Quote Originally Posted by RCC View Post
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.
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.
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