Live mice as bait??

[fishfinder462]

Has anyone used live mice as bait for LM? I couldnt find much in the archives except they can chew through your line, I checks the regs. and they seem to be legal. So im wondering whats the best way to rig them, im guessing it's not a good idea to put a hook in them as they would die right away. I was thinking maybe a slip knot on a hind foot, and floaties on the front legs[sly].

FF462
[signature]

[bwhitty]

My father in law told us about years ago they would use them on straberry and catch huge fish!!! They call em "crispy critters", (don't ask me why[crazy]) They would tie a big hook around one of the mouses hind legs and then set the mouse on a wooden shingle and set it out on the water. He said the mice would be so scared they would just huddle in a little ball on the shingle and when it had drifted out a little ways, they would tug on the line pulling the mouse off the shingle and the little dude would start swimming and thrashing around and WHAMO!!! he said they'd reel them in and then say "pass me another crispy critter!" He had me laughing so hard I about died!!!!!
[signature]

[toyguy]

Wouldn't this get expensive? This is a really interesting idea though.
[signature]

[fishfinder462]

I havent priced the mice yet, but I figure i'll throw out a live one and once the fish are interested I can throw a fake one.[cool]

FF462
[signature]

[fishfinder462]

Floating them out a ways on a board or shingle sound like a good idea, I was wonder how much the casting would affect them.

FF462
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Don't know about some of the Utah waters but I know that the voles...a mouselike rodent...live around Utah Lake and all of the predators down there will eat them. I have found them in the innards of both catfish and walleyes and I am sure that the bass munch them too.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I also know of anglers who have fished mice for both trout and bass. The piece of wood trick works on streams too. Let them float downstream to a big hole, pull them off the wood and wait for Mr. Brown to come to dinner. In Strawberry there are bajillions of rodents around the shoreline, and DWR biologists find quite a few furry critters in the guts of the large fish they take during netting surveys. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]If you want to cast them, like for bass, use a small rubber band that will fit snugly (but not too tight) around the mouse's midsection. Use a weedless hook, with a wire weed guard and just run the hook under the rubber band and carefully lob the living paddlebait to the bass habitat of your choice. Using a longer rod will help you control the direction the mouse swims and keep line up off the water.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Fishing them in the spring, when they are naturally active for mating and changing territories is the best bet. Also, you will do better when the water is warm and the fish are active. Clear water is better for catching sight feeding fish, but bass have sensitive lateral lines and they can pick up on the vibrations of the struggling rodent.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]One hint. Fish mice like you would a rubber frog on top of vegetation. In other words, do not try to set the hook when the fish blows up on your bait. Crank down on the reel to take out the slack and wait until you feel the fish. Then set the hook hard...twice.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In shallow water, where there are tall reeds, you can fish from a tube or wade and make short casts. Some guys even use a long cane pole.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[fishfinder462]

As always im impressed by your knowledge Pat, thanks alot thats exactly info I needed. (tubebabe has taught you alot over the years[]).

FF462
[signature]

[bwhitty]

Cost??? don't ever think of that or you'll figure out how much each fish REALLY cost you'll and never go fishing again!![laugh][unsure][laugh]
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I went back and looked at some of my "autopsy" files. Found this pic of a vole removed from a channel cat caught on the west side of Utah Lake. Several of the cats we kept that day had them inside...and one of the folks who fished with us that day reported later that he had also found them.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Not sure whether or not the voles were drowned and inactive or the cats chased them down on the surface. I have seen cats take live food from the surface so it would not surprise me.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[wiperhunter2]

I've got a question for you Pat, wouldn't a live mouse be considered live bait and be illegal because of that or is it just live bait fish? Just curious[blush].
[signature]

[Saberfish]

[black][size 3]Before this blood thirsty discussion moves on to live baby ducks, snakes, and small children.[/size][/black]
[size 3][/size]
[size 3]May I suggest that you try a artificial mouse. [/size]
[size 3][/size]
[size 3]Fly fishermen have been using them for years, and find them effective. Most are tied with spun deer/elk hair, and float like a cork.[/size]
[size 3][/size]
[size 3]There are lots of different patterns, but they all are effective and available.[/size]
[size 3][/size]
[signature]

[bwhitty]

Before this blood thirsty discussion moves on to live baby ducks, snakes, and small children.[size 1] [/size]


we can use small children???? I knew I should have had some![mad]
[signature]

[fishfinder462]

I want to try them both and see how much more effective the live version is, also i'd like to throw one live one and then follow up with fake to see if the live one turns them onto feeding. About the baby ducks I dont think I bring myself to do that, im sure if I bought a duckling out to use as bait i'd end up with a pet instead..[] And when it grows up i'd have dinner....cant do that with a mouse.[sly]

FF462
[signature]

[bwhitty]

you've never lived out of this country have you?!? lol
[signature]

[Kent]

Live bait is not illegal to use as bait (for example, nightcrawlers, wax worms and mealworms are all live bait), what is illegal is the use of specific live bait, for example live baitfish is illegal on all waters.
[signature]

[fishfinder462]

Actually I lived in Europe for 4 years and a year in Korea....im sure the "chicken on a stick" I had in Korea was probley rat.....[crazy][cool]

FF462
[signature]

[bwhitty]

LOL[laugh][laugh][laugh]
[signature]

[toyguy]

1. Wouldn't it be difficult to rig a live mouse?
2. What's the getting-bit potential Don't they have a couple of teeth? I guess just wear a glove?
3. I know I can search it, but know of any live-mouse traps? Bigger question is "where to set it". I live in an urban area jes like most of us. I'm bettin there's not a ton of voles scurrying about. I'm thinking this is an overnite camping experiment.
[signature]

[fishfinder462]

I dont know about trying to catch my own, with all the diseases that mice spread I wouldnt want to handle a live one. I goona stick to store bought.

FF462
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[#0000ff]Many live bait items are potentially dangerous. Helgrammites (dobson fly larvae), crawdads, bloodworms and other invertebrates all have a nasty bite or pinch. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Handling any rodent is potentially risky. Mice and rats have teeth and know how to use them in self defense. I discovered that at an early age as a kid in Idaho. Didn't stop me from catching them...just made me more careful.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Another trick I learned as a kid in Idaho was how to catch a bunch of live mice. Wherever there are quantities of them, and they are pests...eating dog food, grain, etc...you can use their own lifestyle against them. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Start with a bucket with high smooth sides. Cover it with a layer of heavy paper and tape the edges to the bucket. Run a piece of wood up the side, from the floor, to provide a ramp. Dump some dog food, grain or other preferred plunder on the paper...for two or three nights in a row. When the food is gone by morning, the next night you take a sharp knife and cut a slit in the paper. The next morning you will have some mice in the bucket.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]For standard cityslicker home trapping, there are several live traps available in feed stores, building supply and probably even Wally World. In our PETA world, there are plenty of folks who just want to remove rodents and not kill them. So, there are live traps for the wimps. Hint...use peanut butter for bait...not cheese. (No need to provide honey or jelly)[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Yes indeed, wear thick gloves on whatever hand you use to hold the mouse. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]As mentioned, use either a rubber band or a small string loop tied around the mouse to attach the hook...like the O ring on a Senko thing. Ideally it will be like a harness, around the two front legs, to keep it from slipping off easily. Of course you could just punch the hook through a loose bit of skin...or through one of it's legs...but that would be cruel now, wouldn't it. We wouldn't want our bait mousie to suffer before being eaten.[/#0000ff]
[signature]