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IceShanty Main => General Ice Fishing Chit Chat => Topic started by: esox_xtm on Dec 16, 2017, 08:48 AM
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I've been ice fishing a long time but mostly been a set tipup and watch guy. Over the years I've accumulated a ton of quality jigging tackle and these last couple of seasons I've started to broaden my horizons.
My question today is about tipping with minnow pieces. I know heads are traditional. Last weekend I used all kinds of bits and still caught fish. Head first, then tail, then midsection pieces until I started over. All caught walleyes for me so I'm wondering: What's the special attraction with the head?
I'm still short on the learning curve here so any and all input will be valued. Looking forward to all your opinions.
Thanks!
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this probably is not correct but when we were kids, we used to pop the eyes out of bluegills for bait. Possibly some yummy eye jelly is what they like lol. i dont really know.
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I've always believed, right or wrong, that it was the eyes in the minnow head that helped make a difference. To this day I still prefer using minnow heads over the other body parts.
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It could be, it could also be that the eyes reflect light like other animals eyes "glow" at night, it's light thats bouncing off the cones in your eye.
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For smaller fatheads I pinch the head off about 1/3 of the way back, use the heads on jigging raps and the tails on spoons. For bigger minnows I cut em up into 3 pieces. All the different chunks catch fish just fine.
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You just need some meat on the hook to seal the deal. Sometimes the head does work better. Using parts instead of the whole minnow for two reasons I can think of. One it's less likely to throw off the jigging of spoons or lures. Two, the fish just want less to nibble on, especially in cases where they short strike.
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https://stringease.com/collections/snaps/products/fastach-clips
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I've always believed, right or wrong, that it was the eyes in the minnow head that helped make a difference. To this day I still prefer using minnow heads over the other body parts.
probably why they paint eyes on lure/jigs.
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thread them on a fastac clip to keep them on.
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I have'nt noticed fish showing me much of a preference in the heads or the tails, but the lake is pretty well stained so that might be a factor here. I usually try to hook the minnow heads through the skull or the gillplates and the tails by the fins as the skin/bone seems to be a little tougher then just the fleshy areas.
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i change many treble hooks to a single. with the clip if using minnow parts.