Salted Minnows? Other Backup baits?

[IceTiger]

Does anyone ever have luck using salted minnows on tip-ups? I carry those Magic brand salted shiners from Walmart whenever I go out as a backup, and sometimes just throw one on to experiment, but I never get even a strike. Is there a particular way to use them, or are they totally worthless? Alternatively, I've read about people salting their own leftover minnows after fishing if they cant go out again for a while - does anyone do this, and does it work? What are other possible backup baits to bring for tip-ups that people have luck with?

[filetandrelease]

 I keeps 1/2-1# of salted on hand all the time , What I don’t use for ice get used for stream trout , and I carry a few plastics but I’m a straight up jigger no tipups

[oneida1]

not really a back up but lot easier tipping with perch eye then carring a bucket a minnows when your just using the head

[trapper2000]

i have caught and salted shiners and used on tip ups  and they worked  salted minnows work too used them on jigs and trout fishing

[filetandrelease]

not really a back up but lot easier tipping with perch eye then carring a bucket a minnows when your just using the head

Don’t forget slip bobbering , I sometimes run double minnow rigs , and there are days for me they want minnows and not eyes which I carry a dozen or so with me that are cured

[trapper2000]

Don’t forget slip bobbering , I sometimes run double minnow rigs , and there are days for me they want minnows and not eyes which I carry a dozen or so with me that are cured

this makes me wonder ,would firecure work on minnows?

[filetandrelease]

 Jeez trap I wonder

[trapper2000]

 have 2 qt jars purple and natural  i have minnows ...heck this is for science 

[skinny4]

Those dried up nasty minnows are about as useless for me as they get and if I ended up at the fishing spot and realized that is all I had for bait I'd leave to the nearest bait shop or just go home. Now if you took a bunch of emeralds and salted or brined them yourself and froze them before they dried into kindeling I'd use them without a doubt on a jig rod. I'm not really a dead bait guy for my tipups. If I don't have bait I'll jig up any panfish and stick it on a tipups. If I do run dead bait it's usually the biggest bait I run all year not a minnow. If you said tipdowns with 0 resistance and a slight breeze on a crappie bite or even a dead stick next to your jigging hole maybe, but I'd not waste my time setting them for tipups.

[DowneastPescador]

Worms are my back up

[Iron_Angler]

I salt leftover bait all the time.  But never for use on tip-ups or any other "deadstick" type of tactic.  Across the board, whether it's minnows for freshwater, bloodworms for Hudson stripers, clams and squid for saltwater, there's a general rule I follow.  It's put on for scent and taste only.  I'm doing the "attracting" work and the salted bait is sealing the deal.  Jigs, spinner rigs, and such like that are what I'll use them on.  Also, remember that salted baits are simply dehydrated.  When I'm using this stuff I'll soak it in water until it reasonably re-hydrates.

It will never be the same as fresh but, like you asked, as a back-up it's better than a bare hook.   

That said, I'll eat a T-bone every day of the week over jerky.  But good jerky done right is a d*mn close second.   

[trapper2000]

beef jerky isn't steak but i still like it !

[BeenPerchin315]

beef jerky isn't steak but i still like it !

I think wise men stated this. Lol

[Greenhornet73]

Last weekend I brought some leftover salted minnows out in case I needed all my live ones for tip ups. My first drop with a rap and salted minnow head got swallowed by a 19” walleye. I can say they definitely work for jigging.

[chaumontriverguy]

i have great luck for crappie with a forage minnow spoon and salted minnows 

[laketrout]

 I have found that a tiny piece of garden worm on a tiny jig works just as good as spikes or mousees for bluegills on the farm pond I fish.

[BUCKSKI]

yep was using heads from emeralds that were slated while jigging. Scent is strong and diff than live bait.

[TheManInBlack]

I have luck using Niagaras that I salted myself on tip- downs for perch.  The ones I salt myself are not quite as bone dry as the ones bought from bait shops. I also often cut them in half too.  Maybe that helps put more scent in the water.

[filetandrelease]

 I use salted bait jigging for jigging lakers, sometimes tipping perch and walleyes , many stream browns have fallen to the might salter
 With proper care they should still have some moisture and be flexible
 These are several months old , I keep a couple of pounds on hand
 Plus I have smelt vac packed in the freezer in the same condition that are over a year old
 

[IceSpartan]

I use salted bait jigging for jigging lakers, sometimes tipping perch and walleyes , many stream browns have fallen to the might salter
 With proper care they should still have some moisture and be flexible
 These are several months old , I keep a couple of pounds on hand
 Plus I have smelt vac packed in the freezer in the same condition that are over a year old
 

Never used them.  Where do you hook them?

[filetandrelease]

 For ice fishing i hook them up through the lower jaw out the top of their head   or through the eyes and I only use the heads , for stream trout through the eyes or up through and whole
 

[IceSpartan]

For ice fishing i hook them up through the lower jaw out the top of their head   or through the eyes and I only use the heads , for stream trout through the eyes or up through and whole

Thanks.  I’ll give it a try.

[trapper2000]

they work .... i have  even  caught  perch dead  sticking with them

[TheManInBlack]

they work .... i have  even  caught  perch dead  sticking with them

Yep.  I have been doing it all winter.
I find that sometimes the perch prefer a half-minnow to a whole one too.