Hooking a Minnow: Eyes, lips, back, or tail?

[Festus_Haggen]

How do you hook a minnow, through the eyes, lips, under dorsal fin, or through the tail? If I'm fishing under a bobber, most of the time I will hook them through the eyes. If I'm trolling, through the lips. I have hooked them through the back, especially if there's a bunch of baitstealers around, such as bream, yellow bass, or yellow perch. I have hooked larger minnows, such as creek chubs or shiners through the tail. Anyone care to share which method is best for the certain situation? BTW, about the only minnows in my neck of the woods are shiners and tuffies (fatheads). Shiners aren't as hardy, but I can catch them in a creek when I need them. Once I found a baby hogsucker in some tuffie minnows, and caught a nice crappie on it, too. Baltimore minnows used to be fairly common, but I don't see them anymore. Crappie will hit those, too. On hot days, Baltimores are handy because they don't seem heat sensitive and also they don't need a lot of oxygen. Of course, they're just dull colored goldfish, but occasionally you'd find a brightly colored goldfish, or a black bugeyed goldfish, or multicolored goldifish, I always just turned them into the lake (though I shouldn't).

[wildhunter066]

I always hook them in the back because thats how my granny made me lol. She was a crappie fishin machine when she was alive.She loved to fish the heated docks in the wintertime. Always glad to take me along but you better do exactly what she told you or you would get a swat with a zebco 33 and it would be a long time before you fished with her again.

[Festus_Haggen]

Granny knows best, I lost my paternal grandmother when I was 8 years old from a heart attack. My maternal granny lived to be 93. I don't know why she liked them, but she always liked to eat drum. She said when she was growing up at home, the fish peddlers would bring drum to buy, her father bought them. I wonder if they were a saltwater drum, but I doubt it because they lived WAY back in the woods. She liked most any fish, and every now and then, I'd keep a drum a foot long or so and she'd cook them. I tried them myself a time or two, but wasn't impressed.

Minnows seem to stay hooked longer for me if hooked through the eyes. One day I kept getting my minnows knocked off the hook. nibbled at, and stolen, and I finally hooked them in the back as you said, and immediately started catching fish, but it wasn't what I wanted--yellow bass. I switched to redworms and crawlers and caught about 50. They'd hit about any lure sized to them, tube jigs, spoons, twister tails, etc.

[feelay]

This has been rehashed countless times on here. The answer is...Granny is wrong! Through the lips, or more correctly, underside of mouth up through the head. They live longer on the hook this way and have a more natural movement.

[Festus_Haggen]

Through the lips, or more correctly, underside of mouth up through the head. They live longer on the hook this way and have a more natural movement.

What size hook is best for this method? It probably depends upon the size of the minnow. I hardly ever go bigger than a #4 hook, but I like the #6's better. Some people say that's a little small, but I've caught catfish 35 lbs. or better on a #6 Aberdeen hook.

How far up the head do you need to go? between the nostrils, or above?

[Fatman]

Under the back fin on minnows. If I was fishing chubs for Pike it would be through the tail

Fatman

[spiderkayaker]

i always hook them through the lips. that way when i send them down they can keep their dang mouth shut about whats going on topside!

[jaxsprat]

Filletfrier
This has been rehashed countless times on here. The answer is...Granny is wrong! Through the lips, or more correctly, underside of mouth up through the head. They live longer on the hook this way and have a more natural movement.

Thanks but.....I don't understand
through the lips do U stck hook in mouth then out top of head??????? It takes some of us old folks awhile????Thanks

[minnowsoaker]

under the jaw and out thru the nostrimities............

[Festus_Haggen]

under the jaw and out thru the nostrimities............

That sounds good-that's the way I do when trolling or fishing a minnow on the bottom.