leeches

[IndyGunworks]

I picked up one of each today.... still patiently waiting to hear about type of hook and placement.... through the nose? the jaw... through the belly like a swim bait... through the back....
I don't even HAVE to have pictures.... just a description. I cant find anyone that fish's like this and am excited to try it.

 

[Zoub]

Just took the pics, will move them and have them up in 10-15 minutes.

 

[Zoub]

Good lord, I cant get the pics to load no matter how much I reduce them. If you want to see them drop me an IM with an email and I will send them along to you.

I use Octopus and bait holder hooks. When I say bait holder I mean hooks similar to those used to tie walleye rigs, not the classic straight shank bait holder hooks.

http://www.gamakatsu.com/fishing-hooks.php?pid=1014



The first thing you slide on the line is the rubber bobber stop. wet the line first, then thread it through the stop. A dry line will slice right through the stopper. Buy the size for the lb/test line you are using. Next slide on a small bead. The bead keeps the bobber from getting stuck on the rubber bobber stop. Thread the line through the bobber, then tie on the hook. I often add a small bead or two between the bobber and hook as well to add color by the hook. Don't be afraid to use a small hook. I hook the gulp minnow on the head end from gill to gill so to speak. They hold up better that way and the sideways hookup makes it look like it is darting, fighting or injured. Same for putting one on a jig. Dragging the jig with the minnow that way looks like the minnow is working something or something is grabbing it.

To make life easier, you may just want to use some small rubber core twist on sinkers. I keep some that are the right weight for my smaller center slider bobbers. In the kayak or canoe its just one less thing to mess with pinching on a few split shot. I do keep a single size of split shot in the small bobber kit as well. I know how many of it I need to balance each type of bobber.

When using a light jig under the bobber it will snag more then a plain hook with the lead 3-6" up the line from it. Still, just have at it. For drifting in the current around boulders or wood or over a sandbar and hole each has its strengths.

In slow moving water you can easily cast to targets and the bait will drop under the bobber. You can also "tight line through the bobber, moving the bait up some and letting it drop. You may tend to do this too much if you get impatient while you learn how to use these things but it can trigger a strike.

You can cast upstream and let it drift with the current back past you. Let more line out and let it go past you as well. Even with slack line, if you keep your rod tip pointed at the bobber you can make a good hook set. That is why I prefer 7-8' rods. Easier to sweep up slack line for a hook set and keep tension on fish with light lines.

If you cast downstream, you can sweep your rod upstream then point it back at the bobber. The bobber will move towards you and then when you point back at the bobber, the weight will pull slack line back through the bobber. Last night I caught that fish doing that. Bobber stop was set maybe 2' to 3' deep. I casted on top of a sandbar about 9" deep and dragged the bobber back up stream towards a hole about 4' deep. As the bait sunk down along the drop into the hole, the bass hit it.

With a jig, you might let it drag bottom some in current but the bobber will help it to ride over obstacles and into current breaks. Good if fish are holding tighter.

If I am really going hard on bobbers I will have two rods rigged and a third will be rigged with a jig to search with. Often my favorite the whistler jig since it can be fished like a jig or spinner, rigged with bait or plastic. Often a 1" gulp minnow is on it, hooked side to side like above. Now I also rig the little crawdads to be weedless on them too. Usually just 1/32oz jigs so I can toss right up to shore with them and not get snagged too much.

 

[bwframe]

You already have a great bobber bait for Smallies, Gulp minnows. I have caught hundreds of them using slip bobber and 1" gulp minnows.

This year I added a new gulp bait and the other day I pulled a dozen from one hole with it. It's a 1.5" crawdad in bright orange.
Gulp!® Inch Hawg | Berkley®

You are always spending my money.

 

[Zoub]

Yeah well on this one you are welcome. Next year none of those minnows will be dead! Even if they freeze in the garage. They also can be reused, even if they dry out on the hook. Just remove and toss back in the jar. I tend to put used ones in a jar of a different color.

So in a jar of chartreuse minnows, if I see a dark one I know it's a used one.

 

[CBR1000rr]

You are always spending my money.

After watching Indy slay them with gulp minnows, I'd say it was money well spent.

 

[Zoub]

On just the 1" I have caught Pike, walleye, smallmouth, largemouth, crappie, perch, bluegill, brook trout, catfish and redhorse.

 

[IndyGunworks]

I am liking the gulp minnows.... the fish seem to keep the hook in longer and since I am fishing with 3 foot rods that's important to me. I could get the whole slip bobber thing to work all that well though. If I find some consistently deeper water ill give it another try. Maybe at the reservoir for crappie and largemouth.... I used to catch catfish on Brookville all the time with the set up that worked well on the river Monday.

 

[IndyDave1776]

OK, this thread is about actual leeches. So much on redistribution through taxation and other government schemes had me expecting something less literal.

 

[IndyGunworks]

It is the outdoor forum.........

 

[Zoub]

I am liking the gulp minnows.... the fish seem to keep the hook in longer and since I am fishing with 3 foot rods that's important to me. I could get the whole slip bobber thing to work all that well though. If I find some consistently deeper water ill give it another try. Maybe at the reservoir for crappie and largemouth.... I used to catch catfish on Brookville all the time with the set up that worked well on the river Monday.

I figured as much when I saw your fish pics. It looks like you bought too large of a bobber. It takes too much weight to balance a center slider that size so it fails in shallow water. That's why I only use the smallest sizes then jump to wagglers for deeper water.

 

[IndyGunworks]

couldn't find any much smaller.....

 

[IndyGunworks]

I also think we are fishing very different kinds of rivers....

 

[CBR1000rr]

I wonder if you could make your own bigger with a piece of cork? My wife drinks enough wine that I can gather a few for us.

 

[Zoub]

I also think we are fishing very different kinds of rivers....

I used the same techniques on most rivers in Indiana and here I pull a lot of fish from very shallow water. It's a lot easier once you learn it.

Hell I learned it from a Hoosier 40 years ago before I ever knew I would end up living in Indiana. He lived in Indy and stayed at our friends resort in MN and we would come over from ND to fish there. When you saw baskets with 100-200 fish in them you listened to every word he said! He and his wife were also experts with a filet knife. Good memories tied to those bombers.

 

[IndyDave1776]

It is the outdoor forum.........

You tend not to notice that so much when clicking on 'new posts' and look down the list without really scrutinizing it.

 

[IndyGunworks]

starting to figure out this gulp and bobber stuff a bit.... after last night I do have confidence that you can catch fish on a rubber minnow that is sitting still under a bobber as evidenced by these photos.

 

[HamsterStyle]

Wow!!! Crappie, bluegill, crappie, crappie? Those are some beasts.

 

[Dirtebiker]

I don't know how she'd fit on a hook, but my sister's not busy!

 

[Zoub]

I do have confidence that you can catch fish on a rubber minnow that is sitting still under a bobber

Yeah don't let those fish in the boat sway your opinion. We all have our trigger words and I think one of yours may be rubber. Your brain is thinking "I can't catch fish on recycled tires." They are not rubber man! They are high tech super fantastic futuristic space foam.......man. (read in the Dudes voice).

Let go the rubber, you must.
See the bobber, be the bobber.
Gulp is change you can believe in.
Quit being a dumbass and do what I tell you.

Pick one from above that works best for you and say it when you feel doubt creeping in. Yesterday I left ALL my gulp and UL rigs behind and only took my fly rod for smallies. It was fun but I catch more fish with UL gear. Lost flies cost a lot more then gulp minnows.