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( I usually end up putting the ones I didn't use in the lake when I leave.)
Seems like a lot to go through for only bringing one minnow per trap. Why not lessen the load even farther and just catch the bait for the tip-ups? I wouldn’t run tipups if I only brought a single minnow for each trap.
Seems like a lot to go through for only bringing one minnow per trap. Why not lessen the load even farther and just catch the bait for the tip-ups? I wouldn’t run tipups if I only brought a single minnow for each trap.As for them dying, just rig them up as you normally would. I use shiners for my tipups and if you get healthy minnows, they shouldn’t die on you. The biggest thing that kills them is lack of oxygen. Scoop some snow/ice into your minnow bucket and it will help them last longer by introducing fresh oxygen into the water.
Just another thought to add. Dead bait works great on windlass tip ups
I travel light and like yourself - gill fisherman w/ a tip up out on the side. I catch a gill, the gill goes on my tip up. End of the day, if there are not any pike hits, the gill goes home and is filleted for dinner. No extra baggage and no waste.FYI - I may not get tons of action, but when a Northern hits, it is almost always a big one.
Excellent point on releasing bait into the lake/river. Here in WI is it illegal. Some folks dump 'em on the ice for the gulls or eagles but that's always seemed messy and disrespectful of the resource. Additionally, on the wrong day you could catch a ticket for littering and have to pick up the garbage.All my live bait goes home with me to fight another day. Anything that dies goes promptly into a zippy of Kosher or canning salt. Could even be rock salt, just not iodized. Now I've got nice salty (nothin' wrong with that) toughened up minnow heads for tipping or whole dead bait for pike.I'd carry more than 1 live per tippy. What if you catch fish. Who only wants to catch just one? If you're totin' three how many more could you fit easily in that container? 6? 8? If you get on fish it would be fun to have (more) fun. Suckers vs. shiners? Pike = suckers if I can get 'em, walleyes = north WI suckers, south WI shiners, bass = shiners. Really want some quality bait? Find someone that stocks chubs or as noted above, catch your own.