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Pardon my ignorance, but just what IS a spike? If I go into a bait shop and ask for them, will they know what I'm asking for Is it regional and there is another name for them? I've seen plastic ones and I think GULP makes something like that, but I'm not sure. Same with mousies. Are they grubs? Please educate this old guy, because I'm and old diehard minnow soaker and wan't to expand my horizons. Dang, that's why I joined this site in the first place!! This site probably has about a million years ice fishing experience combined!! I'm an empty cup, please fill with knowledge Thanks in advance
Hard to describe.....but basically just skin hook them. If you look at a mousie you can see thru the skin and you will see the white and grey 'stuff' on the inside. I try to avoid running the hook thru any of that 'stuff'. If you do puncture that stuff it tends to 'pop' like a balloon and all the good stuff on the inside comes out on the first drop. A smaller, thin wire hook helps with skin hooking them, but even then I rupture some when hooking them. Same thing with spikes..find the end with 2 dots on it and skin hook them there and they will stay alive a long time on the hook and wiggle all over the place down there.
You realize alot of mousies are collected from Cow Manure pits? I don't think I would be putting them in my mouth or biting on them!
After last year, I don't think I will buy anything but white spikes and plastics this year. Don't think I caught a single fish with either red spikes or mousies.