minnow rigging

I have trouble keeping minnows on the hook on big casts. I've tried hooking them just about every way, but nothing seems to work 100% of the time. Consider this--putting a swivel though the upper jaw and out the nostril, then claming it down, and tieing the swivel to the end of the line. I'm not sure how I will hook it. I may connect a hook to the swivel and have it follow the same path through the minnow. I may tie a short extention line just above the swivel and place the hook on the end of that. Do you guys thing this will work?

|Sounds awfully complicated to me. I have seen hooking up minnows on youtube that was done a lot easier.

Its dead anyway. Just use cut carp or buffallo---those will not come off.

Have you ever tried a baiting need and a treble hook? When you get it down the minnow will live for quite a bit. Also unless I am getting hard strikes or snagged on the river bottom the minnow hardly ever takes any beating. You can cast and recast if you are trying to fish the current and letting the minnow drift it works really well. Really until I recently leared a few different ways to hook a minnow I thought this was the only way since it was the way I figured it out.

The way to do it is extremely simple although more time consuming then just hooking it through the jaw and out the nostrils or back hooking it. Tie a simple loop knot, Big enough that a treble hook can be slipped through. Also have a few split shots rigged above it 12 - 16 inches is how I usually rig it, Then take your minnow and hold it from the sides. If you the minnow a little squeeze they usually open their mouth And once you get the hang of it you can slide the need through the mouth and right out the minnows ass to put it bluntly. Then take your loop knot and put it on the open end of a baiting needle, pull the needle through the minnow and the loop will come out of its butt. Slip your loop knot through the eye of the treble hook then around the out side of it forming a simple slip knot. Pull it tight then put the hook up the minnows butt so just the points of the treble hook stick out. Then start casting. It sounds more complicated then it is, I could show you in a video or like a few pictures, It really only takes me 15-20 seconds to change a minnow out anymore.

Granted like I said its not the fastest of easiest was but I never have problem with the flying off the hook midcast and I have never fed the fish I was trying to catch like I have seen so many people do. If you get a strike hard enough to rip your minnow off the hook and you dont catch a fish it was a well deserved meal. Even if your minnow dies and your are drift fishing it still looks legit and still catches fish. Basically you have a minnow that has all the benefits of a lure with the smell and taste of a fish. You can contact me at the name posted above on Aol instant messenger if you have any questions or would like to see pics or videos.

Later

Using a needle can even be more simple. Tie a swivel on the end of you line. The make a leader with a loop on one end and a treble tied to the other. Please the neeedle in the anus of the minnow and extend it up through and out the mouth, but before pulling through, place the loop end of the leader in the slit of the needle. Now pull the whole way through. The minnow will fall down onto the treble such that the treble is at the anus of the minnow. Now connect the loop end of the leader to the swivel. In this manner, if a fish strikes the minnow from behind, the first thing they will grab is the treble. Also, if you make a quater cast upstream, the minnow will drift down, looking natural. Moreover, as you reel in, it acts like a lure. Usually in small or medium streams, I do not add weight. Bigger streams, you may need to add a split shot, but be cautious that the split shot does not make the drift unnatural. When you need to change the minnow (usually you can catch several trout on one minnow) simply detach the loop from the swivel pull off any remaining minnow and follow the procedure again. This works wonders for native trout! Work your way upstream casting ahead and letting the minnow drift towards you. SInce trout sit facing into the current, they are not likely to see you. However, still use stealth, cause natives can spook very easily. Even your clothing should be dark as to not stand out. Hope this helps.