Author Topic: Any tips on fishing dead baits?  (Read 8375 times)

Offline high_flags

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Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« on: Jan 16, 2004, 07:23 PM »
I hear some guys like to fish dead minnows ect. for pike . Any tips on type of bait or set ups? HIGH FLAGS  :'( :'(
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DipLip

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Re:Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #1 on: Jan 20, 2004, 12:37 PM »
The pike I catch in winter are about 1/3 jiggin, 1/3 on live minnows and 1/3 on dead/frozen bait.

The deadbaits have accounted for some of my biggest pike! Where legal, smelt or cisco (tulibee, lake herring etc) are oily, high-fat forage that the biggest pike in the lake are accustomed to feeding on. Really a good big-fish presentation. Scent is a hugely overlooked sense in muskies and pike. Especially in winter when their site-feeding is minimal under the cover of ice and snow. Not a lot of light gets through. Deadbaiting often works for me as deep as 40 feet in stained lakes, too.

At one time or another, freshly killed suckers, chubs or shiners also work. Generally, I opt for lively minnows on a short leash (weight within 8-10" of the bait) when using live stuff.

I generally start fishing deadbaits within 8-10" of the bottom and often right above (a few inches) the bottom.

Tip-ups that add a touch of movemnet to the bait are a big plus. Adding vibration and movement to a bait that's already easy to track via scent can pay off huge. HT's Windlass tip-up and others all work really well when it's mild enough to keep the holes from freezing too fast. Deadbait also works on stationary tip-ups or when 'deadsticked' right on bottom with a plain jighead. Give it the occaisional lift and keep it in one spot. Pike will find it. Evety year I'm amazed at how a pike can track down a smelly, 6" long frozen chunk of meat 20-40' down in stained water.. It's pretty incredible.

Quick-Strike rigs that use eith double or treble hooks are a great way to hand over-sized deadbait. On smaller smelt, I push a #4-#2 treble up through the belly and out the dorsal area. Clip on your leader and you're in business.

We've had days where dead baits have out-fished live by a wide margin. It can be really effective and is worth adding to your bag of tricks. It's particularly effective for me during first and last ice periods.

Frozen and dead baits often float. Insert one or more nails into the baits vent to get it to sink. This also makes it hang horizontally, which is also really key. I put ip a post about ciscos as pike bait in this forum, check it out. Baitfish as long as 18" have helped me take some really big pike. Good Luck!

Offline high_flags

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Re:Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #2 on: Jan 20, 2004, 05:45 PM »
              Thanks for the info DIP LIP, Iam looking forword to trying it out. :'( :'( HIGH FLAGS
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Offline deranged

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #3 on: Dec 05, 2007, 01:55 PM »
putting nails in your deadbait is a bad idea... I've heard many stories of people cleaning their pike and finding nails in them from eating other peoples deadbaits... so you will be harming the fish! instead try attaching a rubber core lead weight to the quickstrike rig :tipup:

Offline big-brother

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #4 on: Dec 05, 2007, 02:00 PM »
putting nails in your deadbait is a bad idea... I've heard many stories of people cleaning their pike and finding nails in them from eating other peoples deadbaits... so you will be harming the fish! instead try attaching a rubber core lead weight to the quickstrike rig :tipup:
Easiest and best way to make them sink is to puncture the internal airbladder.Use the hook to do it,may have to do this a few times,and the smelt will sink.Also can gently sqeeeze the air bladder area to remove.Using nails is a very bad idea.

Offline Scientist

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #5 on: Dec 05, 2007, 03:20 PM »
Easiest and best way to make them sink is to puncture the internal airbladder.Use the hook to do it,may have to do this a few times,and the smelt will sink.Also can gently sqeeeze the air bladder area to remove.Using nails is a very bad idea.
You are 100% correct!!!!! Stay away from putting anything into bait that might kill fish
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Offline GRIZZZ

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #6 on: Dec 08, 2007, 12:52 PM »
putting nails in your deadbait is a bad idea... I've heard many stories of people cleaning their pike and finding nails in them from eating other peoples deadbaits... so you will be harming the fish! instead try attaching a rubber core lead weight to the quickstrike rig :tipup:
You are 100% correct!!!!! Stay away from putting anything into bait that might kill fish
Easiest and best way to make them sink is to puncture the internal airbladder.Use the hook to do it,may have to do this a few times,and the smelt will sink.Also can gently sqeeeze the air bladder area to remove.Using nails is a very bad idea.

It dont sound good (the nail trick) but a couple of nails, compared to say, eatting a whole duck!!!

