07-26-2003, 06:00 PM
Hey Shrimpboy, it is hard typing this while I am laughing so hard. Glad you got your casting net figured out, but trust me, if you are getting hit below the belt when you throwing your casting net you are definitely doing something wrong! You either snagged your casting net on something, or you got a net with some bad threads in it. Yes, I would repair it with some monifilament. About missing bites. There are a few items to be aware of:
First item, and by far the most important, use sharp thin hooks that are designed to be used with minnows. I have had good success using Eagle Claw Featherlite hooks in sizes 2 to size 4. I have also used a hook called a Shiner Hook that worked well.
Second item, remember that you are fishing with a large bait when you are fishing with a minnow, and it may take the fish a little longer to get the minnow down inside of its mouth. Be patient and let it take it for awhile. Not quite the same as fishing for catfish, but close.
Third item, if you hook the minnow under the jaw and out the top of its head you won't hook quite as many fish, but you will have far fewer fish swallow the hook.
Fourth item, if you are missing too many bites, use a minnow threader, and thread your hook through the minnow, from the rectum up through the mouth of the minnow and then connect your leader to your line with a snap, or you could put a stinger hook near the tail of the fish. Again, you will hook more fish, but you will also have more that are deeply hooked. (Comment: I do not like to use a treble hook when fishing with minnows. My feelings are you will hook fewer fish with a treble hook than you will by using a single minnow hook, and the ones you do hook will be harder to release and thus there will be greater fish mortality.)
Fifth item, if you miss the bite or if you hook the fish and reel it for a few feet and it gets off, immediately let your line go slack, and more often than not, the fish will strike again. I have had them strike several times, even after I have reeled them in for several feet before they got off.
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First item, and by far the most important, use sharp thin hooks that are designed to be used with minnows. I have had good success using Eagle Claw Featherlite hooks in sizes 2 to size 4. I have also used a hook called a Shiner Hook that worked well.
Second item, remember that you are fishing with a large bait when you are fishing with a minnow, and it may take the fish a little longer to get the minnow down inside of its mouth. Be patient and let it take it for awhile. Not quite the same as fishing for catfish, but close.
Third item, if you hook the minnow under the jaw and out the top of its head you won't hook quite as many fish, but you will have far fewer fish swallow the hook.
Fourth item, if you are missing too many bites, use a minnow threader, and thread your hook through the minnow, from the rectum up through the mouth of the minnow and then connect your leader to your line with a snap, or you could put a stinger hook near the tail of the fish. Again, you will hook more fish, but you will also have more that are deeply hooked. (Comment: I do not like to use a treble hook when fishing with minnows. My feelings are you will hook fewer fish with a treble hook than you will by using a single minnow hook, and the ones you do hook will be harder to release and thus there will be greater fish mortality.)
Fifth item, if you miss the bite or if you hook the fish and reel it for a few feet and it gets off, immediately let your line go slack, and more often than not, the fish will strike again. I have had them strike several times, even after I have reeled them in for several feet before they got off.
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