Berkly gulp minnows

[moviking]

Has anybody tried those Gulp minnows that come in a salution. What colors work best, and will they stay fresh a long time. How good do they work. I bought some and then had shoulder surgery. If we aren't froze up, hope to get the boat out inabout 10 days

[Scott M]

Used the 3" smelt gulp alive minnows for cats last winter one day when things slow down. Managed a few bites and a fish.

I use power minnows in the winter but haven't tried gulp alive for pannies come winter yet.

Let us know how you do and good luck with rehabbing the shoulder.

Northland has essentially a jigging rapala that is new this year called the puppet minnow. Whenever I fish a power minnow under the ice I always feel like I'm playing puppet master with those things but they do work well for panfish. The fish are always very interested and if you use subtle steady twitches you can get the scissor tail to work very well for you. I try to keep a steady quiver going at the least, even when the bait is getting the entire lookover. Slowly raising and stopping at a quiver has worked the best for me. Slow steady hops are good too.

I don't know if anyone else has had any luck leaving them completely still, but I haven't so I'll probably always keep the bait moving with only a few stops. I'll never leave it completely still when they're eying it pretty intensively. Always nice to use these baits with a camera to see how the fish react...only got to do that in one situation last year.

[lovebigbluegills]

How do you like your camera? I'm thinking of getting one in the near future, as there are a few relatively clear lakes I fish for bluegills and crappies. Do you have a black/white or color camera? Is the fishing better while your camera is horizontal and pointed at your jig? Or from above pointed down? Are you able to use it at night?

Thanks in advance for your reply

[Scott M]

lbb, I do like my camera. I own a black and white camera (An MC2X B&W Aqua Vu with temperature readout), but did get a chance to fish with a Marcum VS825C, and its on the wish list for next year. There is a reason they are Nature Vision's premium lines of cameras...Jeff Zernov and Nature Vision pioneered the concept, and I find it interesting that they buy MarCum and those cameras become a premium line...very nice cameras. I understand that the price point isn't for everyone and considering that they are a tool and not a magic potion, you have to purchase within your own set of circumstances, price and features being most obvious. When I say a tool, I mean a tool and not a fish monitoring device like a flasher can be used. I use mine to find temperature breaks and structure. Hit Mille Lacs and look at the flat. Are the perch and walleyes on top or cruising the edge? What do the weeds look like? What substrate am I on? How does the temperature change where this small inlet comes in? Those kinds of questions are answered with a camera (and temperature display for my unit's example). When I fish it, it's more to see how fish are reacting to my jigging or presentation than to actually see them inhale the jig, although I'm not gonna lie, that's fun too. Like I said in the earlier post, with something like a power or gulp minnow, seeing how a fish reacts can really help you decide how you want to work it.

But I digress, I enjoy seeing fish approach a jig from a lateral perspective. Sometimes this really makes bluegills shy and especially crappies. When this is the case I will downview. I also have a weighted tripod that when I have a decent hardbottom or I can position the camera just right in the muck, I can upview too. But, I will admit, I rarely use the camera for these sorts of shots during fishing. Only during a handful of times will I use the camera while fishing, and that is to record some cool scenes when the setting is perfect. Just stop and think about that for a second, twisting cables, finding the right depth, finding your jig, messing with getting the camera to hold permanently...it's a lot of monkeying around, especially if you have a narrow window of opportunity. So my best advice is, rent a camera, take it out on the ice, and see if you like using it. It's a lot of fun, it makes things interesting, but most often it is a tool. There are only a few times and places where I can get away with using it while fishing.

Lastly you ask about night viewing. I have yet to find a camera that does well at night. Water is a unique medium. It absorbs certain wavelengths of light and after the sun goes down, there already is little light that a camera lens can gather. When the camera is forced to project the light, the fish know something is up, whether it is visible light, IF light, or whatever. Also you more often than not end up just seeing a few feet in front of the camera at most because light won't travel very far in clear water as its absorped quickly, and also there is a great deal of particle suspension problems. Basically, at night when zooplankton move throughout the water column (they don't run the risk of arousing the curiosity of sight predators after dark), the water is a lot more cloudy. You have to bring your jig in closer to the camera to be able to see it, and then a fish doesn't want to investigate what it is because there is this blinding light in their eyes. Camera visiblity is awful in these situations. Night viewing just seems to amplify these problems. It can be used as tool for finding fish after dark, but you have to be right by them for it to work.

lovebigbluegills, I hope this helps if you're at all serious about trying to purchase a camera. There is a lot of good information on cameras in the ice fishing forum. Try a search and you'll find lots of threads on what to look for when buying your first camera and many testimonials. For what it's worth, I have used cameras to assist me in enjoying the search for nice-sized panfish

[lovebigbluegills]

Wow dc, that was quite an answer and I sure appreciate the time you took to type it all in. That was a great idea--renting a few different models to figure out which one I like, if any. Thanks for all the other information also.

[Borch]

Whenever I fish a power minnow under the ice I always feel like I'm playing puppet master with those things but they do work well for panfish. The fish are always very interested and if you use subtle steady twitches you can get the scissor tail to work very well for you. I try to keep a steady quiver going at the least, even when the bait is getting the entire lookover. Slowly raising and stopping at a quiver has worked the best for me. Slow steady hops are good too.

I don't know if anyone else has had any luck leaving them completely still, but I haven't so I'll probably always keep the bait moving with only a few stops. I'll never leave it completely still when they're eying it pretty intensively. Always nice to use these baits with a camera to see how the fish react...only got to do that in one situation last year.

Actually I have had good results with holding the power minnow still. In fact I've even caught several slabs deadsticking power minnows. Who'd of thunk it?

I do agree that the slow lift is a great tactic for the crappies eyeballing the bait. Every fish and day is different.

Puppet master.... I love it because it's true.