**i usually hit it around late may, early june. before i head up, i usually post up asking anyone who has fished scofield lateley if they have seen minnows around the docks. i get a quick response from boaters and shore anglers who have seen them flocking the shoreline. i head up the next weekend. scofield is the place to stock up on redside minnows. a cast net will run you about $20. **
My preferred minnow to fish with is a freshly caught (dead of course) red sided minnow; however, they seem to all turn mushy when I freeze them, unless I cure them in salt before freezing. I have better results with frozen chubs (not nearly as mushy after being frozen). What has been your experience and if you have a trick for keeping the red sided shiners from turning to mush please let me know?
i simply store them in zipplock bags in water and freeze. no salt, but no air bubbles either. when bagging them up, put the minnows in the bag under water, then seal underwater. this is the easiest way to keep the air out and water in. i keep 'em frozen till i need 'em. i have found them to get mushy once they have been thawed for an hour or so. i don’t think they get mushy because they have been frozen, but because they get warm and thawed out. if you throw them on yer hook still frozen they work great so keeping them frozen till you use em is important. this also insures no extra minnows left over from a trip will go to waste. one 12 pack of minnows stored in a small cooler will melt fairley quickley. a small cooler packed with 12 dozen minnows will stay frozen all day. we usualy still have frozen minnows when we return home, after a days trip. back into the freezer they go. warm redsides = mushy and ruined redsides. and i have also found chub minnows are more durable and easy to work with, and can take more abuse. i have already blazed through 10 dozen of last years catch this spring out at the mudpuddle. and with 15 dozen left, looks like i’ll be back up at scofield, cast net in hand, right on time this year. laters
Kent where and when do you net/trap your chub minnows?
I used to net all of my minnows at Strawberry; however, last year minnows at Strawberry (at least around the docks at the boat ramps that I visited) were few and far between. Recently, I have cheated and purchased most of my minnows from Sportsman’s. I was able to get them from early June to about the end of September.