Tip Up Bait

[rocky1010]

What does everybody use for bait on tip ups for the walleye and mainly northern. I heard smelt that you buy at the grocery stores is a very good choice or should I stick with sucker minnows? What do all of you use for baits on tip ups?Any input would help. Also I heard that you can not use treble hooks on tip ups in minnesota is that true?

[insane4eyes]

we always use medium shinners

[twodoggs]

I use medium sucker minnows and shinners.  And No you cannot use a plain trebble hook in MN.  You can however use a lure that has a trebble hook.  HT enterprise makes one for tipups that is a wire leader with a spinner blade and trebble hook.  TThe leader tends to get messed up however when you store it atleast the way I do.  All kinked up.

[RSQCAL]

I use mediun to large shinners throughout the winter. In the spring or late ice on Lake Michigan we used to use dead smelt. My experiance is you need the activity/attraction during the midwinter months. I haven't been on the big lake for several years during late ice but when I was still fishing there dead minnows were the ticket. Seemed the fish were more active and wanted the easy meal!    

[rocky1010]

Thanks for the info. I think I'll try different combos of baits for tip ups and see whats best in minnesota. Thats pretty weird that you can't have a plain treble hook in a tip up in minnesota but I geuss it makes sense.

[taz54868]

I trap my own  bait. and it is usually  red tail chubs and shiners, and a few suckers .i like the chubs,and sucker  better. but shiners are ok.

[GatorSlayer]

I also like to trap, or even fish for my own bait on a small local creek. Setting a minnow trap out over night in a small pool will usually yield anywhere from 1 to 2 dozen chubs. Suckers are a bonus. Many times I go about an hour before dark with a micro jig rod and a few waxies and can easily catch 2 dozen chubs before dark sets in. They're pretty tricky though. Most of the time I just sight fish them and when my white waxie disappears, I yank up. Majority of chubs are not even hooked, but they are up and out of the hole before they can spit the bait. Usually once you start catching a few, many more become curious and venture in for a look, then the action is non stop.

Have you ever tried a little red/white bobber suspended in the middle of the trap for attraction purposes? I heard this from someone, they only use the bobber, no bread or chips or any bait, and it seems to work.

[ice725]

a very good tip for riging pike minnows is to take a pocket knife and cut a small line on top of their skull untill it just starts to bleed.  this will cause the minnow to twitch rapidly and swim around wildly.
good luck

[fishboy899]

I like to use a medium shiner on a treble hook.  If the lake I am fishing is known for producing alot of big pike then i will use longer shiners or suckers but otherwise I think it is a waste of money.

[water_wolf]

I use shiners, creek chubs, sucker chubs and my favorite, when I can get into them, natural golden shiners.
One season a friend and I caught aprox 125-150 natural golden shiners in 2 days of jiggin for panfish.  We had bait for the whole ice season.  We caught a crap load of northerns that year and some real decent fish too.

[Ice Troll]

I too trap my own minnows and creek chubs as well as sucker minnows are the norm. It is illegal to import bait fish into wyoming so shiners are pretty much out. Occasionally I will get a shiner in my trap but I have found that the shiners die while the chubs and suckers thrive even in an airated tank or cooler. Believe it or not but carp minnows can be a great live bait for Northern as well and if I can get em I use em. It seems that a carp minnow could survive in a mud puddle and survive the best in transport.