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New to crappie fishing and got question for the experts! I went to get some minnows the other day and when I said I wanted minnows I was given several options in kind and size I was not prepared for. If given the option is one preferred over the other and it seems like some of the choices between my two bait places have different names but are actually the same.
The options I have are:
- Arkansas Shiners
- Tuffies
- Rosie Reds
- Blackheads
- Fatheads
I will probably catch a bunch of grief for this but..... TUFFIES. They will eat a shiner but prefer tuffies. I have used both side by side enough times to know. I have heard nothing but good things about Rosie reds but have never found them small enough you couldn't use a filet knife on them. As for size, if given the option I prefer #6's
I have seen times where they would only bite shiners and the same thing with tuffies you just have to use them all and see what works best for you. On my favorite lake they like big shiners in early spring but come summer tuffies are hard to beat. And you can beat Rosie for small lakes in my neck of the woods. So they all work in different places and times.
Tuffies or Rosies
Other than the Shiners .... if the bait stores sell the other minnows at different prices, they're playing you :RoflQuote:
Originally Posted by dicksenn
Fatheads, Blackheads, & Tuffies are all the same Fathead Minnow ... and Rosie Reds are a orange colored variation of a Fathead Minnow. Blackheads may also be male Fatheads in breeding coloration.
As for the "Arkansas" Shiners ... if they buy their minnows from Andersons Fish Farm, they're probably just Golden Shiners.
If/when I buy minnows, I usually go by size ... picking the 2-3" range if available. Mostly they're Fatheads, but occasionally there may be some Bluntnose Minnows in the mix. I've even had the occasional Stickleback show up in the bunch :Doh:, and even less often a Tadpole or Channel Cat fry. I have no idea where our local baitshops get their "minnows" :dono
... cp :kewl
Home grown work.
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z.../tomminner.gif
Never caught a single fish in all the time I've spent on the water with a stickleback that got thrown in my bucket.Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
Not likely to, unless you've got Pike in your waters. Any I find in my bucket, never live long enough to be put on a hook. I smash they little head & feed'em to the B'gills !!Quote:
Originally Posted by Locator79
... cp :kewl
The Tuffies or pink minners as some swear by are usually sold very small. Shiners , pink minnows, or whatever ,size probably the most important. My dad actually favored bigger bait . CrappiePappy is right on in his post IMO.
Fatheads for inland lakes and shiners for the great lake Erie, perch fishing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
Around here most folks call fatheads "crappie minnows." I usually buy the smallest ones I can find. They usually charge more for rosies and I haven't noticed any advantage to using them, so I only buy them when they're the only thing small enough. I've had the same experience with the odd stickleback or channel cat winding up in the bucket. Like Locator 79, no luck with stickleback minnows for bait.
I really don't use minnows much any more. I'm usually shore fishing and they're a pain to carry if you have to do much hiking to reach a spot. I have a lot of confidence in Gulp Alive minnows so that's what I usually use when I would otherwise use a minnow. I used to use minnows whenever a plain curlytail or tube wasn't getting it done. More recently I mostly dead-sticked them under a bobber while I was casting with another rod, because the minnow provided its own action. But I've had a lot of bites on Gulp products that were just hanging under a bobber, so the convenience of packaged baits wins out for me.
Fatheads. We get emerald shiners in our bait stores, too, and crappies love them but fatheads are MUCH easier to keep alive on a day of fishing.
I dont know the differance in minnows besides size in which I normally ask for smaller ones, but I remember last Spring after the bad winter, the bait shop told Me they are having a hard time getting minnows because the lakes in Michigan where froze solid, and thats where they get them. So is this because they only sell one species of minnows or?