I've always hooked them from the bottom up, through the lips. Some people say I should hook them through the back near the tail. Is there any advantage to that?
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I've always hooked them from the bottom up, through the lips. Some people say I should hook them through the back near the tail. Is there any advantage to that?
I also hook mine thru the mouth. Fish swallow minnows head first so when hooked thru the lips, the hook will be the first thing into the fishes mouth making them easier to hook.
I spider rigg most of the time with minnow tipped jigs. From the chin up with jigs. Fishing bare hooks through the eyes. Males them a little more active because they are trying to right themselves and if you get a fish a lot of times they will slide up the line rather than being shaken off.
I hook mine up through the lips if I'm slow trolling and through the back below the dorsal fin if fishing down rods.
Thru the front part of the eye sockets with long shank thin wire hooks; if the bite is really slow will hook them just in front of the tail, missing the spine.
I usually hook through the lips (bottom-up) but will sometimes hook behind back fin.
I worm mine on starting at the tail and come out the mouth. Fish swallow minnows head first and I don't like them hitting the line before they get the minnow in their mouth. Lots of people call this a short strike, but the truth is they are hitting the line first. You feel the bump from the lips hitting the line but no hookup. When you get a bunch of this, worm them on tail first.
RCC you just ani't right.
YOu guys are teaching me something here as I've always hooked mine right below the dorsal in the meaty area. I've had tails of minnows chewed off butcan't say what tyupe of fish as I never catch those.
does this kill the minner? does a dead minner matter?Quote:
Originally Posted by RCC
I hook my minnows through the eyes they stay a live for a decent amount of time :fish
Quote:
Originally Posted by Soloist
:hesaid
Actually ... Crappie don't "hit the line" when hitting a minnow. Crappie don't actually "bite" a minnow ... and the minnow doesn't hang straight down from the sinker. Crappie actually "suck the minnow in" by opening their mouths & flaring their gills, creating a vacuum that draws in the minnow/hook & the water surrounding the minnow. The water is forced out through the gills, and the minnow is swallowed. A minnow or Shad doesn't have sharp fins, that could cause damage to a Crappie's throat ... so they don't always "turn" the minnow head first before swallowing.Quote:
Originally Posted by RCC
Crappie also don't always hit their prey "head first", either ... they don't have to, since they engulf the prey by the sucking in water/prey method. If they detect sharp fins or spines on their prey, they can turn the prey "head first" with their tongue/mouth before swallowing it.
... cp :kewl
dear crappiepappy…do you believe that when crappie bite on minnows or jigs…that they are easier to catch than a garfish…i.e.you would be much more likely to see the crappie when getting a hookup than some of the other species(not bass) that we get bites from when crappie fishing……?
Just in case someone ones to see how the fish actually bite. Commentary is interesting also.
Ice Fishing on a Sunny Day ! Bluegill + Crappie Underwater Bites - YouTube
Vet .... Gar tend to grab a bait well out towards the end of their long snouts. They have teeth, so they actually "bite" the bait to kill it, rather than swallow it whole/alive like a Crappie would. So, yeah, I do believe a Crappie is easier to catch than a Gar. Not to mention the mouth of a Crappie is much softer than that of a Gar ... so hook penetration is easier into a Crappie.Quote:
Originally Posted by fishervet
... cp :kewl
What I saw on the video, was typical Crappie & Bluegill bites in frigid water temps ... ie: slow movement, finicky reaction, near neutral mood of the fish .... and yet, the Bluegill still grabbed the jig/meat in the lip portion of its mouth, while the Crappie (that was caught) sucked in the whole jig/meat offering with a simple flaring of the gills (as I eluded to, previously).Quote:
Originally Posted by RCC
The Crappie & Bluegill can see much better in cold water, too. They also did not have to "chase" the bait, like they would have to do with a live minnow on a hook/sinker rig or a moving jig or jig/minnow rig.
... cp :kewl
Hook mine thru the eyes.
Thru the eyes
The only bad thing about hooking them through the lips and out the head is it is hard not to hit the brain and kill them. So mine go through the eye.
Don't bring the hookpoint out through the "head" .... bring it out between the nostrils. But, that way of hooking is mainly for jigs IMHO.Quote:
Originally Posted by nabob
If hooking a minnow with a regular hook, then through the eye socket (behind the eyeballs, not through them) will allow the minnow to swim freely and won't kill the minnow as easily as a badly placed "through the head" or "under the back dorsal fin" placement will.
... cp :kewl
It depends on the minnow. I've always hooked a "tuffy" in the lips. They are called "tuffies" for a reason...they are tough. Because a crappie basically inhales a minnow instead of chewing on it we often catch 3-4 crappie on the same minnow. The minnow will usually be dangling on the outside of the mouth of the crappie as it slides freely along the hook with the lip method. We just make sure we net them when they are being brought out of the water so they won't shake off the minnow. If the fish are biting one way is as good as another...just get one in the water. :fish
Then why, when you never detect a bite on a cork, and you pull up the minnow......so many times (VERY many times) the eyeballs are missing????
????
