Tipping a spoon

[63rfisher]

Do you guys have better luck tipping with full size minnows, or just the head or tail of a minnow? The other night I had two nice walleye swim past my jig and barely look at it. I was using a Swedish pimple with a full small minnow.

[Hagigun]

Good question. Like anything with fishing, I think it depends on the fish, lake, mood, etc.

So far this year if i had to rank our (our being my friends and I) Walleye catches they would break down like this.

Deadstick - Full shiners - 4
Macho minnow w/full minnow - 4
Buckshot with full minnow - 3
Same lures or type of lures as above with minnow heads - 2
Chubby Darter and PK flutterfish (no bait) - 4

I prefer no bait type lures as I hole hop quite a bit. My friends have seemed to have better success with full minnows than heads. They hook behind the dorsal fin so the minnow angles downward a bit like it's swimming for cover. That way with a spoon and full minnow it's almost like a small pack of minnows for the walleye to hit. Red Glow has been the best bet on the jigging spoons and chubby darter. Not much luck on green glowing lures. Again, this may be lake dependent.

Just watch what you tip with. It has been said that more bait takes away the lure/spoon's action. I wouldn't tip a chubby or PK unless things really got tough and desperate. Even then only a head or waxie for scent. If the bait is designed for no bait, i wouldn't. But you can always try new stuff.

My friend who has had the most success basically throws a full shiner on his spoons trebles. I'm sure it kills the "natural" action, but it's a hefty easy meal that the walleyes can't seem to avoid. The lure and spoon to attract the fish with noise, sight, etc...then the shiner to dine on when they approach.

[AT3NCION]

I really am of the opinion that it depends on the where you're fishing, how they're biting, etc. etc. I switch mainly based on what's working best that day but then again I tend to have less luck with spoons than I do with other lures.
Where I live people can use both live and dead bait and so there is always a debate going on about which works better and that too almost always ends with the same umbrella solution that it simply depends on how the fish are reacting that day.
I agree that it's a good idea to restrict as little as possible the action of any lure, but when it comes to spoons like the Buck-Shot I tend to care less as it's action really isn't getting the work done as much as it is the color, general shape, sound, etc. It's not like a William Wobbler where it derives almost all of it's appeal from the action and the flash it produces.
For me the internal debate is more, "Should I hook the minnow through the back and fish it so it's horizontal or through the head/mouth so it's vertical?" I always fish with salted minnows so I'm not concerned with movement of live bait. I know my spoon will not look natural to a fish no matter how I decide to tip the hook so I always try the different choices until the fish seem interested and I'm content with my results.