Gills with minnows?

[dumbluck]

So, I fish this lake with lots of dinks, and some decent sized gills mixed in. The problem is all the little buggers rush the bee moths before the larger fish get to it.

I was thinking maybe really small minnows for bait instead? I was hoping to up the size of my catch without having me lose too much action. Has anybody done this?

[Icefisher40]

I curious as well.. I used to have a fishing book that showed a picture of a big bill gill eating a small minnow of some sort.

[Swift]

Haven't specifically used live minnows targeted for 'gills but have caught numerous large ones while after Crappies and Perch in the past. Do use plastics imitating minnows or small Rap types targeting large 'gills on a couple of waters and do well on them. See no reason why it wouldn't work, may even stumble into a decent Crappie/Perch approach that was unknown/never tried on your waters.

[Santo180]

I've caught more than a few on smallish minnows while perch fishing.  I was catching pretty small bluegills with them.  It's surprising what a little fish can fit in its mouth.

[Chris338378]

I never used small minnows before, I always use mediums on my tip-ups.  I don't see why it wouldn't work since Crappies and Perch will take a minnow.  I'm going to have to give it a try.

[BudMan]

I sometimes use the small jigging raps. Not as many dinks as when using smaller tear drop style jigs.

[ULking]

ive caught a small gill on a 5/0 circle hook so i dont think it will keep them off but it will weed through some of them for sure.

[threewack]

I have caught the large sized gills with minnows, there not shy about it either.
Sometimes I will run one rod with a minnow and jig with the other with spikes.
I use the skeeter size daredevil and they almost swallow the whole thing so it does help weed out some of the dinks sometimes.Give it a try,
For me one of the fun parts about fishing is the experimenting