Baiting with a minnow, proper way to hook.

[Alan]

Can someone please give the correct way to hook your minnow on the hook? I have read just behind the lips, thru the back, just in front of the back fin...where should I hook it so the minnow stays alive?

And does it differ from crappie minnows to sucker minnows to shiners? Or do you hook them all the same?

Do all fish usually take the minnow from the front, back or the side? Do they even care?

[freebledsoe]

It depends.

Under a bobber, I hook a minnow just behind the dorsal fin, or even tail hook them so they give more wiggle. On a jig I hook them through the lips, or in through the mouth and out the top of their head. You are providing the action with a jig, so if the minnow dies it doesn't matter much.

A big fish eating a small minnow will take it from any direction. But generally a fish will try to take a bait fish head first when its ready to swallow it.

[Danno35]

There is one other very successful way to hook a minnow with a jig or plain hook (for casting or drifting). Put the hook down the inside of the minnows mouth, then under the gill plate and out. Then pull the hook forward so the hook runs under the skin, (On the top side of the minnow) and parallel with the minnows body. The minnow stays alive longer, doesn't come off as easy and keeps the hook concealed. This works good for weedy and rocky areas. I hope this helps.

Dan from Buffalo

[SCUMFROG]

In one eye and out the other.

[Loos15]

Quote:

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There is one other very successful way to hook a minnow with a jig or plain hook (for casting or drifting). Put the hook down the inside of the minnows mouth, then under the gill plate and out. Then pull the hook forward so the hook runs under the skin, (On the top side of the minnow) and parallel with the minnows body. The minnow stays alive longer, doesn't come off as easy and keeps the hook concealed. This works good for weedy and rocky areas. I hope this helps.

Dan from Buffalo

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I learned this method this year, and it works wonders I fish very rocky bottoms, and redcued my hook snags by at least 90 percent