MyFishFinder.com Just like iceshanty but warmer
Just thought I would see what the general consensus was on Pike bait .I see a lot of folks using live bait but less with smelt where I fish .My bait of choice is smelt ! I haven't had much luck with live but hear people say they wouldn't use anything but live .Even with different presentations , depth ranges , and setups my luck has been far better with smelt .I've even put them side by side within a few feet of eachother and they seem to prefer the smelt .What do you think ?
I rarely buy smelt, because they die within 24 hours. Maybe I'll buy a dozen this year and use them alive until they die. I don't remember ever having good luck with any dead bait on lake Winnipesaukee in NH.
There's no pike in there is there?
How do you get your dead baits to sink I have tried to use smelt but just don't seem to get the hang of it
HEAVY sinker on the line up to 18" or so from the bait. I have a couple of tip-ups set up with heavy walking sinkers behind barrell swivels. let the sinker rest on the bottom and the frozen smelt floats off the bottom. let the thawing and stinking begin, these babys chum the water! I have had days where I did really well on this when live bait hung untouched.
I have always used live shiners but I am going to try dead bait this year. Do you guys fish your dead bait on the bottom or suspended?
But don't forget your live bait everytime too.. the one time you don't bring it, thinking the smelts are gonna work as good as last time....WHAM... Skunkola...
yep, it's always good to have the "buffet of bait"