trailer hooks

[soldoncass]

How do you guys fish your minnows for eyes? Use traier hooks? A single trailer hook is legal I think. I want to eliminate the hits, that end up with a minnow head left on the hook. The fish got lunch and I got a minnow head. "Give em more time" is against my nature ...reflexes are too quick.

How do you do it?

Thanks!

[Northlander]

For stinger hooks I use mainly small treble hooks. How small depends on the size minnows Im using. Yes a treble hook stinger is legal.

Mostly I think I use a size 6 or 8 treble. If Im using real big shiners, creek chubs, suckers or redtails I will go bigger.

There are new "shiner" jigs put out by Northland that are great for bigger minnows. They have a longer shank and bigger gap so you can feed the hook through the gills and up through the back/side. Lindy also makes a nice wide gap jig for this. I find these jigs also work great on plastics.

[backlash 1]

Do you guys imbed the stinger in the minnow?

I just read an article in Outdoor Life and they just left the stinger dangle free

[rosspj59]

If I use a trailer i usually will put a hook from the treble in the belly of the minnow. Another tip is to either stick the hook through the mouth and through the back of the minnow, or try going through the mouth out the gill and up through the belly of the minnow to the back. That way more of your hook is through the minnow and the fish are less likely to bite off the everything but the head.

[tweedlap]

Soldoncass;

Personally, I never use a stinger. Once you feel the fish hit or grab the minnow...pause and slowly drop your tip toward the fish. This give the eye time to get it into his mouth and you time to prepare and position for the set.

Northland, thanks for the tip on the shiner jigs. I am hoping the bigger gap and longer shank are available on the light jigs, as well.

--Soldoncass buy some of these jigs and you will not need a trailer. In the mouth, out the gill and up through the back.

This method saves minnows and you can pull them away from a peske perch.

tweed

[soldoncass]

Appreciate the tips from everybody. I'll check into those jigs. I have/had some stingers, but after reorganizing my boxes from 2 down into 1... I can't find them anywhere. I NEVER used them , so it's hard to tell what I did with them. Wouldn't you know it, last time we went out , we were given some redtails by someone leaving the lake/ tournament and we didn't know how to fish such a BIG minnow. I couldn't find my stingers, and still can't. We had 1 bite-off like I previously described, so I'm trying to get that problem fixed, before we go again. Thanks !

[Northlander]

I usually hook the stinger in the back area to cut down on snags. If Im not worried about snags much I will leave it hanging but not often. I tie up my own stingers with Power pro or whatever mono Im using. That way I can make them the length I need for the particular minnow size I use.

[soldoncass]

Make your own???????????? Now why didn't I think of that????

Next w/e those sneaky fish will have another hook to contend with!!! Thanks for all the tips/ ideas.

[Team Otter]

When threading the whole minnow on a jig, I use long shank jigs. When lip hooking a minnow on a jig, I use a short shank jig. If the fish are leaving you with the minnow head, speed up your presentation to better sort out the more tentative fish and get after the fish that really want it.

[B@ssDoctor]

Soldoncass,

A long shank vs. short shank will not resolve your problem if you are getting bit off at the head. Regardless of how long the shank is, the fish is not getting to that portion of the hook. Although somewhat risky a 6 size hook on 4-6 pound test is lethal. Keep the line size down enough that the minnow does not look like it is a straight jacket. This way you have an advanced chance of hooking the fish with a slightly smaller hook/smaller line, versus being left with a minnow head. This will increase your odds of at least catching the fish versus being in doubt of what might have been.

[Swimstein]

I had your quick jerk reflex problem too. It took a while, but I learned to just jerk that rod in the direction of the fish instead of away from it. Same action in reverse. Then bring the rod up until slight pressure is felt then set the hook. Go to the shallows or off a dock and practice with worms and small fish.

[Team Otter]

How the minnow is threaded on either a short or long shank jig can but not always, determine how the fish bites. I know this; don't lip-hook on a long shank and vice-versa for a short shank.