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Guys its time to switch baits. Bait shops are ripping us off. Quality,quality, price. And availability. Seems we are at wits end. Read where one guy got a 2 man limit in a hour using a spoon with a single hook. Think about it. What do the fish see. Sounds like perch fishing through the ice. Bet bait shop would amazingly have shiners and price would lower too. Just a thought.
You think baitshops wanna pay to have Goldie's shipped in ? If they could get shiners they would.
Google: Fishsens magazine, lake Erie yellow perch bait. Several articles on Emeralds and other options, easy reading.Quote:
Originally Posted by wkndwarrior63
That guy didn’t say if he was tipping the spoon with bait I'd bet he was. The bait shop are just trying to make a living just like everyone else. I did just fine last year on goldies but haven't tried yet this year. If you find something the perch like better than minnows please do tell.Quote:
Originally Posted by wkndwarrior63
We have caught several limits on goldies the last couple years. Last 2 times out limit in 1.5 hours. My own perch rigs. 2 scoops at St. Clair was a little more than 7 dollars. Plenty of minnows.
West ohio end of lake just dosent seem to get shiners like middle of lake does. Marinas are loaded with shiners dont know why bait shop are not hand dipping for them, like they use too. Unless odnr has relations on that?
the shinner buisness is looking to be a lost art for our ohio boats many have given up and got jobs to support there family an j bait still catches his own so he will have bait at his shop before anyone else i think st clair also catches there own so i call anjs if he dont have shinners its most likely we dont have any further west being he supplies most shops i thought the law changed last year so you can transport shinners over the state line it all started when the fish got a disease years ago the fish started dying and floating on top due to this i remember going out and seeing thje fish seems to me it was mostly sheepheads so where does the bait cave in mich get his bait lake mich, huron where are shinners at seems he always had shinners last year i guess i broke the law and did not know since i paid for license on the boat .and a fishing license in mich and ohio we usually go salmon fishing on lake mich for a few weeks looks like a no go this year due to being to busy and buddy that goes just got custody of his 3 kids being special needs for 1 we spend lots of money on bait lures and gas and lodging looks like lake erie perching this year and no shinners i used goldies twice this year got fish but the shops are paying for these goldies so the scoops are small and cost is up
Go to Wal-Mart pharmacy dept. and get a bottle or 2 of the 91% isopropyl alcohol. When you find shiners buy extra and cure them right away with the alcohol. I have the bait store put them into gallon plastic bags with no water. I then put them into a colander and drain them of as much water as possible put them back into the gallon bags and cover with the alcohol and squeeze out most of the air. They will start to cure almost immediately in the alcohol. Just Ice them down for the day and put into freezer when you get home. they will not freeze but they stay nice and cold and firm. This method works with the golden shiners also. It is a lot cleaner and less messy than the salt routine, I think it does a better job also. I use old peanut butter jars to store them in while in the freezer for less chance of alcohol leaks.
Do you drain the 91% off, or freeze them in it. Thanks
My wife would kill me if she stumbled in to minnows in the freezer 😂
Leave them in the alcohol, they will never freeze firm. they do not have to be thawed to use as they come out of the alcohol one at a time and are not stuck together. When you put live shiners in the alcohol they die instantly almost like they were electrocuted.Quote:
Originally Posted by leroy77
Thanks Wakina! Had not heard of the alcohol.
Better get another freezer Pauken so you got em when you need em. Mine still has a few bags of salted from last year, and a duck wing for training the hound. I get a few looks when guests see the bird wing in there.
Just tell her it's caviar for a friends cat.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pauken23
Good to hear from you Mr. W. How's your back? I'm in a similar situation so I hit the Head Boat out of Sandusky. They tend to Perch sometimes more than Eye's. Call first to see what they're up to. And thanks for the advice on freezing in alcohol rather than salt!
Have heard that putting them in the pink RV anti-freeze does the same thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by wakina
Quote:
Originally Posted by wakina
Great idea thanks
Isopropyl alcohol is the same alcohol used in fuel additives to remove moisture from your tank and to prevent fuel line freeze up. It sort of dries(replaces) the moisture out of the shiners and also keeps them flexible but not mushy. I am not sure the pink anti-freeze would actually preserve shiners and it will get slushy in the freezer. I guess the only way to find out would be to try it and find out for yourselves.
Welcome back W. Those bait stealers are going to be in a happy mood after two or three. I'm wondering if you kept the shiners in the alcohol and in the cooler all day if you can simply put the leftovers back in the freezer later or are they done for?Quote:
Originally Posted by wakina
I dock out of east harbor.
Last week I went to a bait shop I won't name, and he wanted 5 bucks for a single scoop of golden minnows. Probably 2 dozen or so.
Minnows have been tearing up the harbor.
I put out a 4 foot seine with some homemade dough ball in it and caught a few hundred minnows, mostly emerald shiners, in the marina in about 20 minutes.
Now, I don't think that perch, when they are hungry, really care what species of minnow it is. But I will say that at those prices, if I can net my own... well the seine I had, but it would pay for itself if you had to buy one within 1-2 fishing trips, if there are minnows around. And if there aren't? Put a lantern over the side right near the water, just after dark, toss in some bread crumbs, and there WILL be.
If there aren't? Go find yourself some of the really small Mr. Twisters, with a really small hook threaded through them, and some tiny spoons. Put one on each end of a spreader, with a redworm or a small cut of night crawler to get a little scent in the water. Or a minnow sized piece of cut bait, if you want to buck the law.
I've gotten more perch on small spoons or rubber baits than I care to recount. Then there was the day I got my first 10 pound walleye on a boiling July afternoon, when I had put a small Mr. Twister on a zebco with 6 pound line, jigging, back in 97... trying for perch, which were hitting our walleye lures. I figured, let's target the perch, since they are biting. Plus that lure gives a good chance of hooking into a smallmouth.
If I do get a bunch of minnows, I usually cure the leftovers myself. Some salt and a little time in the sun. Not as productive as fresh bait, I grant you, but they do just fine. Keep them in the freeezer after they are dry. The leathery nature of curing and drying will keep them on the hook quite well.
I put a days worth in to the cooler and then take them out a few at a time for baiting the hooks. Left overs that are still on ice are taken home and put back in the freezer.Quote:
Originally Posted by Defernaut
With all the high costs involved with just getting to the boat and then the spot where I am going to put out the anchor I never thought the cost of bait was overpriced. Those bait dealers are the ones who have to have their bait delivered $$$$$ to the store in order to have them there for sale in the first place. There are only a couple that actually net the minnows(shiners) they sell and when those are not available they have to have golden shiners trucked $$$$$ in from afar.