To Tip or NOT to Tip... That is the question

I have heard that some people tip their jigs with shiners. Many do not. I've had people tell me that its simply a bait store tactic to sell bait so they tell people that's what they need to do...

I've only used hair jigs with no bait. Went out yesterday an limited in a couple hours on jigs with no bait. We wanted a big one for the last fish so we threw 18 others back that were legal but small... I don't think minnows would have made a difference.

Research I've done says that the males that are biting the jigs aren't feeding. They are protecting eggs from gobies and such and it is a defensive strike. If this is true then minnows wouldn't matter.

I'm no expert. That's why I am asking. Has anyone ever tried tipping with minnows at the same time as a bare hook and the minnows proved better? I talked to a guy this weekend about this and he said he got laughed at for bringing minnows jig fishing when he came up to fish with some locals that were veterans and they called him a "tourist."

He took the minnows anyway and was convinced that he was going to show them up. He failed. He said that he never hooked a minnow up because they were catching walleye before he had a chance to.

Any thoughts?

-Matt

I have a few friends who own bait shops.... with that said.... I never buy them for jig fishing erie reefs. In other places at other times of course they work so i think that is where the idea comes from. As you said Erie reef spawn walleye are not hitting jigs because they are eating it is more of an aggression/defensive bite. I have been on the same boat while some use minnows and the others do not. i have never seen the minnows out produce bare jigs. The jig action is by far the most important factor.

There are surely times when you would need to tip with live shiners. Proven fact to me anyway. One morning of fun fishing with a few other guys, we were not doing well till a call from a buddy and asked if we had minnows. " No" not that day. Since he was headed in, he stopped by and gave us all his left over big shiners. It was an instant change as we took a limit of eyes in a couple hours. There are times when you dont need them as they turn aggressive enough to hit anything. Very early April with very cold water, prob no bait, all mid April I would take shiners and early May would be bare jig and maybe tip with some worm. Alot of times it could be just how you are moving the jig. Many diff ways, fast , slow, really rip it, cast ahead of the drift, jig the swing, jig under the boat, just drag it little hops in back of drift, turn your hat around. Try a blade, it could make a diff.
One guy may just not feel anything all day and another guy is throwing fish back. Watch the one that is catching and how he is catching, line angle, rod position, jig weight and color.

What Greg says...depends on the bite. I've also seen days where you had to tip to get the bite.

Greg

I think its a mater of what you feel confadant with out there i always have a minnow on one live and one gulp minnow jig with 2 rods straight down and do good with both buddy dosent use any and does just as good casting and jigging i agree think its about protecting the eggs..

Can probably catch them without bait, but for $5.00 I am taking bait and tipping em. A little flavor never hurt.

I've been jigging for just a couple of years now and I've been very successful with jigs tipped with gulp shiners. Saturday used one minnow to catch a limit.

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Originally Posted by BossHogg

Can probably catch them without bait, but for $5.00 I am taking bait and tipping em. A little flavor never hurt.

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Better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.

Like BossHog says for 5 bucks worth of shiners that is a drop in the bucket compared to a jigging rod and reel, boat, gas money for the boat and money spent on gas getting to the launch as well as jigs, leader material, and other tackle. I throw away more money than that on other foolish fishing things but never considered cost for minnows or nitecrawlers as a wasteful expenditure. But that is only me.

I understand that I is not a cost issue... And I have no issues with "touching" worms or shiners... But if I don't need to worry about it and it makes no difference then I won't mess with them.

I don't need to worry about getting the aerator and fresh batteries, an extra trip to the bait store, the slight mess on the boat, or any of that if it has no bearing on the catch.

I am more just asking for informational purposes... I guess this week I'll just try both and post my results.

-Matt

Of charter buddies both on Friday and Sat and all caught limits both days without a minnow.All boats had the Captn plus 6. Just personal choice this time of year. Out east got out Sat for a test ride and 4 of us pulled 13 on Blade Baits close to the harbor.

Dale

I have shiners with me most of the time jigging. I've had times where I have to cut them into to catch walleye. I've had other times where they have to be live to work and I've had times where if you have one on you won't catch anything! This past weekend it didn't matter either way.

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Originally Posted by Madd Matt

I understand that I is not a cost issue... And I have no issues with "touching" worms or shiners... But if I don't need to worry about it and it makes no difference then I won't mess with them.

