/Nov) the slower the presentation.

If you start using 2 to 3 inch, or bigger, minnows/shiners you can put a small stinger treble hook in the tail end of the minnow.

[wildwoods]

Thru the gill plate then up thru the top of the back. Rock solid, good hookups, good presentation

[Bushleague]

Usually through the eyes, then back through the body behind the gills, if I'm using big bait then I have a stinger a few inches back. When the head end gets too tore up I hook the minnow in the tail in the same fashion... gets me a couple more casts.

When fishing shiners under a bobber, and I want them to hang horizontal, I stick a large octopus hook down through the back and out the body behind the head, then stick it back up through the body again, with the point towards the tail.

[chucklesthe3rd]

If you’re p-rigging I tie my own hooks with egg loop knots. Hook them through the eyes then into the tail area, wrap that loop around the minnow and it’s going nowhere. If I’m using them on jigs, in the mouth out just behind the head and then I add a bait button. Bait buttons are worth every penny especially when you’re fishing with leeches.

[liar]

Originally Posted by Coiloil37

I’ll give you a tip that will have you out fishing everyone your around. This goes for open water and through the ice and I learned it by using an underwater camera and watching what was going on. It makes such a significant difference you won’t believe me until you try it.

Put the hook in the mouth and feed it around then bring it out the minnows back so the head of the jig is sitting just inside the minnows mouth. The minnow must be straight and don’t mangle it. You want it to look natural with almost the entire hook hidden. Then as much as possible pull your line back toward the tail of the fish so the minnow is sitting horizontal. Drop it to the bottom and it will sit slightly head down/tail up but for the most part horizontal. If it’s suspended they’ll take it but I prefer to tap it on the bottom by lifting it up a hair and then dropping it.
When they bite, drop the rod tip and give them a second then set the hook. More often then not on camera they grab it but one or both ends of the minnow are sticking out of their mouth. If they don’t feel resistance they’ll suck it down within a second or so.

Could you explain , thanks .

[stubblejumper01]

Originally Posted by liar

Could you explain , thanks .

I think he means to slide your knot on the eyelet towards the shank so that it helps hold the rig more horizontal. You have to do this pretty much every time you have a strike or rebait.

[Coiloil37]

Originally Posted by stubblejumper01

I think he means to slide your knot on the eyelet towards the shank so that it helps hold the rig more horizontal. You have to do this pretty much every time you have a strike or rebait.

Correct. Get him hanging horizontal with the line coming out his lips and the jig head as much inside his mouth as possible. When he’s on the bottom it’ll hang at about a 45 degree angle tail up. I twitch the rod tip so he wiggles and it looks like he’s feeding on the bottom. If I don’t get a strike within thirty seconds I’ll hop him up a foot or so.
The difference in how fish approach is dramatic. Walleye went from swimming in and looking at it to racing over and inhaling the bait. I would take on average two tubs of minnows per person when I hit the lake and use them all no trouble at all. Regardless of which lake I’m fishing I’ll troll until I’m seeing fish then hit spot lock and get into them. If I was sitting over fish anything more then a minute between strikes was a slow day and I had very few slow days, most times it wouldn’t sit on bottom more then a couple seconds and often got hit on the drop. It out fishes any other technique I’ve ever seen.
The last time I fished pigeon lake I took my father in law and brother in law. We took four tubs of minnows. They hooked them through the back even though I told them what they should do. I burned the four tubs of minnows in short order and we left. We loaded the boat and headed off for home and my father in law says “I got four” brother in law says “I got six”. They both then discussed how they didn’t understand how I caught so many. They chalked it up to my rod and how much time I spend fishing. That kind of thing happened everywhere I went and everyone I fished with. It’s seriously all in the presentation.
Another time I took the boys to pine lake for pike through the ice. We got there and two guys were exactly where I wanted to fish so I set up about 20’ away. I asked them how the fishing was and they said they hadn’t had a bite and been there for two hours. I drilled six holes and started setting lines. For the next couple of hours until dark I never once had six lines in the water. I would direct the boys to which rod to grab and they would crank the fish in. I would take it off and tell them which rod they had to go grab next while I was trying to get minnows on hooks and get them down again. The guys next to me never caught a fish and when they checked their baits I saw they were hooking them on through the back and the jig was visible and the minnow looked unnatural. I heard a lot of comments between them asking each other what I was doing different but they never figured it out and I didn’t tell them because they didn’t ask.

The only thing sticking out of that minnow should be the point, the barb and half the gape of the hook. He must look natural, even at two years old my boy knew we didn’t use mushy minnows. Present them hanging horizontal with a little bit of motion on the bottom and get into them.

[RebTech]

Originally Posted by stubblejumper01

I think he means to slide your knot on the eyelet towards the shank so that it helps hold the rig more horizontal. You have to do this pretty much every time you have a strike or rebait.

Would love to see how this is done visually or drawing. I've been away from fishing and just starting to get back into it once I got my boat and looking for tips and tricks. Really want to get back into it.

