Quote Originally Posted by DWILL View Post
I have better luck through the lip and head. My hands tend to shake and kill too many in the back. I've never used the eye socket, does this give you a better hookup?
I don't know as it gives a "better" hookup, but the minnow IS a bit harder for fish to yank off the hook. If I'm remembering correctly, though, it does allow for the hook to be a bit deeper in the fish's mouth .. so the hook is less likely to be tearing a hole in the mouth membranes, since it's more likely to stick into something inside the fish's mouth.

Come to think of it, I've always hooked them "behind" the eyes ... and I'm not really sure why but it was probably the way someone taught me. Thinking about it now, I'm wondering if running the hook thru the eye socket IN FRONT of the eyeballs would be better ?? See, when you run the hook thru the eye socket, you'll feel a little "pop" when the hook penetrates the membrane. If you catch a fish, or the minnow gets attacked by small fish, sometimes that can lead to the hook tearing the eye socket open quite a bit and leaving the minnow basically dangling on the hook with little to nothing holding it. I may be overthinking this, but running the hook thru the socket & in front of the eyes might keep the minnow on the hook longer ... I don't know. It's been MANY years since I've even used minnows, so I'm kinda rusty on the subject.