Jig and a minnow

When you hear jig and a minnow ice fishing, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?Tail hook? Dorsal hook? Mouth hook? What size jig? Dead minnow actively jigged? Jig and a Minnow is different to everyone.

I will mouth hook my minnows if I’m jigging a full minnow. Some times tail hook on a jig as a set line under a tip up. Many ways to do it and I bet they all work at tines

When I am actively jigging, I will run the hook into the mouth and out through the gill. Then turn the hook 180 and through the side of the minnow and out the other side. I don’t remember what you call it but it is by far my favorite way to hook a minnow on a jig summer or winter. The minnow will lay on its side in the water and when its is vertically jigged, it makes the minnow dart.

biggill wrote:

When I am actively jigging, I will run the hook into the mouth and out through the gill. Then turn the hook 180 and through the side of the minnow and out the other side. I don’t remember what you call it but it is by far my favorite way to hook a minnow on a jig summer or winter. The minnow will lay on its side in the water and when its is vertically jigged, it makes the minnow dart.

I remember seeing this done on tv somewhere and then trying to replicate it out in the boat and being completely stumped. Then my next step is to just resort to the old “thru the mount and body” technique which kills the minnow almost immediately, but is harder to get off the hook than a traditional lip hook, but much less lively, obviously…

The only way to do it IMO ^ I call it the Lake Of The Woods style ; Only way to get those fragile emeralds to stay on the shank. Plenty of LOTW videos out there explaining it

biggill wrote:

When I am actively jigging, I will run the hook into the mouth and out through the gill. Then turn the hook 180 and through the side of the minnow and out the other side. I don’t remember what you call it but it is by far my favorite way to hook a minnow on a jig summer or winter. The minnow will lay on its side in the water and when its is vertically jigged, it makes the minnow dart.

Summer this is how I hook them most of the time. Winter I mostly just jig with just the head of the minnow and use mostly fatheads for this. On Red is the only place my buddy that likes to use a hole minnow head hooked has out fished me a few times. Also I assume we are talking about on a spoon for winter.

i usually go thru the mouth out the gill and thru the skin a bit but you need bigger minnows.

ice fishing i like to go thru the butthole and out the side with small jigs or spoons or plain hook. the minnow will always try to right itself so a struggling baitfish is always an easy target.

Hook threw the butt and turn is fire! I I remember hearing this for the first time years ago on the old KFAN outdoors show. The minnow is always moving.

Depends. crappie fishing, walleye fishing, pike fishing, etc.

For crappie fishing, it depends on how aggressive the fish are taking the minnows. Cuz sometimes they get finicky and like to nibble. So either one lets them mouth the minnow for a time or somehow get a hook into some lips. If you hook minnow lips and keep loosing fish then try tail. If both are no hook ups, then try dorsal.

Sometimes it depends on the jig. Your typical gumball jighead or perhaps something more like a CJS Demon Jig.