My bait is gone!

[rileyross]

Went out on my lake this weekend and word was that they where catching more splake out there than ever before with most of the big ones hitting at night.  So i decided to switch over from perch fishing to splake fishing hoping to have success...........noth ing.  I was fishing in about 30-40 fow with one minnow about 10ft under the ice and one about 10ft off the bottom, i was using 3in shiners on a treble hook with a split shot to weigh the minnow down people all around me were having success.  And every time i would drop it down a few minuets later i would get little nibbles just like a perch(they took my bait every time) would and when i got these nibbles i would set the hook with the possibility that it is a splake on the other end, but it seems to me that a splake would hammer the bait. Do you have any tips? Do perch eat 3-4in shiners? How do i keep the minnow away from the perch.  Oh yeah and all of the people around where at the same depth.

[oleike]

I would have relocated..if at all possible

[Mainehazmt]

da_m perch!

[johnwaynejeep]

I'll try to give my ametuer opinion on this.

Winter trout hit pretty soft and are pretty lethargic unless properly motivated (hook in mouth is good motivation  ). Your hook and/or bait may be too big and detracting the fish from biting. Try going to a smaller hook and/or using smaller bait, maybe half a minnow or a smaller shiner. If you still have no luck then I don't know what to say. Maybe the other fisherman are using a jig technique or are hooking their shiners differently. When I fish I usually go a foot or 2 off the bottom, any higher and the fishing dies off. I'll get the occasional bite higher in the water while reeling in but not often. See if others are using any kind of attractant, buying other brands of shiners, etc. The only other thing I can suggest is your pole may be too heavy. If you've got a heavy (like a medium weight) pole or if your bait is already dragging down a lightweitght pole then those small hits you see or feel  may be larger hits then you think that are getting obscured by heavy baits or hard pole tips.

Like I said, I'm an ametuer but this is what I would try

[pooley]

how big of a hook are you using, and where are you hooking it? perch will hit any minnow short of pike bait.

[jimmyclaude]

Yeah, I would go smaller to see what was hitting.

[sticks]

go big or go home. toss a nice fat shinner that the perch wont touch

[jayswimmer09]

yes the perch will eat them!!!! move your location. or target the perch!!

[miket.]

try useing a smaller hook and or moveing to a differant area.to many things it could be .

[dabluz]

Make a small minnow harness with 2 small single hooks.  Put the upper hook just under the skin half way between the dorsal fin and the tail and the other hook in the minnow's nose so that the exposed point sticks out the mouth of the minnow.  If a fish can bit that without getting hooked, it's a magic fish.

[G-TOWNBOWSLAYER]

W :tipup:e have a lake in gaylord like that. What I do is use greys they are a little to big for a perch to handle

[venom]

 This is sounds like your fishing with me now. When fishing shallow water up around the Apostle islands for splake and browns I have had splake rob me more than once. I have had them come in 100mph and hammer a bait and spit it just as quick. Times I have had them peck at it like a bird but watching my vex and my bait I just start reeling up slow and if they commit to it there comeing up as well after it. Most not all perch around here are not going to swim up that high fishing over 20 to 40ft they would be dinner come in a bit shallower they will. Or just plain old like said down size your jig and see. Good luck.

[jimmyclaude]

Riley, hey this thread was last season... how did you make out?  A light action jig pole with a spring bobber really magnifys the action.

[HARDTOP]

Went out on my lake this weekend and word was that they where catching more splake out there than ever before with most of the big ones hitting at night.  So i decided to switch over from perch fishing to splake fishing hoping to have success...........noth ing.  I was fishing in about 30-40 fow with one minnow about 10ft under the ice and one about 10ft off the bottom, i was using 3in shiners on a treble hook with a split shot to weigh the minnow down people all around me were having success.  And every time i would drop it down a few minuets later i would get little nibbles just like a perch(they took my bait every time) would and when i got these nibbles i would set the hook with the possibility that it is a splake on the other end, but it seems to me that a splake would hammer the bait. Do you have any tips? Do perch eat 3-4in shiners? How do i keep the minnow away from the perch.  Oh yeah and all of the people around where at the same depth.

if you are useing dead minnows stick your hook clear through the tail section then pull enough line through to stick the point up just behind the head pointing towards the tail this lets the fish swallow the hook easy and hook him when you set the hook fish always swallow the bait fish head first then throw a half hitch over the tail and you wont lose your bait