"Dan, danl, Redbeard uh Greybeard now" wrote in message
...
On 28 Sep 2006 22:49:41 -0700, wrote:

Bob La Londe wrote:
snip
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


Seems like as long as the line was mono, it wouldn't do much damage. My
first thought after reading your post was smaller diameter braid, but I
bet the braid would do more damage than mono. Drifting or trolling with
that setup would keep water going over the gills and the minnow pointed
in the right dirrection. Probably wouldn't work for bobber fishing
though.

I fish (3 - 4") golden shiners for stripers in a local lake. I drift or
anchor fish 20 - 40' deep and hook the minnows thru the upper lip far
enough back to get a little meat on the hook. Fish them just off the
bottom with a real small sliding egg sinker rig. No bobbers. Get LM and
SM this way too. All released and don't minnow fish there when the
stripers aren't biting.

I used to use minnows in the heat of the summer to catch bass when
nothing else would work. Not much any more. I'll buy minnows in a
heartbeat to put a kid on fish though.

phishrace


I have used minnows, crawlers and leeches for Walleye and Crappies. I
was trying to catch food, not release.

I have friends that use nitecrawlers for Bass. I have tried to get
them to switch to plastics because they gut hook so many Bass. They
fish in heavy log cover and have to horse the fish out. Their
equipment leaves a lot to be desired as far as sensitivity goes so
that somewhat explains the gut hooking ratio being high.

Yes, I know, everyone gut hooks a fish now and then but it is usually
the exception not the rule like with these guys.

That is why I shy away from live bait. YMMV

In heavy cover I'ld have a hard time going with live bait, but I'm sure
there is a way to do it. When fishing minnows under a water balloon float I
gut hook no more fish than when fishing a senko wacky style and much less
than when t-rigging one.

When dead sticking or split shotting minnows the gut hook percentage goes up
slightly, but still less than dead sticking a t-rigged senko. I do not
typically fish live bait in heavy cover, but in current it can be very
effective to drift it along the edges of cover. Rarely do I wrap up a fish
in those circumstance or gut hook one. Usually the minnow warns you before
hand of an impending strike.

I've caught bass on crawler once or stwice, but I have not fished for them
with worms often enough to say. I did tend to use a bait dropper rig on a
tight line which helps detect strikes quickly eleviating gut hooked fish.

P.S. Small bass taste ok (under limit size most places)


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




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