Minnesota Fishin' Rig

[cribbageboy]

Me and a buddy of mine have been hittin' the minnesota pretty heavy for the last couple weeks. Although we hadn't normally done a lot of river fishing, we thought we settled on a pretty good rig. We weere useing a 3/4 ounce egg sinker with about a 3-4 foot section of 15 and 20 pound test power pro, capped off with a red or grey circle hooks. Although we seeem to get a variety of fish, we are missing a lot of "should be" hook sets. I guess my question is whether or not we a re using the right rig. Or if you have any tips on how to set the hook. (Harder.....Lighter)??

[rushing]

Depends on what you are fishing for?

Try shortening your leader to about 16-24 inches and you don't set the hook with circle hooks. Also with circle hooks you don't want to load it up with bait since that might interfere with the hook being able to penetrate causing you to miss fish.

[walleyeslayer18]

hey rushing i am using an open faced reel with a st.croix rod that i use for muskies so when i go catfishing is it a good idea to have my drag set all the way down so that if one takes it i hear the drag or what would be the best idea...

[rushing]

well the best idea would be to get a spinning reel with a bait feeder feature. I use a Tica Sportera 4507 but the Okumas are alright too. But if you don't want to do that then you can get away with loosening your drag enough so the fish can take out line. That way only really works while using circle hooks but count on losing alot of fish while messing with the drag.

[icehousebob]

Hey Perfesser Rushing, I just picked up a Mitchell 7500 Full Runner with the bait runner feature. Have you had any experience with this model? The thing is a beast and I got it for about a third of what they're selling them for on e-bay. I,m filling one spool with 80 pound Tuf Line and I've got it on an 8 foot heavy Ugly Stik. Does that sound like something that would give me a chance with a flathead?

[walleyeslayer18]

yea i use circle hooks and then for bait i use night crawlers and cut suckers... is that the right bait or should i be using something else.

[jtk15]

Depends what your fishing for. Generally your going to have more luck on live bait. Bullheads, creek cubs, suckers---and recommended in that order....for flathead...you will catch everything under the sun with crawlers-and generally you get mostly channels on the cutbait.

jk

[rushing]

Quote:

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Hey Perfesser Rushing, I just picked up a Mitchell 7500 Full Runner with the bait runner feature. Have you had any experience with this model? The thing is a beast and I got it for about a third of what they're selling them for on e-bay. I,m filling one spool with 80 pound Tuf Line and I've got it on an 8 foot heavy Ugly Stik. Does that sound like something that would give me a chance with a flathead?

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Nope, I havent had any experience with those but I just looked them up and they look like they will do just fine! Sounds like you're all geared up for them flatties! I'm interested in hearing how your reel works out for you. Good Luck!

[rushing]

Quote:

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yea i use circle hooks and then for bait i use night crawlers and cut suckers... is that the right bait or should i be using something else.

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Like JTK said, Depends what you're after. If you are just after whatever swims then worms is the way to go for sure but if you're after channels cut bait but if you're after flatheads then live bait is what you should be using.

[walleyeslayer18]

I fish in jordan off the point just west of the access, i dont know if you have fished there or not but do you think that my chances would be better going after flatheads or channels cause i can only fish from shore... i was there a couple days ago and i was using crawlers and i caught a couple small channels in about an hour with my other buddy and then he caught a shiner and we cut that and used it and we had two runs with those but no fish. he had it hooked and it was good size but it got off.so what im asking basically is what i should fish for (channels or flatheads) and what kind of bait? sorry i ask so much im new at this. i really appreciate your help.

[rushing]

90% of my fishing is from shore. What size circle hooks are you using? You should try a bit bigger hook maybe. I use 8/0 circles. Well if you are having fun doing what you're doing then I say keep on keepin on but if you want to specifically target channels or flatheads, I suggest getting some medium to large size live suckers and use them till they are dead then cut them up and go after channels. It does kinda sound like your gear might be kinda light for flathead fishing though. Not saying it wont work but you'll be kicking yourself if you hook into a nice one and break your line.

Just make sure if you catch a nice flathead you get a picture of it and release it to be caught another day! Good Luck!

[walleyeslayer18]

yea well on my spool i have 20lb mono and then for my liters im using 50 lb braided spider line so i mean to me thats heavy duty but the hooks we use are only 2/0 so yea you suggest that we go bigger hooks then. and then do they bite just as good during the day as the night cause im thinking about heading out tomorrow before work. using prolly medium suckers then and then what size egg sinker do you use when your fishing from shore?

[sparcebag]

If your fishin with a buddy why not split it up one live bait one cut?See what happens! Experiment!

[rushing]

The only time I use egg sinkers is 3oz ones for bobber fishin.

I use 4-5oz bank sinkers for my river fishing.

[walleyeslayer18]

alrighty thanks man ill keep you updated on how i do!