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bait fish – 2: How To Hook Walleye Minnows

walleye bait

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There are many walleye, saugeye or pickerel fisherman that use bait fish either in a live bait or artificial presentation. There are literally 100’s of different ways to rig bait fish for walleye, saugeye or pickerel and if you are savvy fisherman you probably have your own successful bait fish rigging methods. Some of the basic walleye fishing rigs that work well with live bait fish are a floater a slip bobber rig,a jig and a minnow,a slip sinker rig with a floater,a slip bobber rig,a spinner rig with a slip sinker or bottom bouncer, a jigging spoon with a whole minnow, or spin rig with a minnow. To determine what type of walleye, saugeye, pickerel fishing rig method you chose, you will need to determine the size of bait fish and the size of the walleye,saugeye, pickerel you are going to target. You also need to make a decision to use whole live bait fish or cut bait strips fished with a artificial bait such as the jigging spoon.

Some of the most common baitfish that anglers use to catch walleye on a regular basis are 2 1/2″ to 4 inch fathead minnows, bluntnose minnows,shiners,chubs,dace and madtoms. To hook bait fish for walleye fishing use hooks from a number 8 to a number 2 size with a short shank. Circle hooks make great bait fish hooks for walleyes.

Hooking Methods:

  • One of the most common hooking methods is through both lips. Slide your hook through the bottom lip first, and right through the top lip. Make sure your walleye minnow can still sqirm around after it is hooked.
  • Hook your baitfish through the snout. Hooking through the snout will leave more of the hook exposed especially the barb tip, which is very important when you set the hook
  • Hook your bait fish out of the gill through the back. Push a long shank hook point through the mouth out the gills and through the back. This method will hold the baitfish securely but will usually kill it.
  • Hook your baitfishes through the nostrils. Slide the hook through the nostrils with the barb pointing to the side.
  • Hook your baitfish through the tail. If you are going to free-lining for walleye this is the best method for hooking.
  • Hook your bait fish through the back.Slide your hook through the back right behind the dorsal fin, make sure the hook back is pointing upward.

Stay tuned for some more walleye, sauger, and pickerel fishing articles on how to fish with bait fish in the future. Have a nice day ! i sincerely hope the information I have provided will help you on your next fishing trip.

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