Was fishing yesterday at crawling Valley res. Hot and Windy and lost my prop to my buddy in his blowup dingy being drifted to shore near the lighthouse. Had to tow him out with the power boat, there's that one spot everyone mentions that it get low quick, it sure did! chewed up my prop in 1/2 sec. I should buy shares in "Prop Master"

[Walleyemagnet]

Brian Brosdahl has a short YouTube video on how to “double hook” a shiner. I’ve been doing it this way since I was a kid and it works great! Doesn’t matter if you’re casting or jiggi aggressively, the minnow won’t fall off. I’ll often use bait buttons to keep them on even better or if I’m rigging them up in a different way. Short bites, throw on a “stinger” hooked in the tail.

[Coiloil37]

Originally Posted by RebTech

Would love to see how this is done visually or drawing.

Tie a tight knot, personally I use a uni then pull it back in the eye toward the business end of the hook so the jig hangs horizontal.

[liar]

thanks guys

[trigger7mm]

If I’m using them on jigs, in the mouth out just behind the head and then I add a bait button. Bait buttons are worth every penny especially when you’re fishing with leeches.[/QUOTE]

This^^^^!

[Jigsalot]

Originally Posted by wildwoods

Thru the gill plate then up thru the top of the back. Rock solid, good hookups, good presentation

X2. Same way but sometimes I just do thru the back if gently jigging. Depends on the mood of the little slimy buggers.

[EZM]

Originally Posted by wildwoods

Thru the gill plate then up thru the top of the back. Rock solid, good hookups, good presentation

Of course it depends on what you are doing - like if you are bottom bouncing a minnow - it's through the head and let the body "follow freely" to give it a somewhat natural presentation BUT if I'm still bait fishing I do exactly what wildwoods does.

Hook right trough one cheek and out the other, thread it through, give it a twist and into the meaty part of the back just under the spine so it stays on well and doesn't ruin the scales or the eyes(which are reflective).

Sharp hooks are the biggest most common mistakes people make when not hooking up on bites - not the way the hooked the bait. Sticky sharp hooks = more hook ups.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by EZM

Of course it depends on what you are doing - like if you are bottom bouncing a minnow - it's through the head and let the body "follow freely" to give it a somewhat natural presentation BUT if I'm still bait fishing I do exactly what wildwoods does.

Hook right trough one cheek and out the other, thread it through, give it a twist and into the meaty part of the back just under the spine so it stays on well and doesn't ruin the scales or the eyes(which are reflective).

Sharp hooks are the biggest most common mistakes people make when not hooking up on bites - not the way the hooked the bait. Sticky sharp hooks = more hook ups.

Through the eyes and back through the body puts a bend in the minnow, and makes it wobble and spin. Its worked out quite well for me when bottom bouncing, much like a slow death rig, just with a minnow instead of a worm.

Back when my daughter's fist started fishing we'd rig them up with a minnow hooked like this, with a fairly light weight about 12" ahead of it. I'd cast it out for them and they would fish it sporadically. Reel it in a bit, then get distracted and leave it sitting on the bottom for a while, eventually pick up the rod an move it around again... it was somewhat humbling how often a 3 year old would out fish everyone else using this method.

[FXSB]

This is great information. I am happy to have learned something.

Quote,,,,Put the hook in the mouth and feed it around then bring it out the minnows back so the head of the jig is sitting just inside the minnows mouth. The minnow must be straight and don’t mangle it. You want it to look natural with almost the entire hook hidden. Then as much as possible pull your line back toward the tail of the fish so the minnow is sitting horizontal. Drop it to the bottom and it will sit slightly head down/tail up but for the most part horizontal,,,,.Quote,,,,

[muzzy]

slide hook into mouth and out the gill cover, push minnow up the hook shaft until mouth butts up against jig head. Turn jig sideways and push hook thru body. Minnow presents in proper floatation pattern and really stays on the jig well

[Howard Hutchinson]

I've heard, take a very small piece of elastic and put it on the hook right after your bait. Very small as it simply needs to be pierced by the hook.

[Brovacs]

When I'm deadsticking with single hooks I go through te spine right in front of the dorsal fin, all the way down through the belly and the put the hook point in just behind the head. Hangs horizontal and stays on through multiple casts.

[manitou210]

put live minnow app 3" hook gently through lips on stand up jig and stinger in tail
gently cast out, when on bottom pull line to remove slack in line and watch line when it starts to tighten set hook.
this I extremely good when pickerel are just mouthing
yellow jig seems the best colour


https://www.cabelas.ca/product/13759...-hooks-10-pack

https://www.cabelas.ca/product/12235...-fire-ball-jig

[WayneChristie]

Originally Posted by manitou210

put live minnow app 3" hook gently through lips on stand up jig and stinger in tail
gently cast out, when on bottom pull line to remove slack in line and watch line when it starts to tighten set hook.
this I extremely good when pickerel are just mouthing
yellow jig seems the best colour


https://www.cabelas.ca/product/13759...-hooks-10-pack

https://www.cabelas.ca/product/12235...-fire-ball-jig

please let me know when you are using this technique I could use the reward money
personally the past member "Walleyes" showed me his way and Ive used it ever since. the hook goes in the mouth and out the gill, then I just turn the minnow and run the point into the back under the dorsal so its all covered the fish see the jighead but I found thats half of the attraction the colored head. If they are super fussy I just use a plain hook and do it the same way, takes a while to get down but Ive also caught lake whites with this too, nothing to scare them off.