Live Minnow Fishing For Smallmouth

[woodman]

Back in the Early 60's,when I was about 12 yrs. old ,this is how we did it on the Elk river......

I have my granddads glass minnow trap today stored in his old Coka-A-Cola steel ice chest....

I learned a lot watching the little bass nip and attack at the bait while the big ones hung back and watched...I learned to crouch down and sneak up on a hole, be still, and stalk..

The wounded or half dead minnow just jerked now and then would attract the bigger ones to move in and check it out......

What do we have today...you all know....

Try to fish with a dead minnow, his eyes popped out his head nearly torn off and keep getting hits with it...AND CALL IT UNSPORTING???? .....yet fish with artificials with scent etc..etc..etc...and be a sportsman...or what ever...

The fish can swallow the hook weather it has a barb or not. live or plastic....

TRY SOME NATIVE SHINNER FISHING SOMETIME....

I remember reading " in an old bass Mag. Doug Hannon fishing Lake Okeechobee... In Florida , for huge Bass with giant shiners and a balloon for a bobber..

It can be as much fun catching bait as it is the big fish....Say catching crawdads with a little minnow dip net....

It all takes me back in time long gone!!!

[Big Brown Trout]

The fish can swallow the hook weather it has a barb or not. live or plastic....

true the last two trout I kept swallowed my stonefly so deep I had no choice.

[woodman]

They need to make needle nose side cutters "dykes" ,at least you could reach down in a basse's mouth to cut the hook...

[Guest]

They need to make needle nose side cutters "dykes" ,at least you could reach down in a basse's mouth to cut the hook...

I dont think you can get enough leverage to cut a hook shank if the dykes were so far away from the pivot point,

However, I totally agree that some kind of device should be available to cut the hook when swallowed.

I usaually just cut the bait off & release the fish.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Two words, circle hooks.

[ozark trout fisher]

I'm not opposed to those who use minnows and other live bait for bass, even in a catch and release setting. I don't do it anymore, but it can be done ethically. You just have to know what you're doing enough to set the hook quickly and prevent them taking it deep. Now that I fish a lot with Rebel craws and other crankbaits and almost never use live bait (except for catfish), I have considerably more issues injuring bass than in the years when I used nightcrawlers and minnows. That's a bit of a painful truth.

It's because I knew enough not to let them take it deep when fishing bait, which is preventable most of the time if you are fishing a tight line. But when you are using artificials with multiple treble hooks, there's often nothing you can do to prevent trouble. So as an ethical issue, I would maintain that it's a pretty muddy one.

[fishinwrench]

Two words, circle hooks.

As hard as I've tried I just can't "warm up" to circle hooks. Not even for catfish. My mind just will not go there.

[Flysmallie]

As hard as I've tried I just can't "warm up" to circle hooks. Not even for catfish. My mind just will not go there.

I've used them in the salt and they work wonderfully.

[Wayne SW/MO]

As hard as I've tried I just can't "warm up" to circle hooks. Not even for catfish. My mind just will not go there.

Probably the same problem I have. After decades of hammering them it's hard to lower the rod tip and make a soft sweep with a solid pull when you feel their head turn.

[Mitch f]

Probably the same problem I have. After decades of hammering them it's hard to lower the rod tip and make a soft sweep with a solid pull when you feel their head turn.

Yep, I had the same issue with the little octopus drop shot hooks when I first started using them. You almost just start reeling in their hooked up automatically