Minnows or Leeches

[amateurfishing]

I have bought minnows couple times this spring for fishing as i had very good success with them ice fishing. problem is they seem to be dying at a faster rate in my frig (set at coldest setting) than they every did in winter and seem to lose them off hook way to easy when casting even when hooking through mouth or behind gills. Do leeches just work better for open water? if so, do you store the same way in minnow bucket in frig?

[Greg Clusiau]

First off, what are you fishing for? Secondly, I've been leaving my minnows in the garage (it's so darn cool up here) with an aerator on and they've been fine.

[amateurfishing]

nothing in particular, i dont know how do do that. bass, norther, crappies, perch, anything big & yummy.

[ozzie]

Go buy a tub of Gulp Alive 2.5" minnows (black shad or emerald shiner) and put them on a jig and you won't have to worry about keeping bait alive and you will catch all of the fish listed above and more.....this is what I have done and I save alot of money not having to go to the bait shop everytime I go fishing!!

[amateurfishing]

jig & a bobber?

[Outdoor Authority]

They work on a jig and bobber for gills and crappies very well. I have used then all spring with good success. I have started to use them for walleyes but yet to form am opinion on them as of now.

[Mike_Top]

Our boat caught 8 walleyes last saturday on leeches. I've always used leeches in the summertime and always had luck. I get jumbo leeches for walleyes, but small leeches work awesome for panfish (the bait store by my house offers 3 different sizes). They are so hardy, you just put them in the fridge and change the water every few days. And under a bobber on a plain hook, the things just hang there and wriggle around. I think fish find that irresistible!

[amateurfishing]

yeah, my bucket of minnows lasted less than a week in frig, very dissappointed, but did not seem to say on hook that well either, are minnows better for ice fishing than open water? do i need to stay with crawlers or leeches for open water? will also look into Gulp

[ozzie]

yes I fish them both free and under a bobber.....the past 2 weekends I have caught 12 walleyes and many many crappies a few bass a couple northerns and a few sunnies all on the Gulp Alive 2.5" minnows....this is also been on a couple different lakes.

[amateurfishing]

k, got a small pack of gulp 3 inch black shad, hope proof is in the pudding this weekend.

[ozzie]

I am not giving the 3" the same endorsement as the 2.5" as I have rarely used the 3"....but if I were to be going after bigger fish I would go to the bigger baits but I tend to fish alot for crappies and sunnies and I know they both like the 2.5". Good Luck and let us know how you do...

[amateurfishing]

thats all the store had so thats what i went with, if teh 3" equates to larger fish (walleye, northern, bass) & not much panfish, i guess i wont complain. just drop under a bobber or jig from bottom, eh? hope to try this weekend.

[ozzie]

yep and when you use it under the bobber as in any plastic if the waves aren't giving the bait life then you must give the bobber a lift or a twitch here and there to make the bait move a little

[Outdoor Authority]

Since you have the 3" don't be afraid to cut of some of the front to make it 2" or 2.5 inches. I do this with plastics depending on the shank of the hook to keep it in the back of the plastic since it seems fish love to strike short.

[amateurfishing]

thx, was already considering cutting some off front if necessary, any particular jig head to use? think i got 1/8th with green, red, & yellow color

[Outdoor Authority]

That should do the job for you. I have Ben using the 1/8 ounce that have the piece of wire along the shank of the hook. It holds plastics and culp better than just the shank.

[amateurfishing]

actually got 1/4 oz jig head with red, yellow, green color, will report back how successful

[amateurfishing]

tried this am and no good, may have been on a bad lake, 5 hours got 1 10 inch bass on a twister tail. hope to try again soon.

[ozzie]

go with a lighter jig like a 1/16 especially right now with alot of the fish in shallower than 12' deep....I use anything from 1/32 to 1/8 but rarely go bigger but I don't fish much deeper than 15' 90% of the time I go fishing.

[amateurfishing]

k, thx, i never fished with jig heads b4, how do u know what size to use for what purpose?

[ozzie]

use light jigs for slow falls in shallow water heavier jigs use in deeper water...if you are in water 10' or less use the 1/16 or lighter jigs depending on the mood of the fish....sometimes they like to hit it on the fall so the lighter the jig the slower the bait will fall. I like to try different retrieves sometimes I pop the jig let it fall and repeat sometimes and nice steady retrieve and sometimes I drag it on the bottom....let the fish tell you what they are into that day....good luck

[amateurfishing]

funny, i actually did exactly as u described just playing around with the 1/4 jig head and the 3" black shad with nothing. caught 1 bass on mister twister, so i guess either my setup to big for lake or no big fish in that lake. with that described setup, use an ultra light rod or medium light? thx.

[ozzie]

My go to rod is 6'6" light action with a fast tip but I will use medium light action rods also...I only go with light or ml rods unless I am going for northerns or trolling for walleyes then I will use a stiffer rod like a m or h. the one tip I can give is that the longer your rod the better control you have with the bait as I will lift the tip high in the air if I am trying to run the bait higher in the water column and bring the rod tip closer to the water when trying to keep the bait deeper....another tip is to fish weedlines or in the weeds as this is where alot of the fish will be especially early in the year..good luck