How many still use minnows for walleye even in the heat of summer

[tacklejunkie]

This time of year I’m a crawler guy and I don’t see too many minnow  buckets hanging over the side of other boats in July but how many use minnows all year with good success?  Both crawlers and leeches have been slow for me lately and  if I buy a bucket of minnows would it be worth it this time of year?

Edited July 24, 2020 by tacklejunkie

[ozzie]

listening to the FAN Outdoors the other week the bait shop that they speak with often stated that minnows in the summer become almost impossible to keep alive due to some factors with a protective slime (?) and that is why you don't see them sold as frequently in the summer.  I maybe off on some information along with it  but was interesting to say the least...

[rundrave]

zero minnows its all crawlers and leeches for me this time of year.  The leech season is coming to an end here and they are getting hard to find anywhere right now.

[bobberineyes]

The chain of lakes were on have lots of shiners in them. That being said the game fish still feed on em, I just try to match in plastics this time of year,  especially scented swim baits. 

[Juneau4]

It depends on the water you fish in. 1 lake I go to it's all minnows year around and nothing on leaches, but a few with crawlers. Know the water is the best I can say.

Floating Raps work year around for anything from 16---24 give or take, but only around sunset.

[JBMasterAngler]

I was using fatheads on the croix last week with little success. Take that with a grain of salt though, because I wasn’t catching anything on artificials leading up to that either.

[tacklejunkie]

On 7/24/2020 at 12:34 PM, rundrave said:

zero minnows its all crawlers and leeches for me this time of year.  The leech season is coming to an end here and they are getting hard to find anywhere right now.

 

 I’ve noticed the quality of leeches at the bait shops have declined. 

 

 I’m not a real big fan of them but might be time to pull out the crank baits

 

[rundrave]

anyone ever try or use gulp alive leeches? With leeches no longer available I wonder how they would do on a spinner or jig?

[tacklejunkie]

10 hours ago, rundrave said:

anyone ever try or use gulp alive leeches? With leeches no longer available I wonder how they would do on a spinner or jig?

 

Yes 

Found them useless 

[BobT]

On 7/31/2020 at 7:21 PM, tacklejunkie said:

 

Yes 

Found them useless 

I have yet to find plastics to be very effective. I've tried everything from finesse to snap jigging and trolling and found nothing plastic will out fish live bait. It could be that I just don't fish them properly though.

[bobbymalone]

I have had good luck with river walleyes using plastics.  Lake walleye, not so much.  Usually twisty tail grubs and paddle tail minnows. 

 

Never tried plastic leeches

[BobT]

I would like to know if there is a way to use plastics with greater confidence for walleyes so any tips would be much appreciated. 

 

One concern that has crossed my mind is the question of whether or not the plastics are edible. If a fish bites it off and swallows it, can it harm the fish?