The debate on ice fishing bait

Outdoorsmen tend to be an opinionated group, in general. Now that’s not necessarily a bad thing because a lot of the opinions tend to be experience based. For example, if you want to get a heated discussion going at hunting camp, quietly ask what the best deer rifle might be. During any conclave of fly fishermen, speak up about your favorite couple of dry fly patterns and see what happens. There’s going to be an in-depth discussion, sometimes a bit heated, and if you listen closely with an open mind there’s a good chance you’ll learn something.    Just such a discussion (read as debate) took place earlier this winter while half a dozen of us got together for an ice fishing outing. While a trio of us were drilling holes, and setting traps in a team effort, one guy watched another hook up a live minnow and drop it down the hole. “Do you always hook your bait that way”, the observer inquired? “Always have” replied the first sportsman, “how do you rig yours?”
For the next couple of hours a pretty thorough contrast and comparison of how, where, and why bait fish should be hooked a certain way occurred. It was enlightening to say the least and I’m not sure if anyone changed their tactics, but I learned a few things and we even had time to catch a few fish. Let me run some ideas by you and perhaps it will improve your hard water fishing results.
First and foremost everyone agreed that fresh, lively minnows provide the best results, and anglers must check lines at least every hour. Some recommended every 30 minutes just in case a bait had died, been stolen or mauled without setting a flag off. Active minnows attract far more strikes than logy or dead baits, and when you pull your shiner or smelt up into the hole to check it, if it doesn’t scramble to swim back down the hole and escape it’s time to change for a healthier specimen.
Another point of agreement regarded using “home grown” bait. Whenever possible anglers should purchase or trap their own minnows from the waterway being fished, or at least from a nearby sister lake or pond. This assures the bait species, size and color are very natural and familiar to the game fish in that particular waterway, and what they normally eat. A couple of the fellows in our fishing party swear that near brook mouths and in shallow shoreline stretches of clear 3- to 8-foot depths, worms work better than minnows, and smell trumps motion in this scenario.
Where diversity really stands out in our little band of ice drillers, and with winter anglers in general, is the exact technique of hooking a bait fish. My personal method may not be the best in some eyes, but it does seem to be the most prevalent. I put my hook through the back muscle just behind the dorsal fin, being very careful not to nick the spine, which may kill or paralyze the minnow rendering it unusable.
Another favored tether style is to hook the bait through the nose. The basis for this hook up relies on the fact that big fish eat little fish, and when they do, they swallow the minnow head first. By placing the hook in the nose, it’s more likely to stick in the throat or mouth when the line is pulled. Do not put the hook through both lower and upper jaw of the minnow as this will impair breathing and lead to lethargic movement.
The final bait setup used by a fairly large number of anglers consists of using a smaller hook, say size eight or 10, and putting the point through the meat just in front of the tail. Followers of this method swear the bait moves easier, more naturally and survives longer due to minimal body damage. If there’s a downside, the tail is swallowed last and the smaller hook really needs to grab well to withstand a tough fight with a good-size fish.
Of course none of these options make a difference when a really large finned predator or truly aggressive game fish literally attacks and engulfs the much smaller bait. Generally winter strikes tend to be slower and smart fishermen wait and watch line spin off the reel until the fish stops to swallow the minnow. Then it’s time to set the hook and that’s when you find out just how effective your bait hook-up method turns out.
So there you have it, just in case you didn’t know how many ways there were to hook a bait for ice fishing. Despite uncomfortably frigid weather, current fishing results continue to be rewarding, so use fresh minnows, change bait frequently, and wait until you feel the fish before setting the hook. Oh, and if there’s a lull in the action, ask your neighbor how he hooks up his live bait. It’s sure to be informative and in depth enough to forget the slow fishing and pass some time.