An old fishing buddy told me to cut off the tail of the Minnows right before I put them in the water as bait. Does this really work?

Gosh I’m not sure about that one. Although it may be true that the scent from the minnow may be stronger after cutting the tail it may not be the best idea. One of the most important aspects to getting the attention of the walleye is wiggle action. The walleye is first attracted by motion. If the tail is cut off the minnow it may have the effect of reducing the amount of wave action that the little fish may make. Most of the swimming motion is caused by the tail. I tend to think that the minnow with the longest tail is going to cause more turbulence in the water and get the attention of that all important walleye. No matter what kind of live bait is employed the most important factor is keeping that bait lively!

That may be the reason why bait keepers have gotten so high tech lately. I noticed that Cabella’s has a minnow life support system that comes in at about $259 on the high end. Of course they do have lots of budget versions but you have to admit that this is one serious approach to minnow storage. Anyone who’s invested in bait only to find that it has lost it’s wiggle long before the fishing trip is over can appreciate that. but holly mackeral that’s a lot of money to spend on maintaining the comfort level of the bait.

I’m not at all convinced that minnows are the best bait for walleye anyway. A lot of people don’t use live bait. I know that’s not the question but it is worth consideration. But if you do decide to stick to minnows try catching them the old fashioned way. Very good minnow bait buckets can be found at real affordable price points. These are designed to catch minnows by placing a trap portion in a stream and just waiting for minnows to swim in. You’ll have to think ahead by a day or so but it sure does keep the high cost fishing down.

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