05-10-2011, 05:29 PM
[cool][#0000ff]Thanks. I appreciate your appreciation.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There are a lot of variables in how to rig a minnow and/or cut bait. Depends a lot on the size and type of minnow...and freshness...and on the size hook (and type) you are using. Then it further depends on how active the fish are and how they are taking the bait. Covering all the permutations could fill a book. Maybe I'll go there sometime.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]First of all, I use plain ring-eye hooks...not circle hooks. And I seldom use larger than about size 2 unless I am fishing big baits for big fish. I probably use size 4 Eagle Claw #84 more than any other, but good "octopus" style hooks are good too.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Good fresh chub minnows are usually pretty firm and you can get by with hooking them through the gill collar...as pictured below. When fish are "gulp and go" they will grab the head and boogie. You can set the hook quickly and usually go bendo.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][inline "HOOKING CHUBS.jpg"][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Sometimes the fish are finicky..."pop and drop". They might pick up and drop the bait a couple of times before getting serious. That can tear the bait off the hook before you have a chance to do a lip piercing. If I am using softer baits or getting the "treatment" I prefer to hook the bait back near the tail...sometimes just under the skin, like in the picture below. Other times I wrap the hook around the spine to provide better holding.[/#0000ff]
[inline "CHUB HOOKING.jpg"]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I have conducted a lot of experiments on various ways of hooking minnows and I have found no detectable difference in bite ratios. The key elements are keeping the bait on the hook and in the fishes' mouth long enough to make a good hook set. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]When I fish cut baits and strip baits I usually use the same size hooks but I hook it only once through the bait at one end or the other. That keeps the hook point more open for setting the hook and also helps the bait to flutter a bit if you lift and drop it. In the pic below you can see the remnants of a piece of skinless carp meat strip. That is about the size and shape I use most...and have caught some of my biggest cats on smaller pieces of carp meat. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][inline "CARP CUTLET.jpg"] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]They will mess around with a larger piece and will swim off with it, but may not have the hook inside their mouths when you try to set the hook. They snort in the whole bait if you use a smaller piece. The main problem with smaller pieces is dealing with bullheads and white bass.[/#0000ff]
[signature]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There are a lot of variables in how to rig a minnow and/or cut bait. Depends a lot on the size and type of minnow...and freshness...and on the size hook (and type) you are using. Then it further depends on how active the fish are and how they are taking the bait. Covering all the permutations could fill a book. Maybe I'll go there sometime.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]First of all, I use plain ring-eye hooks...not circle hooks. And I seldom use larger than about size 2 unless I am fishing big baits for big fish. I probably use size 4 Eagle Claw #84 more than any other, but good "octopus" style hooks are good too.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Good fresh chub minnows are usually pretty firm and you can get by with hooking them through the gill collar...as pictured below. When fish are "gulp and go" they will grab the head and boogie. You can set the hook quickly and usually go bendo.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][inline "HOOKING CHUBS.jpg"][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Sometimes the fish are finicky..."pop and drop". They might pick up and drop the bait a couple of times before getting serious. That can tear the bait off the hook before you have a chance to do a lip piercing. If I am using softer baits or getting the "treatment" I prefer to hook the bait back near the tail...sometimes just under the skin, like in the picture below. Other times I wrap the hook around the spine to provide better holding.[/#0000ff]
[inline "CHUB HOOKING.jpg"]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I have conducted a lot of experiments on various ways of hooking minnows and I have found no detectable difference in bite ratios. The key elements are keeping the bait on the hook and in the fishes' mouth long enough to make a good hook set. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]When I fish cut baits and strip baits I usually use the same size hooks but I hook it only once through the bait at one end or the other. That keeps the hook point more open for setting the hook and also helps the bait to flutter a bit if you lift and drop it. In the pic below you can see the remnants of a piece of skinless carp meat strip. That is about the size and shape I use most...and have caught some of my biggest cats on smaller pieces of carp meat. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][inline "CARP CUTLET.jpg"] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]They will mess around with a larger piece and will swim off with it, but may not have the hook inside their mouths when you try to set the hook. They snort in the whole bait if you use a smaller piece. The main problem with smaller pieces is dealing with bullheads and white bass.[/#0000ff]
[signature]