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I would love to use live minnows,but I cannot see the benefit other than the romance of it.I have been using a beetle spin ( minus the beetle) with a black 1/8 jig head,and a chartuese beaver tail the last few outings,today I caught well over 60 crappie,most 12-16".
On my previous outing I used a beetle spin ( minus the beetle) with a 2" plastic shad,again catching roughly the same amount.Yes,I would love to fish with live bait,buti guess I'm not that romantic!
Artificial is so much easier to deal with.
I have fished all plastics and lures so far this year and have done really well.
I am really surprised how much faster I fish and my line is in the water much much more. No rebaiting. Digging for a minnow. Carrying them with me. Making a stop to buy them.
My efficiency has increased dramatically.
But... I have been into fish pretty good and have not had tough days yet. Them are the days it's nice to have bait...
The benefits of minnows...
1. Crappie will eat them year round and in any conditions. No need to change lures and decide what color.
2. Jigs can be "tipped" to entice a slow bite when just jigs are not working well.
3. Minnows can be bought for less than $15 for a pound (about 10-12 dozen) which gives you a whole day with minnows.
4. Minnows can be kept alive for hours in minnow bucket and for days in an Engle cooler.
5. Crappie will smell and taste the minnows causing a feeding frenzy drawing in more crappie.
6. You can catch them for free with traps and nets and use them anywhere.
7. Pros use them.
These are just a few of the benefits of minnows when fishing for crappie.
I personally carry at least 4 dozen minnows with me when I go fishing and I ALWAYS catch more fish than anyone else I see and talk to on the water at any given time. You really have to HATE minnows to not fish with them. Some people even hate others that fish with minnows. Why? I couldn't tell you why but I have seen people belittle others for using them. I always tell them if the pros use them then they must work. They usually mumble something like "are you a pro?" or "Can't catch them with jigs?" And I always tell them I'm no pro but I catch them with jigs tipped with minnows all the time. They shut up after that.
Fishing with artificial is rewarding in trying to "fool" the fish into biting. It gives instant reward for fooling them and you can use them over and over until the plastic needs replacing. It is fun for sure. If that is what you are fishing for. If you are fishing to catch more fish to eat then minnows will ALWAYS put more fish in the boat!
I am with you on minnows. They will work when nothing else will in my lake. Well said Kickingback.:ThumbsUp
Go for what ya know!
I almost always have minnows on board. Not sure about the romance thing.:confused:
I'm not knocking those who use minnows,I fish from a kayak,space is taken up fairly quickly with an anchor,an anchor pole,net,cooler,tackle bag,paddle and myself.I will no doubt use minnows at some time,but I would need to drag a minnow bucket along the side of the yak,I'm not really wanting to do that.
Funny story though,yesterday I caught over 60 crappie,two men in a boat not more than 40 yrds of me we using minnows,yes,I out fished both of them,and they were asking to see my artificial,because they just couldn't believe an artificial could slam them like mine did.Perhaps like stated,minnows work without fail:ThumbsUp
They don't call my boat the USS MINNOW for nothing.
I love both. I love both the solid thump! and the subtle tick! when they take a jig. I also love watching that bobber go under.
I prefer to use a jig, but there are some waters that I fish where a minnow does better almost any time of year. Other lakes jigs catch them fast enough to keep me busy. The benefits of jigs is size and color, I can fish from 1"-3" baits in any color combo and weight that I need for the day. I also tie my own jigs that fit patterns that I am looking for.
I have nothing agaisnt live bait at all, if it will catch more fish for me I'll use it. I'd rather not be fishing with the second best bait/lure of the day if I can use the best.