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IceShanty Main => General Ice Fishing Chit Chat => Topic started by: pike hound on Dec 09, 2005, 05:19 PM
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Does anyone have any tips on using dead minnows on tip-ups for pike? Are they effective?
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never used dead minnows, but am succesful with dead smelt and sardines, dont know why minnows wouldnt work? usually with pike, the smellier the better :tipup:
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never used dead minnows, but am succesful with dead smelt and sardines, dont know why minnows wouldnt work? usually with pike, the smellier the better :tipup:
....lots of pike on salties or smelts...ciscoes.....n ot too sure if I agree about the smellier, the better though....I think the fresher and firmer the bait, the better chance you have at getting a good strike......Grump
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What Grump said. I always save my dead minnows and when I run out of live or good looking dead ones start using the best of the rest. ;D
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we have lots of luck with dead or stomped sucker minnows with pike. I normally have half or more of my traps with a dead one on them.
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IMO dead minnows are better than live ones for pike. I think pike are mainly scavengers of winter kill fish. In open water how often can a big pike sneak up on a big healthy bait? I think they often cruise looking for dead/deing fish of a certain size. In winter fish do not break down quickly like they do with the warm water and bacterial action so they eat fairly well I don't think they like the motion of any live bait. Its one that they rather not expend a lot of energy to have a bait skip away. With an underwater cam, you see them slowly approach a bait slowly then dart a few inches. (just in case the target fish has a little life in them?) I doubt that a live fish would allow the pike to get that close and besides would be moving more. (I realize that a blue herring bird etc can move slowly and get pretty close to a target fish) but I doubt that a bait fish would generally be staying in one place for a pike to try. Occasionally one might come in striking range passing right in front of them (like a snapping turtle) but you can't really present the bait to do that anyway. Just my thought on the subject,..
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last year iwhile at the bait shop i knoticed a bucket of dead suckers (decoys) 10-14 inches long. i asked him what they did with them and he told me they throw them away, so i asked if i could have them and he gave them to me. i always set one tip up with the dead ones and always catch fish with them. cant beat free bait.
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Pikehound,
I like dead bait. Then again, that's all I can use do to "no live bait law." If you have access to frozen herring, get a pack of the largest herring you can get! They seem to omit an odor that pike can't resist. I have fished dead suckers, chubs, and smelt in other states, but herring is the king of dead bait, (never used ciscoes Grump send up a pack eh!) I agree with these guys.... Pike are more of a scavenger than skilled hunter in the winter. ;)
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Although dead bait sitting on the bottom works I have had better luck suspending them about 1' below the ice. Stay back from your tip-up and have lots of line avalible for the pike to run with. Cover your hole with cardboard to prevent too much light getting thru (cut a small slot for your line). Some styles of tip-ups cover the hole & don't require the last step.
Pike can easily see the bait contrasted against the lighter ice during daylight.
Good Luck
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Alot of people use dead bait for pike. Dead perch are also used and very effective when fishing for pike. I believe the MA state record Tiger Musky was caught on a dead perch. I know they are different than pike but they behave pretty similar.
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When we pike fish in the summer we use live suckers on a float rig....after 2 or 3 hits the bait is dead... then we use it on a buck tail or blood circle hook...jigging of the bottom....great success.
If you tried a dead sucker or shinner on a circle hook with your tip up ...I'd bet you'd have the same success! :)
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MA state record tiger musky was caught on a 10+" pond shiner at pittsfield MA at pontosuc(sp?) but he was fishing for pike with the big shiners and it said he usaly catches his best pike on the dead shiners (i got the artical thats in on the water mag.from 2-3 years ago) it was 27lb
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Dead golden pond shiners are excellent pike bait, I usually have 1-2 of my 5 traps rigged with dead shiners. The bigger the better too. :tipup:
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I,ve always used live sucker minnows but clip tail fin so cant swim real fast. works good for me
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I've used dead minnows many times when I ran out of live ones still caught lots of pike. Dead minnows are great for jigging with a quickstrike set-up too!
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How do you rig them? Wouldn't dead minnows/smelt float? Do you use Beaver Dam tip-ups?
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I prefer dead smelt to live shiners for pike bait. I seem to catch more and bigger pike on big deadbaits. They are easier to use too. No lids freezing on bait coolers, no reaching into icy coolers when you lose the dip net, no dropping flopping shiners down the hole or in the snow, and you save a lot of weight when all you have to carry is a zip-loc full of smelt in your pocket.
Doe,
Hook them so they hang horizontally. They sink better if they are slightly thawed (the inside pocket of my coat is pretty ripe.) I slit the belly or stab them a couple of times to release any gases trapped inside them and help with scent dispersion. If you use wire, they will sink easily with the above steps. If you're using mono or fluoro you may need to add a sinker to the leader or the bait itself.
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in-fisherman has a good video called Pike in the Dead Zone, all about fishing with dead bait...
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No live bait in Sask. Frozen Smelt or Herring work great :tipup:
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I catch creek chubs while trout fishing in the summer. Sometimes I even target chubs, and end up taking a bonus brookie. Toss 'em in the freezer in a vacuum bag, they work great. I've heard that if you hold a lighter to them for a bit when you put them on the hook, it makes the oil come out, and the pike find them irresistible.
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I believe the MA state record Tiger Musky was caught on a dead perch. I know they are different than pike but they behave pretty similar.
A tiger is a cross between a northern and a musky so they do show behaviors of both sides.
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No live bait in Sask. Frozen Smelt or Herring work great :tipup:
I have also had pretty good luck with frozen shiner minnow for pike while targeting walleye. Sometimes pike perfer a meal that has hardly any movement to it. It's all about conserving energy in the lean times of winter. Why chase a fairly active prey when you can eat one thats dead or dying. :P
Bigger is usually better for big pike, but don't be afraid to try smaller minnows too.
Try matching the bait size to the size of the dominant forage in the lake. ;)
WW
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BTW if you notice the subject "Fish decoys" They used to use them to spear big pike,..apparently they slowly came over and lingered for a while trying to figure out if they would attack it or not (food or not) the decoys were stationary and still attracted them. I wonder if any Aqua-Vu fish ever get attacked!
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I have some Herring strips left over from the summer. Has anyone used these strips on tipups for pike? The strip is about 6" long, has scales on one side, meat on the other side and a bevel cut where the head would be.
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I have some Herring strips left over from the summer. Has anyone used these strips on tipups for pike? The strip is about 6" long, has scales on one side, meat on the other side and a bevel cut where the head would be.
Not for tip-ups, but I do use them on airplane and bucktail jigs.
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where I used to reside live bait was illegal - pike will eat dead minnows no problem.It was so cold there we used to put our tubs of minnows in our pants between pants and long underwear so they would be soft enough to put on hooks.(use a plastic bag)I had the most success puting the hook in through the mouth and out through the gills,using a florescent orange colored jig.
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I've only been ice fishing for 1 year or so, and I have had good luck with dead smelt. The stink is what gets'em (I think). I defrost the year old dead guys on the kerosene heater before I go fishing. It reeks, but works. Just don't get the "juice" on your clothes :o
Anyway quick question, when you weight the dead ones down how big of a weight do you use and where do you put. Right at the bait or up the line a few inches. I have also tried using fireline as a leader (instead of steel).... any opinions on that.....steel vs no steel vs mono vs super line....what are you guys using for a leader? and hook?
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