Live bait presentation

[Boatless]

Just wondering what everyone's preference is- hooking the live bait thru the tail or the mouth? I've caught trying both but the fish seem to be more agressive when hooked thru the tail. Opinions?

[Ca_Bass]

When ever I've fished with live bait I found through the mouth works better. I find through the tail they don't live as long and don't swim freely. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

[OO7:BASSINASSASSIN]

If the bait is really small through the lips (like medaka), with the hook point going up through the lower lip and coming out of the top lip. If the bait is really, really small you can hook several through the lips. If the bait is the bait is big enough, through the nose, just in front of the eyes with the hook coming across the head(hook going in one side of the head and coming out on the other side). Sometimes, I like to move the bait to entice the fish to strike and hooking them in front is a more natural presentation. It would look funny to see your bait going backwards, but then again tucs have a reverse gear, I have seen them do the backstroke.

[Ken]

It depends on which fish I'm after and how I'm fishing.

For pike fishing with a float (or icefishing on a deadstick), since they usually hit the baitfish broad side, I hook them through the mouth with a stinger hook right below the dorsal fin (don't go too far below the dorsal fin or else you'll hit the spine, which would give you a paralyzed bait )

If I jigging for walleye or bass, I use a smaller minnow and hook it through the mouth. This gives the most natural action.

If I'm deadsticking for walleye through the ice, I will hook the bait just under the dorsal fin. This allows the minnow to have the most natural action. Even if it is dead, it hangs a little more horizontal than a lip hooked bait.

I guess it all depend on the biting habit of the fish and the technique you're using.

I know some people here will tail hook a minnow when fishing under a float or deadsticking through the ice. The idea behind tail hook is to have the bait always digging for bottom. To do this, it is ideal to have the minnow is suspended a foot above bottom. However, this technique put a lot of stress on the bait and hence, your bait will not last long due to exhaustion.

[Stan Wright]

When using tilapia for bait I hook them through the mouth. Most of the time we're drifting or moving along the shore with the rod in a rod holder.... so the bait is swimming along behind.

You don't have to worry about the tilapia being active... they seem to always be struggling to get into some kind of cover.

I just started using live bait while "pitching and flipping". When hooked through the mouth, the tilapia acts like a small fish fighting to get away and seems to attract the peacock bass. Since I'm constantly picking the bait up and tossing it to another location along the shore, I like to hook them through the mouth.

I can see hooking them through the back if your using a floater.

[kahuna bass]

Greetings all,

As Stan mentioned, "pitching and flipping" live bait is a blast. One thing you must remember, you need match the hook with the bait. Most common mistake is either the hook is too big or too small. Fine wire hooks work the best for this application.

Tilapia are pretty hardy baits, so most often you can lip hook them. It also never hurts to use fluorocarbon for a leader.

Good luck!

Kahuna bass
Dark side live baiter

[Dave Hennessey]

Here we have bunker. That's the bait.

You chuck a big old treble hook with a weight on it into the school, rip the treble through the water hard until it snags a bunker.

Then you just let the damn thing swim around until something comes and eats it.

No thinking involved.

[Stan Wright]

I just found this fishing information about live baiting...
Stan
http://cyberangler.com/articles/live_bait_bass.html