Live Bait

[20lbSloughShark]

So it seemed the hot thing this year has been live bait, at least for me. I have caught over 30 on large suckers, 1 on medium suckers, and my favorite, an 8 pound one on a 3 pound bass. I have 1 snagged trolling (many hours tried) and about 10 with spoons.

Some things I noted are...

. Bass take suckers straight down

. northern pike just grab the sucker and go. The bobber goes about 3 feet on the surface of the water and then down

.dogfish are huge

.no bait is too big

The thing I am wondering, why do people use dead bait? I tried it and go zero takes, from anything. It seems the best sucker heads for weeds, stops, swims a few feet slowly, swims off fast, then gets hit by pike. Bait that is restless is OK, but its almost like the pike wait until they slow before taking them. Bait that just hangs and doesn't move, never gets eaten. Is it really as good as live bait?

Also, has anyone found a way to keep bass the size of the suckers, off the suckers? It seems when I find a good bait, a bass under 1 pound will take it. Usually killing the bait, along with itself.

[LEECH21]

A lot of people (including myself) use dead bait in the winter through the ice because that is what pike are used to eating. Northerns in the winter time become more like scavengers than predators. Winters can be rough on smaller bait fish as well as game fish and quite a few die. Northerns are opportunistic eaters and cruise around under the ice picking up these dead fish. That is why dead bait can be "deadly" in the winter.

As far as keeping bass off your baits....get bigger bait.

[20lbSloughShark]

your words intrigue me, tell me more about dead bait. Do you buy live bait and kill it, or use shad in a package? How do you prepare your bait? What spots do you use dead bait in; just outside weeds, in weeds, typical pike area? Tell me about your rig, and do you suspend your bait off the bottom.

[mrklean]

i tried shad last year and it didnt work at all

[JPenny]

I have quite a few activities going on during winter and don't get to fish through the ice much, but I started fishing deadbait at ice out early 30 years ago and did it every year for many years. My favorite was always suckers with cisco's coming in second. For quite a few years I ordered suckers from Joe's Sporting Goods and would pick them up on my way North. Threw them in a cooler with dry ice and they were frozen nicely by the time I hit the border. I mainly used 3 rigs. #1 on bottom with a slip sinker, #2 with a big floating jighead and #3 below a float depending on what area I was fishing. All worked very well and I usually ran out of bait even though I'd take 10 dozen or better for a weeks fishing. We caught a lot of big pike like this with several over 25lbs. Right after ice out this may be the best bet for giant pike.

[Nick Kuhn]

As far as keeping bass off your baits....get bigger bait.

This really can't be stressed enough. a 22" pike doesn't seem to think twice about hitting 10" baits. Bass however do. If you do catch a bass on a big bait, it will be of worthwhile size though.

[reinhard1]

Great post. for years i used frozen smelt for lake trout and for pike. now they must be purchased with an approved preservation method and the packaging must be with you at the time of fishing with them. i called the bait shop i go to and they are still working with the DNR for approved methods for sale by them. so i wont know for a couple of weeks or so what will be available as far as smelt. i have never used that dry ice method with suckers. do the suckers after thawing stay firm? that would be my only concern i guess. thanks good luck.

[JPenny]

The frozen suckers worked well and stayed firm as long as I kept them cold. I also use a rubber band to hold the bait to the rig so losses were kept at a minimum. Many times the pike seemed to like them better after they'd been chomped a time or two.

[ESOXGEEK]

Live bait is not allowed out here, unless it is caught in the water it is used in. None of the pike lakes have suckers, the best we have are trout and perch. I have done ok with perch all through the year. You will get a ticket if they catch you using trout ??? so if I hook one, I reel as SLOW as possible

[mainbutter]

There are some canadian waters where I'd LOVE to set a small lake trout up on a QS rig under a bobber.. if only it were legal and trout could be carried by bait shops!

[reinhard1]

thanks, i'll try that. i have used salt/borax on minnows but i will try the quick freeze/rubber band idea. hopefully they figure out a proper method for smelt that works so the bait shops can sell them all over. smelt are my hands down favorite for they give out an good smell for the pike in my opinion. good luck.

[20lbSloughShark]

This really can't be stressed enough. a 22" pike doesn't seem to think twice about hitting 10" baits. Bass however do. If you do catch a bass on a big bait, it will be of worthwhile size though.

I beg to differ. I have had 12" bass hit 10" suckers. I will take a picture next time.

[mrklean]

i caught a small bass 12" or less when i was testing a muskie bucktail at the lake in front of my place the bucktail was the size of the fish almost

[20lbSloughShark]

A lot of times they try and swallow, and I end up ripping their guts out. Bass are stupid.

[Esox_Magnum]

Small bass eat big baits to, caught one about 15" on a Glittertail, not exactly a small bait...caught a 14" smallie this summer on a 9" jerkbait....

[20lbSloughShark]

I just watched some underwater video of summer and winter pike. In the summer they just slam bait. In the winter they almost nibble it. Maybe deadbait is the answer?

[reinhard1]

deadbait has always produced better for me. of course i have used it more also when specificaly targeting pike on hard water. many years ago as a kid i whatched these guys on boulder lake near Duluth out fish us using smelt while we were using live minnows. i walked over to them and saw what they were using and have been doing that since. good luck.

[Southwick]

your words intrigue me, tell me more about dead bait. Do you buy live bait and kill it, or use shad in a package? How do you prepare your bait? What spots do you use dead bait in; just outside weeds, in weeds, typical pike area? Tell me about your rig, and do you suspend your bait off the bottom.

The 3 dead bait I use the most when ice-fishing are fall-fish (dace), pond shiners + sea herring all placed 6”-12” off the bottom mostly around weed lines and drop offs has always worked for me, also like to cut my baits bellies open and add Pro-Cure scents. I fell a good scent always helps to get me a few extra hits + this year there’s even one that make your bait glow under the water that I’m going to try.

Here’s a look at the nice river fall-fish that I have been getting + freezing for the ice season + a picture of a tandem sea herring golden rig I used last year.

[20lbSloughShark]

I'll have to give it a try. I can run two lines, one live sucker, one dead.

Do you want the bait horizontal in the water, or can it hang?

[JPenny]

Great looking bait and I agree that adding scents will at times get more bites. However, I prefer to use quick strike rigs so I can release bigger specimens without the worry of them swallowing the bait and getting gut hooked.