"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
.. .
I used to use minnows for bassing all the time. Usually whatever I could
catch. I actually had a pretty good setup for minnow fishing including a
55
gallon plastic barrel for my bait. Anyway, I was watching Mark Sosin's
Sal****er Journal the other evening and he had an interesting technique.
His bait was dead, but I was wondering how well it might work for large
shiners or or other live bait fish. He slid the hook and line in the
mouth
and out through one gill. Then he put the hook in the side of the fish
about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way back so it layed semi flat along the side of
the
fish.

When I used minnows for bass I just hooked them through the lips. In most
good bass spots the minnow got clobbered so fast it never mattered how
long
the bait lasted, but I was wondering if Mark's method might work better
for
those guys who drift and troll big shiners for smalleys in places like
Dale
Hollow.

Would the line through the gill damage the gill and kill the minnow
quickly,
or would its small diameter allow the water to flow better than a typical
lip hooked minnow allowing it to stay fresh and lively longer?

Hmmm..... I may have to dig out my throw net and go catch some minnows.


--
Bob La Londe
Fishing Arizona & The Colorado River
Fishing Forums & Contests
http://www.YumaBassMan.com


Hey Bob, don't do much of any true "live bait" fishing for the LM here on
the middle East Coast, but I often will cast net shad for use in trolling
for striped bass. It is often the only way to boat any on certain days when
nothing else is working like bucktail jigs, crippl'd shad spoons, etc.

I do cast net for "minners" to use for crappie fishing at the local holes
though, as well as floating lights on the surface to draw up even more
minnows beside the boat to act as live chum when we night fish for the tasty
little critters.

At the coast, is a different story. We'll use "mud minnows" for flounder and
of course, live shrimp for speckled trout. Though last year, we tried some
Gulp!-type artificial shrimp to good effect on the trout...So that tide is
shifting. Those shrimp tails on a some small jig heads worked great.

About the only real "live bait" I will use for LM bass is the rare occasion
I am able to fish on smaller and private ponds. They still get a fair amount
of pressure, even though they're private, and I will often at least try to
find some native crawdads around the pond to use as an offer to the fish if
they aren't hitting anything aritificial on that day. The trick is turning
over the rocks that hold crawdads underneath and not the ones that are
hiding snakes...lol.


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