I hook mine thru the eyes
Small Bluegill will peck the eyes out, and sometimes even bite the fins off. And there's also the case where if you punch the hook through the eyeballs (& burst them), then the minnow struggling on the hook can dislodge the eyes. :twocentsQuote:
Originally Posted by Buckrub
... cp :kewl
I kept some small crappie in an aquarium for a while. When I would feed them they always ate the minnows head first. I hook my minnows thru the lips for this reason. Hey it works for me.
I've kept several Crappie in an aquarium, as well ... and mine simply sucked the minnow in from whatever angle they could :biggrinQuote:
Originally Posted by RogerA
I don't hook minnows through the "lips", for the same reason I don't like hooking a Crappie in the "lips" ... the "lips" are too fragile, and the hook can be ripped loose too easily. But I may be reading more into what some are referring to as "lips", than what they're actually using. I do hook minnows (on a jig) by pushing the hook point from under the bottom of the mouth & out between the nostrils ... just not literally through the mouth membrane/lips.
When trolling a minnow along, whether it be on a plain hook, or jighead, most strikes are going to come from behind/below. Jigs, cranks, & spinners are attacked from the same direction. Only when the minnow is held in a fixed position, would a fish have the option to attack it "head first". And even then, Crappie tend to suck the minnow in from whatever angle the minnow allows them to ... by the angle of approach of the Crappie, or the movement of the minnow itself. That's why lip hooked, head hooked, eye hooked, back hooked, or tail hooked minnows will still take the hook into the mouth of the fish. I've even seen hooked Crappie have the minnow going tail first down their throat. Minnows & Shad are soft rayed fish (fins are soft) and don't pose a injury problem, no matter how they're swallowed. Small sunfish, on the other hand, are hard rayed fish (fin spikes are hard) and are usually swallowed head first to avoid injury (regardless of what angle they are when entering the fish's mouth).
Even so ... if hooking a minnow a certain way is working for you, then by all means keep on doing it that way !! You know the old saying ... "If it ain't broken ...... " :ThumbsUp
... cp :kewl
I vertical fish 90% of the time with jigs tipped with either nibbles or minnows. I normally hook minnows through both eyes.
I never hook through the eyes, always the back below spine or through the lips. Depends on the bite and how many Crappie I want to catch on each minnow. If the Crappie are aggressive through the lips. If finicky, through the back. Through the back gives the minnow more of a distress action. Through the back and the minnow will try to get away from the Crappie and you can see your bobber move before the strike. Moving the minnow around will help you pinpoint the school.
On plain hook, thru the eyes, with a small piece of solid body jig grub or worm pushed on thru the hook point so the minner stays on. I can't stand messy nibbles.
If jigging (jig head only) , I go thru mouth out back of head. I usually use a big bit jig for this. They have a very short shank.
I have seen the inhaling bites on video and they are interesting to see. I just wonder how a crappie flares his gills and sucks in a crank bait as it goes by at 1.5-2.5 mph. I suppose he creates enough suction to slow down a 1500+lb boat. Same deal with power trolling jigs. Reckon that fish is smart enough to recognize that the one is a live minnow and the other is a bandit 300 and eats them a different way? Or do you suppose that the bite at the artificial is just purely a reaction bite? If so, does the crappie never have a reaction bite on live bait? So many questions and so little time. Does anyone have a video of a crappie eating a crank bait. This I would like to see.
Oh by the way to keep this "on topic", I hook my crank baits right through the lips.
Yup... I hook em through the eyes too! Has always worked for me so why fix what ain't broken?
Everyone has their preferred method but I guess you just find what works for you and go with it!
My buddy hooks em through the lips and lights em up too!
hook them thru the eyeballs
I may be over thinking it, but it seems like my minnows die pretty fast when I hook them bottom up through the front/lips whatever you want to call it, even when I am careful not to put the hook through their brain. They seem to last longer hooked sideways in one nostril and out the other, granted they don't stay on the hook as well, or in the back behind the dorsal, high enough not to hit any vitals. The theory I have decided on is when you hook upward through the mouth, the hook sometimes holds the mouth closed and they can't move water through their gills and can't breathe, so they die quicker.
Again, maybe it's total bunk but it makes sense in my mind. I've kept a ton of minnows on the hook for quite a while that I could put back in the bucket and use again later or throw in the water and they'd swim away, but that almost never happens when "lip" hooked.
Maybe I should be more worried about why I can have a minnow on my hook so long and not have it taken off by a fish! Ha! I have tried both ways to try to see a difference in missed strikes, and I can't tell any. I always prescribed to the fish eating prey head first theory and hooked them in the front, but minnows being soft rayed, it does make sense that it wouldn't matter.
I used to always hook my minners thru the back just behind the dorsal fin until one day I went fishing with my cousin and he was hooking them through the eyes. He was catching probably 4 to my one,so from then on,I hook them through the eyes.
Hook um thru the eyes so they don't see what is fixin to happen to them!
On the back, near dorsal fin. Seems to stay fresher longer than with a mouth set. But that's just me. Haven't crappie fished since the Jurassic Period..lol
My dad always hooked his thru the lips. I felt that when I did that they died to quick. When I do use minnows I prefer to tail hook them.
I have inserted book point into mouth, then up through top of nostrils to allow minnow to have more water flowing through gills. It seems to make them last a little longer. Especially in warm water.
Of all these methods discussed, which one is best for keeping a minnow on if you're casting?