Live-lining unweighted minnows

[jiignut]

Next time out for rainbows and brown trout I want to try something different. Always deciding where in the water column to place splitshot and bait, including just under ice for rainbows supposedly. That’s a tough one for me to have confidence in.
I’m thinking to try just a hook no weight. Put in the hole and feed lots of slack so bait can swim free (like Willy).
Ideally it will slowly swim to bottom covering whole water column. Maybe swim just under ice pecking at it creating nice silhouette.
Worst would be staying in the hole coming to surface.
Any advice on hook placement or Fin trimming to persuade it to do things?

[Jack978]

You might want to try a small swivel and a longer leader.  I have done this with no fin clipping and hooked the minnow behind the dorsal fin.  Sometimes it's a challenge to get it past the ice but eventually it swims down with a bit of persuasion.  If nothing else push it down the hold with the ice scoop.   Once it is under the ice and swims around a little let it find its own way.  I got a guy onto a 22-inch rainbow that way with a jog rod.  He was sitting in a lawn chair eating chips and bang he got hooked up and it was his first trip ice fishing. 

[Hardwater2]

Try  drop shotting them.

[Ronnie D]

I tried that technique while jigging for pike in a spearing hole. I found that once a fish approached , the bait would swim straight up & hold position against the bottom of the ice till it was safe & repeat till it was too worn out & not have much action to it anymore.
My solution was making leaders & placing bobber stops w/ a sliding egg sinker rated to the size / weight of the live bait. The bait can only climb the.  water column the length of the line below  the top bobber stop &
when predators come in it can't escape.  It worked well enough that I've been using the same rig on my tipups ever since

[jiignut]

Thanks for replys. I found feeding slack line in the hole a pain in the butt. Next time out I was rigged with something pretty cool. Didn’t catch anything (only fished about an hour) but going to keep trying this on my deadsticks.
First I slid on my line a micro tippet ring used in fly fishing, almost weightless. Tied 10” line to it and #16 sticky sharp treble for fat head minnow. Then black rubber bobber stop, then small swiveled ball sinker at bottom. Slid bobber stop 1-2’ above sinker so when minnow reaches bottom it stays suspended in a zone and out of the rocks or weeds. Then deploying. Hold minnow, drop sinker, boom bottom. Chuck minnow in hole, set rod in holder, reel set on light clicker light resistance, take up any slack so line is taught or leave some slack, still experimenting. Watching on my flasher sometimes goes to bottom quickly, then others stalls and hangs for awhile at different levels, Interesting. Even if unattended for long time it’s just off bottom. Time to re-do, reel up and drop again. Wash rinse repeat. Next time maybe a flashy spoon hookless for more attraction than sinker or maybe baited with a crawler. Was keeping it simple for starters.
Cant wait for next time.



 
 

[jiignut]

[Brian VT]

Seems you wouldn't be able to set the hook until the weight reached the stopper? Not that it's a deal killer. It's tough for them to avoid the treble hooks.

[jiignut]

Yes that’s right. I’m loving these hooks. They are sticky! I’ve watched perch on camera while using a Hali with stock drop chain and hook, not suck in the bait but just kind of bump and kiss it, repeatedly. And if they eventually take it in you have to set the hook of course. I’ve replaced with these little stickies and watched them kiss the bait and when they back up it’s stuck to their face! Just real up.
So, too late for long story short but I’m confident they aren’t going to be able to spit that minnow out if taken in. So, just real up no setting necessary.