Worms in Canada due to early spring

[NathanH]

For those guys who fish Canada in May do you plan to use worms this year due to the early ice out and warm temps? They say minnows are best in the spring which i would agree with but with the temps and and early ice out could it be time for worms on opening day?

[outdoorsron]

Hello: I always take crawlers, leeches minnows and gulp baits. I let the fish tell me. Most days in early season minnows are best, but I've had days where leeches or crawlers were best and sometimes if there really hitting the baits I'll try the gulps. Good Luck this season O - R

[JayM5209]

Nathan, for 30+ years my 1st trip of the summer is always with a group of 5 or 6 (two of us are from the original 1979 group) and we always go for one week early in the season - sometime from the opening week to the week of Memorial Day. We haven't bought a minnow for the last 20 years. Two flats of crawlers for six guys, and half the 2nd flat is usually left in camp when we leave for someone in the following week to use. We do use cranks a lot (trolling), but regardless of early or late Spring, the crawlers work fine on jigs, on spinner rigs, and under slip bobbers. Beside the cost, it's often tough to keep minnows alive when you're driving 45 minutes to an hour to get to the back lake where you'll be spending the day in the sun. We just don't bother with minnows anymore.

Of course, . . . . that's just my $.02 worth.

[tv4fish]

Nathan: I might be a little more concerned about where the fish will be due to the "early" season? I would guess their location or pattern may be different than "normal" (IF there is such a thing ).
As far as bait - I will agree with the crawlers, leeches, Gulp. Minnows are too expensive and a pain to keep. If they're biting, they're biting.

[back357]

One question on the worms, how much of the worm do you typically use?

[tv4fish]

We usually use the entire crawler (to start with) -- if the fish are biting aggressively, you can break them in half and they still work just fine (you can even set the hook sooner with half a crawler). Just what we do.

[NathanH]

Originally Posted by tv4fish

Nathan: I might be a little more concerned about where the fish will be due to the "early" season? I would guess their location or pattern may be different than "normal" (IF there is such a thing ).
As far as bait - I will agree with the crawlers, leeches, Gulp. Minnows are too expensive and a pain to keep. If they're biting, they're biting.

I agree on several fronts, One the fish will not hold to any normal patterns. I was hoping to catch the fish shallow but I dont think that will be the case but I will be checking there first. And Minnows are expensive sounds like the average cost is about 4 dollars a Dozen. I think will be bringing Crawlers, I purchased 4 packages of gulp minnows to try and a bunch of other plastic grubs,ringworms, and have been expanding the jig and crankbait box. Might even try perserved minnows. That said I'm sure will purchase a few dozen minnows to see how it goes but if you figure a pair of guys is going to go through 4-5 dozen minnows on a good day it gets expensive. I hope we have active fish and we can pound them with the plastic and cranks.

[new hips]

I totally agree that minnows are not only expensive but hard to keep. We usually take a flat of crawlers and have never been sorry. Last year we had a bunch of frozen shinners someone left in the freezer, they worked great especially the larger ones. We pretty much use a half crawler, bottom bouncer or jigging, even lindy rig or floater, so the crawlers go a long way. I feel it is cheap insurance compared to the cost of trip. I guess I never had much success with Gulp, no confidence in it. Couple years ago we had a good bite going, switched to Gulp, the walleyes would just peck at it, switched back to half crawler and started nailing them again.

[Mohleye]

I would always take crawlers for the simple fact that they're cheap and very well may work as well as minnows. As long as you have access to minnows where you're going, you can always buy some if you need them. I have had one spring trip a few years ago where the water was very cold and minnows outfished everything else by a huge margin, but that's the exception in my experience.

[back357]

Okay, so are you guys telling me that for cold water, you believe minnows work better, but for warm water, you think crawlers are better? I have a few additional questions. What is the breakdown for cold vs. warm water? By that I mean, where do I draw the line (60F, 70F)? Also, when using a half a crawler, what is the suggestion for hook placement?

I have only ever fished with minnows and gulp with minnows being by far the more productive bait. Typically on jigs, but have trolled some three ways rigs as well. It looks like water levels are going to be low this year. I typically fish the last week of May/early June, but with the weather, I am pretty sure it is going to be a different type of year.