03-21-2006, 05:53 PM
[cool][#0000ff]Hello? My ears were ringing.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Lotsa ways to fish minnows from shore. We just finished a thread on [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=249160;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread"][#000000][size 1]CORKY RIGS [/size][/#000000]
[/url] . That is probably one of the currently most popular ways of rigging minnows, and works well for cats and white bass too, depending on the size of the minnow and where and when you are fishing.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you are fishing over rocky areas, where the sinker on a corky rig might get easily snagged, go the other direction. Dangle the minnow under a bobber, within a few inches of the bottom. A few casts with a split shot on the end of the line can help you tell how deep to adjust the bobber.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Others like a "dropshot" rig, with a dropper hook several inches to a couple of feet above a bottom sinker. When you cast that out, you prop the rod up high and reel the slack out of the line to keep the minnow above bottom. Bites show up easily on the rod.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Many minnow fans simply "chuck and chance it". Hook a minnow well, with either a single hook or a "trap hook" second hook rig and just lob it out and let it set on the bottom. You can use a sliding sinker rig, for longer casts, but you will end up hooking more of the fish that bite if you can fish without weight. Keep the bail open on your reel and when a fish picks up the minnow let it move off a ways and stop before you flip the bail. Then let the fish tighten the line as it moves off again and when the line comes tight, set the hook.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Some days you need to experiment with the bait. Sometimes the fish want whole small minnows. Other days they want big ones. On still other days they will hit a half of a larger minnow better than they will a whole smaller one.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Lotsa ways to fish minnows from shore. We just finished a thread on [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=249160;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread"][#000000][size 1]CORKY RIGS [/size][/#000000]
[/url] . That is probably one of the currently most popular ways of rigging minnows, and works well for cats and white bass too, depending on the size of the minnow and where and when you are fishing.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]If you are fishing over rocky areas, where the sinker on a corky rig might get easily snagged, go the other direction. Dangle the minnow under a bobber, within a few inches of the bottom. A few casts with a split shot on the end of the line can help you tell how deep to adjust the bobber.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Others like a "dropshot" rig, with a dropper hook several inches to a couple of feet above a bottom sinker. When you cast that out, you prop the rod up high and reel the slack out of the line to keep the minnow above bottom. Bites show up easily on the rod.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Many minnow fans simply "chuck and chance it". Hook a minnow well, with either a single hook or a "trap hook" second hook rig and just lob it out and let it set on the bottom. You can use a sliding sinker rig, for longer casts, but you will end up hooking more of the fish that bite if you can fish without weight. Keep the bail open on your reel and when a fish picks up the minnow let it move off a ways and stop before you flip the bail. Then let the fish tighten the line as it moves off again and when the line comes tight, set the hook.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Some days you need to experiment with the bait. Sometimes the fish want whole small minnows. Other days they want big ones. On still other days they will hit a half of a larger minnow better than they will a whole smaller one.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Good luck.[/#0000ff]
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