I don't need to worry about getting the aerator and fresh batteries, an extra trip to the bait store, the slight mess on the boat, or any of that if it has no bearing on the catch.

I am more just asking for informational purposes... I guess this week I'll just try both and post my results.

-Matt

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I guess that what I was trying to say is that you will have some cash invested in your trip and it would be a shame not to at least have some shiners along even if you did not have to use them, just in case the eyes are not as aggressive when you are out there, it could or may save your trip. But that has to be a personal decision that would best be answered by your own personal experience after you have a few trips under your belt. Sounds like the spawn is happening rather fast this year with the number of spawned out females that are showing up. The closer to being over it is the less aggressive the males will become. The reason I say that is that walleye tend to be finicky fish and not all that predictable in what they would strike or bite. They may just want shiners when you don't have any along. That was my thought when I posted my first reply.

By the way walleyes are broadcast spawners and do not build a nest and they do not have the protective nature that a small mouth would. Highly unlikely they are guarding eggs as the eggs that are fertilized are free fallen eggs and are not concentrated like they would be if layed in a prepared nest and the male would not know where the eggs were located as they would be spread out all over.

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Originally Posted by wakina

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By the way walleyes are broadcast spawners and do not build a nest and they do not have the protective nature that a small mouth would. Highly unlikely they are guarding eggs as the eggs that are fertilized are free fallen eggs and are not concentrated like they would be if layed in a prepared nest and the male would not know where the eggs were located as they would be spread out all over.

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Interesting... Now I will probably hijack my own thread, but I have to ask. If what you say is true (which I have no reason to contradict you) then why are the males so aggressive? I have just believed what people have said (that they are guarding eggs against gobies and such) and went along with it because it made sense. Now I am going to have to research it. But I'm curious as to what others think or know about why the male are so aggressive in certain areas, if not protecting eggs.

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Originally Posted by Madd Matt

Interesting... Now I will probably hijack my own thread, but I have to ask. If what you say is true (which I have no reason to contradict you) then why are the males so aggressive? I have just believed what people have said (that they are guarding eggs against gobies and such) and went along with it because it made sense. Now I am going to have to research it. But I'm curious as to what others think or know about why the male are so aggressive in certain areas, if not protecting eggs.

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Uhmmm... testosterone maybe? Maybe because they feed pretty aggressively any other time of the year and that instinct doesn't shut off during the spawn? Don't know, just theories there.

Madd Matt
Since it is to hard for me to explain with a few words I have posted this question on Ohio Sea Grant and hopefully they will respond and I can post a link to the answer here. Then maybe once and for all the question of whether or not the males guard the eggs will be settled. I want to know if what my research in the years past taught me was correct or not and do not want to mis-inform you or anyone else.

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Originally Posted by Lakeerieguy

Of charter buddies both on Friday and Sat and all caught limits both days without a minnow.All boats had the Captn plus 6. Just personal choice this time of year. Out east got out Sat for a test ride and 4 of us pulled 13 on Blade Baits close to the harbor.

Dale

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Lakeerieguy, which harbor are you refering to? East?

There are many techniques used to catch a walleye. Anything with live bait is sometimes one of the best.

the early season spawn jig bite is targeting aggresive males who are in the act of fertilzing eggs. Therefore I use a hairjig to entice a strike out of aggression and fear. the minnow does nothing for a spawning walleye. If the males are not aggresive enough to hit a jig then i have plenty of baits and tricks to get them to hit. To me that is the fun of fishing and the reason i love to target walleye.

To me if i am using a hair jig targeting an aggressive spawning male i do not need a minnow. if a minnow is needed then that walleye i am catching is not an aggressive spawning male.

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Originally Posted by wakina

Madd Matt
Since it is to hard for me to explain with a few words I have posted this question on Ohio Sea Grant and hopefully they will respond and I can post a link to the answer here. Then maybe once and for all the question of whether or not the males guard the eggs will be settled. I want to know if what my research in the years past taught me was correct or not and do not want to mis-inform you or anyone else.

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Here is the response from the Ohio Sea Grant! The link has my original question and the response from Ohio Sea Grant. Hope this helps clear up the question of protecting eggs or not.

http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/discuss/...ic,1537.0.html

that's good to know. I use minnows because I always have. I will still use a jig with twister tail too for fun. Get my jacks & then slide out to 23-25 ft & troll for picture fish. Have fun. Good Luck & Good Fishing

I have caught a limit of milking walleyes on the Gulp Leaches jigging.