Offline ominousone

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #7 on: Dec 14, 2007, 05:57 PM »
Anybody ever drop shot hook them?

Offline d3

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #8 on: Mar 02, 2008, 05:31 PM »
I do not put any thing inside them either I use the trick of puncturing the air sack and also the gills it helps to release scent.  This is my opinion I feel it works well.

D3

Offline ChillerThriller

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #9 on: Mar 04, 2008, 09:12 PM »
get both wind jigging tip ups and the regular stationary ones. some days they want a dead still bait other times they want it jigged. since theres no movement or anything with dead baits i recomend using colored jig heads. they add that extra something to the bait so the fish comes towards it.

Offline jebra

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #10 on: Mar 26, 2008, 02:28 PM »
 :tipup:     Can you present a whole frozen smelt for pike reasonably well with just one #6 treble hook on a steel leader? If yes, how would you hook the smelt? Thanks! :tipup:

Offline ChillerThriller

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #11 on: Mar 26, 2008, 03:21 PM »
you take the treble hook and stick the eye through the smelts stomach and out its back roughly in the middle or so it hangs horizontally. they you clip it on your leader. its pretty simple and it works. i do this on smelts and gulp minnows for jigging and they both work good.

Offline jimmyclaude

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #12 on: Mar 26, 2008, 03:58 PM »
Use live bait the first half of the season and dead baits the second half and end season. Easy meal for the pike that are not expending alot of energy to chase down prey.
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Offline chiliman

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #13 on: Oct 27, 2008, 11:04 AM »
Sometimes I simply use a pickerel rig with dead salties on it and the Pike seem to like it!  I hook it around the top (from the side) and punture the other side.  This is because the bait will then float more in the upright position. 

IMO, Pike like a bait that's "JUST ABOUT TO DIE"...this means FRESH and LESS ENERGY TO EXPEND.  Seems to work when the bite's slower.
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Offline ChillerThriller

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #14 on: Nov 16, 2008, 12:57 PM »
Since using dead baits is all that is legal here i feel i have some expertice. If you want your deadbaits to sink, make sure they are thawed. I use smelts and when they are frozen they always want to float, so if you thaw them they will sink. Its like the whole ice in your drink thing, ice floats. secondly thawed bait is soft so when a fish bites it they hold it instead of getting something unnaturally crunchy. Some days it doesnt even matter so thats a bonus. If your jigging with dead baits make sure that you remove as much of the thaw juice as you can from the pack. That stuff turns the baitfish soggy and SUPER stinky. so if you take the juice out the bait is a little tougher so it will stay on the hook better. Double hook it and your good to go. A 6 inch thawed smelt sinks really fast and is DEADLY on pike with a quick strike rig. Hope it helped.

CHILLER

Offline princecraft

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #15 on: Nov 16, 2008, 03:05 PM »
I never can find any frozen whole smelt around here.  Can you use frozen cleaned smelt?
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   I pray that I may live to fish
          Until my dying day.
And when it comes to my last cast,
       I then most humbly pray:
When in the Lord's great landing net
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Offline ChillerThriller

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #16 on: Nov 16, 2008, 04:46 PM »
ya it should not make too much of a difference. With cleaned ones i have gotten those matzuo prism head or something jig heads that look like a fish head and jig with those. Just seat the smelt up against the back of the jig head and hook it like you would hook any soft plastic swimbait. Works pretty good too. I usually get my smelts from my local tackle store (the really big 6-8 inch ones) but for general use 4-5 inchers i go to the grocery store. Its like 10 bucks for 2kg which almost lasted me a whole season. Compared to paying $6 for 5 smelts in the 6-8 inch range!

Offline princecraft

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #17 on: Nov 17, 2008, 02:38 PM »
I have seen those prizm head jigs before.  But I was wondering about using them on a quick strike rig on a tip up????????????
Fisherman's Prayer
   I pray that I may live to fish
          Until my dying day.
And when it comes to my last cast,
       I then most humbly pray:
When in the Lord's great landing net
           And peacefully asleep,
      That in His mercy I be Judged
              BIG ENOUGH TO KEEP.

Offline ChillerThriller

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Re: Any tips on fishing dead baits?
« Reply #18 on: Nov 17, 2008, 09:41 PM »
It should be all good, ive used some pretty maimed smelts like halfers and heads and tails and it all seems to work the same. Im not promoting this site but this is what they look like. Im pretty sure one of these jig heads would work under a tip up with a stinger. http://www.heavyhittersportfishing.com/fishingoutlet/Matzuo-America-Prism-Jig-Head-3-8-oz-Perch.php They are pretty flashy lookin heads and they actually work!

 



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