Rigs that call for lip-looked minnows include live-bait rigs such as a sliding weight or drop-shot rig, as well as with a sinker and bobber. You can also hook a minnow this way on a jig head to “sweeten” the lure. When hooking a minnow through the lips, thread the hook through first the lower, then the upper lip. Because the hook will turn point up, this will let the minnow swim upright. Hooking a minnow through the lips will prevent water from entering its mouth and exiting its gills, causing it to eventually die. Check live minnows hooked this way often and replace them when they show signs of dying.
This method is also recommended for using minnows as bait on a tip-up when ice fishing. A minnow hooked through the back can survive longer than one hooked through the lips. However, if you pierce the minnow’s spine when hooking it this way, you’ll paralyze it.
Fishing a minnow with an unweighted line works best when casting to a specific target or when fishing for fish suspended in trees or near a boat dock. [4] X Research source Some anglers also use the tail hook method when using a very light sinker on the line.
For minnows under 3 inches (7. 5 cm), a size 4 or size 6 hook works best. For minnows 4 to 5 inches (10 to 12. 5 cm) or larger, you can go as large as a size 2, 1/0, or even 2/0. [5] X Research source
You can, however, rig either a barrel swivel or a three-way swivel some distance ahead of the hook to fish with either a sliding sinker (using the barrel swivel as a stop) or a dipsey sinker or split shot (with the three-way swivel).
Cooler water holds more oxygen than warmer water. Keeping your minnow bucket out of direct sunlight will keep the water cooler. If the water in the minnow bucket is in danger of getting too warm, you can add ice in small amounts. Too much ice at once, however, will cool the water too rapidly and will send the minnows into shock, eventually killing them. If the temperature of the water in which you’re fishing sharply differs from that of the minnow bucket, temper the bucket water by gradually adding outside water to the bucket. Although some minnow buckets are designed to be immersed in the water you’re fishing, doing so before tempering the water gradually will shock and kill the minnows.
If your minnow bucket water comes from a city tap, add a few drops of de-chlorinating solution to take out any chlorine present in the water. If the bucket water turns cloudy, change it immediately to remove the ammonia built up from the fishes’ waste excretions.
Some aerators let you adjust the level of oxygen they deliver to the water. Generally, you want to maintain an output of tiny bubbles, which carry more oxygen, and don’t push the fish around the way larger bubbles might. Choose an aerator that runs as quietly as possible to avoid disturbing you when you’re fishing.
A 1-gallon (3. 79 l) minnow bucket can handle up to 6 dozen 3/4 to 1 inch (19. 1 to to 25 mm) fathead minnows, 4 to 5 dozen 2 to 3 1/2 inch (50 to 88. 9 mm) shiner minnows, and 1 to 1 1/2 dozen chubs of 3 1/2 inches (88. 9 mm) or larger. For very large baitfish, such as 10 to 18-inch (25 to 45. 72 cm) suckers, a 5-gallon (18. 93 l) bucket is recommended.
