Salted Minnows

[Seaweed]

Anyone know of a bait shop that sells salted minnows. I am beginning to think that baiting the area near Petrie might bring in some big fish in packs .... we could use some action.

When ice fishing other areas of Ontario I have seen this technique used to bring fish to the area you are fishing to increase you potential to catch a few. This was mainly a whitefish and laker technique but I am thinking that anything that brings greater numbers of bait fish to an area is bound to bring the rest of the food chain with it sooner or later.

If anyone knows where I can get some of these in the area and approximately how much I should be paying for lets say ten or twenty pounds please let me know. I will gladly bait the area where we are going to be fishing the week before the tournament.

Any inpute would be welcomed.

[Seaweed]

Option Four of course would be:

Seaweed needs to get a life.....

[SkeeterJohn]

I think the slow fishing at petrie this year has probably something to do with the extra current and high water levels that have probably stired up the water considerably over the past few weeks.

I know when i try to hold carp in an area it's nice to have a bed of bait out there that will keep them from moving on.. although the fish can spook when bait is falling on their heads and due to the size and numbers of the fish no matter how much bait you put out i doubt you'd manage to hold the fish in one area for long.... unless there was some other naturally occuring bait in abundance.

As for preditory fish like pike and walleye... perhaps putting a bit of extra bait out would help however considering the size of the area and the amount of bait you could put out i doubt any single person would have an effect on bringing fish in and holding them in that area.

Of course on the salted minnow topic you can always make your own... all you need would be minnows, salt and a jar of water... i beleive salmon used something like this up at pinecrest last may to sneak a few pike out.

I know a few people like to salt live minnows for ice fishing... basically they put live minnows in a jar with salted water.. shake them to stun them and then send them down the hole... because they're stunned they tend to stay in the area where your hole is and attract other species.

I'm far from an expert when it comes to minnows but i'm sure others here know a few tricks...

[Carl]

Seaweed...

To be honest with you I have done the same in the past on heavily fished areas over the ice. One little difference is I used a can of Tuna... I was the only one on the water that hit some giant pike! May have just been lucky though.

Salted minnows won't smell enough to get the fish in close go with some good old canned Tuna or Salmon tied to a line so you can bring it back on surface when done.

If ever you use this technique let me know how you did.

[McQ]

Great topic - chumming a hole. Will it work - sure, if you're in the right general area to begin with

You are much further ahead increasing your mobility though. The fish are there and a little extra effort can pay off. Identify the structural elements that hold fish during the summer months and drill your holes in a pattern that will allow you to fish the area thoroughly.

The common malady that affects most ice-fishermen is patiently sitting over a hole or setting tipups and heading for the shack to keep warm. It is a much better practice to move around until you find the fish then set up your dead lines. Review your hydrographic charts to get a feel for what's down below, just because the surface conditions have changed has very little effect on what is happening below.

Use your electronics, both sonar & GPS to pinpoint the structure and the fish will be in the general area. Pan fish will relate to depressions, edges, shoals, points, etc and they will provide your first clue to the whereabouts of the game fish.

[Cancatchbass]

My feelings are that if there are no fish present in the area- as witnessed by the fact no fish are being caught- you would be wasting your time and money.

If the water conditions are significantly different from what they normally are when the fishing is good- higher water levels, increased current, decreased clarity (you have all 3?)- the fish could be miles away, and all the salted bait or chum in the world will not likely draw them in.

Now if fish were still being caught regularly, chumming could help concentrate them right where you are fishing.

CCB

[Scum Frog]

I have to agree with McQ.

[Wall-I-Guy]

Personally don't imagine the salt will make a difference. I think the theory is sound but, as CCB states with all the other variables who knows.

Those "variables" have been a real pain all year I've found. What a wierd season! Really noticed it at my end of the river...man

Maybe something a little more stinky like sardines

[Wall-I-Guy]

Hey seaweed, had time to reflect on this topic on the way home. I know people that have fished with large sardines and catch huge pike and musky come to think of it....

There have been times they're the only ones catching fish...


I think it would be worth a shot!

[SALMON]

Salt.."YUM"... Yes I used salted shiners when all else failed on the Ottawa. The pike and channels cats scooped them off the bottom as fast as they sunk. I normally salt my own...I buy the minnows and put them in a tupper ware container with no water. I then pour course salt over them also know as pickling salt. 5 days later they are tough enough to use and shiny..salt seems to get the shine brighter. Larger shiners salted are great for pike on the bottom during the cold water. They dont hesitate to pick the offerings up at times when the live bait gets ignored. I chum holes with smaller salted emerald shiners for walleye, whitefish, lake trout and perch. But yes you have to be in an area that holds fish to begin with. So if you are at a usual spot that normally produces fish..chumming with either the shiners or the other fishy chum does hold fish around your hole longer. We have proven it on Lake Simcoe time and time again for whitefish and perch.. So cheaper to make your own salties..you dont need lots down the hole and you can break them into bits..

[icy318]

Something similar to this. I was readaing on a site about making a chum can instead of just throwing loose bait into the hole. The idea is you basically put your fishy delight into a container with a lid, punch some holes in it, and tie it to some line. I used a soup can with some corn, tuna, and sardines.

[Muskiemagnet]

I agree with Salmon, Ive salted my own minnows for a couple of years now. Often the salties will out produce the live minnow. When chumming just put down a couple whole minnows and then a few pieces. This can really get the perch going, not to mention a Ling magnet.

[Moosebunk]

When I was 16 and first starting to fish with the guy who got me more interested in fishing, he and I would go to a bullhead hole up around Lanark in the spring and catch tonnes of them. Now and again, his friend Pat who worked nearby at times slaughtering pigs would supposedly wrap a head several times in onion bags with a big rock and then toss it into one section of the hole.

Needless to say, my buddy was honestly convinced that when Pat did this the fishing right in that area became better.

Now that I'm more serious about fishing, I have to wonder what the legalities of doing this would have been

[joco]

Hi think it works

My father used to used some fish food for aquarium fish(red fish),,,,he put some in the hole ,,,a bit the night before,,and bit just before fishing and he seems to catch some nice whitfish,,,,,,,,,,more thene me,,,,,

but mabe it was me that did fish well anaught,,,,,,,

joco

[Legend]

I think salties do indeed work.

As Salmon said, on Simcoe it's a go-to thing to do. As an aside, I remember playing a gag on an old friend while fishing Georgian Bay. I attached a store bought Whitefish on his line while he took the quad to go and grab some coffee. When he got back he hauled up his line and the darned fish (dead) came off the hook at the hole and dissappeared. For days after, the Pike fishing was amazing!

Oh yes, we never let him live down the fact that a dead fish came off a barbed treble hook.

Legend