Report: Effectiveness of borax/salt treated cisco (Good news update!)

[Craigums]

Those are herring? Do they sell them in most grocery stores?

...Also why would dead bait be better than live bait, Ive always used live sucker when tip-up fishing. Am I missing the boat on something?

[Steve Foss]

I rig my tip-ups this way. I make these rigs up myself with 50lb stranded wire. I've only gut-hooked one pike in the 3 or so years I've been tying these rigs. The key is placing your tip-ups close enough together so the fish doesn't have a chance to swallow the whole thing by the time you get there.

Craigums, you are missing the boat big time. As I mentioned in this thread (and it was borne out again yesterday), in my fishing travels across N.D., Minn., and Wis., deadbait has outfished live for winter pike 4:1 for me. The convenience factor of dead vs live bait is big, too, and every time you get a flag on deadbait, you know it's because a fish bit it.

[MN Mike]

Those are herring? Do they sell them in most grocery stores?

...Also why would dead bait be better than live bait, Ive always used live sucker when tip-up fishing. Am I missing the boat on something?

I don't think you'll find those Herring in grocery stores, they say right on them NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. There are quite a few bait shops in the north country here that have these available for bait.

I honestly couldn't tell you why Pike prefer these over suckers, all I know is that we have fished live and dead bait together and dead bait out produced every time. You'll have to try it and see how it goes.

Mike

[Steve Foss]

If any bait dealer in the Ely area wanted to get saltwater herring like those pictured, they'd have a willing customer. I'd take the herring over the treated cisco, as long as the price isn't ridiculous. Lots of folks used herring for pike out in N.D. when I lived there, and they are excellent.

Most of the cisco I've bought for bait is about 6 inches long. The herring I've used tended to run a bit larger, but I'm not sure if that's still true.