More than likely the fish is hitting the actual jig head, not the bait, and the hook is positioned below its mouth. You set the hook and physics takes over. Speaking of physics, a 1/32 jig head is very light. It could be that the gulp minnow is too large and is throwing off the trajectory of the jig when the fish takes it making it go off to one side or another. It could also be what you said but I rarely see that many aggressive gills in the same school, certainly not enough to cause a problem.
I’d start by making sure the bait is appropriately sized for the size jig head you are using. Then, make sure that the bait is threaded on the hook nice and straight and even. Then, and most importantly, fish are rather stupid creatures. Even the really smart ones are pretty dumb. Like you said, they could just be hitting the jig really weird. However, your problem seems to often for that unless your lake just has some angry gills. I’d chock it up to bait/jig orientation though, in my experience. I fish super small/ light baits too. I like to use top-water foam insects with a casting bubble on my UL spinning setup. I get all sorts of weird hookups using that. My favorite is when the hook goes clean through the nostrils like a bull-ring. It’s like they were just smelling it a little too hard lol.
A lot of people probably won’t care too much about this next bit but, in my state anyways, being hooked anywhere but in the mouth is considered a “foul hook” and the fish doesn’t count towards any limit and must be released immediately and is unlawful to do otherwise. Just something to keep in mind if applicable to your area which I’m sure it is in most areas.
