Live Bait
Giving a shout out to my companion and fishing partner Addy Ann Banovetz. She is 14 years old and stillveryenthusiastic to go fishing. Addy is a rescue dog that I’ve had since she was two as the fifth owner. She needs to inspect every fishandgetherlicksinifshe can and if not, then lick the net!Sheisarodwatcherand will let me know if I have a bite. She gets bummed out if a fish gets off and barks at me like it was my fault the fish got off! She is right some of the time!
For people curious about my fishing partner, I say she is a German Short Hair Fish Pointer, and I worry the DNR will make her illegal to point out fish for me because she is way better than any fish locator. Addy has been my faithful partner even when it is raining or snowing.Thunderstormsandbigwaves are not her fun nor mine, but she never complains.
Let’s review live bait! Choices are a variety of crawlers, leeches, and minnows. I like earth worms for brooke trout. Back in the 1970s salamanders were used but after one time for me, I was done. I used live bait until about 8 years ago when I switched to all artificial, maybe because I’m too lazy to maintain bait? Be aware that no bait, live or dead, can be disposed in the water. There are bait disposal containers at water access for unwanted bait.
There is variety of baits for pan fish suchaswaxworms,crickets,smallminnows and leeches and crawlers.
Pro Tip: When using crawlers, break off about a 1” piece and thread on the jig so it wags, not balled up.
Crawlers are a great universal bait
4 9) used with spinners, jigs, Lindy rigs and slip bobbers. I don’t like handling dirt and dirty crawlers in the boat and will harvest fresh sphagnum moss right away. A good second is newspaper with organic ink. Papers need to be wetted and squeezed out to get rid of some ink. Stripe up the paper, put the worms on wetted paper into the refrigerator, and the crawlers just plump up and are lively. In a couple days the worms start eating the paper making it harder to get a hook through them.
Half or third of a crawler on a jig with a twister tail has caught 100’s of fish for me. Once the crawler is hooked, at the same length as the twister tail, pinch it off and save the other half for the next fish. Don’t store the tail half in the worm container because it will rot first. Too long a crawler on the jig and fish will just nip it off. Small fish like perch will rob you blind. Half a crawler on a twister tail jig is way more productive than a plain tail.
Pro Tip: Don’t ball up the crawler on the jig and make it more steam lined, more natural looking.
When vertical jigging with a worm, the twister tail or worm may get double hooked so check periodically. When threading a twister tail on the jig head, make sure it is straight with tail down, not off to the side or the action is off.
Crawlers on a Lindly rig can be enhanced by using a worm blower. Best way to hook up Lindly rig crawler is through the mouth at the tip of the crawler and thread the crawler up the hook as far as you want, typically about an inch.
Crawlers on spinners are pinched off in half. Put the other half off to the side for the next fish. The head end of the worm should be hooked up first. If you use a double hook spinner a longer piece of crawler can be used. Too long of a crawler and the fish just pull it off anddon’tgethooked.Reactionbitestarget the spinner more than the crawler unless it is a follower. Followers spend time just checking things out before committing. Scents can be added for followers. Berkley has artificial crawlers that release a steady steam of scent. For fishing I use a small Igloo cooler oranOmahaSteakshippingcooler.Put a frozen bottle of water in the worm cooler with a pad of wet paper between ice bottle and the worms. I also use thegelicepacksbutfrozenwaterbottles last longer. Crawlers work best after the water warms up past 40F.
Crawlers work great with slip bobbers. Semi-ball up the crawler on the hook or jig and pinch off the rest leaving a few inches to waggle. Don’t cast slip bobbers, it is more like lobbing so you don’t throw off the bait. Store saved crawlers in the refrigerator when possible. Just do not leave where the sun can heat them up as they will be liquidified in no time.
Leeches are sold in sizes unless buying by the pound. Use small for pan fish and large and jumbo for predator fish. Hook the leech about an 1/8” to 1/4” inch from the sucker end to avoid vitals and killing the leech. This way the leech can stretch out while trying to swim away. Leeches are not a good choice for jigs except with a slip bobber. Take leeches out of the store container and put into a leech tamer that can be put in the minnow bucket or live well. Store saved leeches in the refrigerator to prevent them from literally swimming themselves to death.
Minnows come in a variety of species but mostly we have fathead chubs, rainbow chubs, and sucker minnows and sometimes shiners. Shiners are a great bait but die off easily. Hard to go wrong with rainbow chubs. Lund pro Perry Good says walleyes like female fathead chubs more than males! Males have a dark head compared to females. There are many ways to fish with minnows. Inthespring,minnowsonaplain jig head or on a Lindy rig. Later in the summer paired with a twister tail jig or on a spinner rig. Minnows can be used all year long. Sucker minnows come in small, to northern light, to big for northern pike and muskies. I like northern light sucker minnows for fall fishing when fish are trying to fatten up for winter.
Minnows can be hooked up in a variety of ways with up through the jaw being the most popular. For more aggressive jigging thread the hook through the mouth, out the gill and turned so the hook goes into the side of the minnow. This same way can be used for spinners to get more action. To use on slip bobber, lip hooking or skin hook. Skin hooking is starting near the dorsal fin and just push the hook under the skin and not into the muscle. This way the minnow is free to try swimming away for great action. Store saved minnows in the refrigerator if possible because cold water holds more oxygen. Change water daily. I use a minnow pail air pump with bucket outside in the shade. An air pump using AC will save batteries for the boat.
Enjoy time on the water and take a kid fishing!
Giving a shout out to my companion and fishing partner Addy Ann Banovetz.
She is 14 years old and s=ll very enthusias=c to go fishing. Addy is a rescue dog that I’ve had since she was two as the fiAh owner. She needs to inspect every fish and get her licks in if she can and if not, then lick the net! She is a rod watcher and will let me know if I have a bite. She gets bummed out if a fish gets off and barks at me like it was my fault the fish got off! She is right some of the =me!
For people curious about my fishing partner, I say she is a German Short Hair Fish Pointer, and I worry the DNR will make her illegal to point out fish for me because she is way beNer than any fish locator. Addy has been my faithful partner even when it is raining or snowing. Thunderstorms and big waves are not her fun nor mine, but she never complains.
Let’s review live bait! Choices are a variety of crawlers, leeches, and minnows. I like earth worms for brooke trout. Back in the 1970’s salamanders were used but aAer one =me for me, I was done. I used live bait un=l about 8 years ago when I switched to all ar=ficial, maybe because I’m too lazy to maintain bait? Be aware that no bait, live or dead, can be disposed in the water. There are bait disposal containers at water access for unwanted bait.
There is variety of baits for pan fish such as waxworms, crickets, small minnows and leeches and crawlers.
Pro Tip: When using crawlers, break off about a 1” piece and thread on the jig so it wags, not balled up.
Crawlers are a great universal bait used with spinners, jigs, Lindy rigs and slip bobbers. I don’t like handling dirt and dirty crawlers in the boat and will harvest fresh sphagnum moss right away. A good second is newspaper with organic ink.
Papers need to be weNed and squeezed out to get rid of some ink. Stripe up the
