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I begin using live minnows for pickerel once the water gets quite cold (typically mid to late December). Prior to that time, I catch plenty of pickerel on spinners or paddletails. But at some point, the artificial bite slows down. Many anglers lip hook a minnow and suspend it under a bobber. Undoubtedly, that technique works, but unless the angler is actively tending the rod, pickerel may swallow the hook and suffer the consequences. I prefer using a live minnow on a small jighead (bring hook through the lower lip then out the upper lip). Nearly every pickerel I catch using this method is hooked in the lip, making release quick and easy.
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Cast the minnow out and work it slowly back to you, the same as if you were fishing a paddletail. I often cast for pickerel in shallow water. I choose a jighead weight and retrieval speed that is slow enough to look natural, but that keeps the minnow from contacting the slime on the bottom.
Once you decide to use minnows (and I recognize that some/many anglers don't like to do that), you need to find a system for storing the minnows while you are in the kayak. When I first began winter pickerel fishing about 15 years ago, I bought minnows and placed them in a large bait bucket. I would bring the bucket on my kayak, keeping it onboard while paddling and dropping it over the side (tethered with a short cord) when at my fishing location. This clearly worked, but in my 11' kayak, the bucket took up more space than I preferred. I work very hard to keep my cockpit area uncluttered, and the bucket did not work well.
Here is a system that I developed a few years later. It has worked beautifully for me, keeping minnows alive during the trip and minimizing clutter.
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Just before launching, I transfer several dozen minnows from the bait bucket to an empty dry roasted peanut jar (or the equivalent) that has a water-tight screw-on lid. I place a plastic deli container in the cup holder in front of the seat and pour a few minnows from the jar into the container. I can grab a minnow easily while on the water, and can place the jar with the remaining minnows somewhere out of the way on the kayak.
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If I have really packed the jar with a lot of minnows, I can periodically drain it and add fresh water. But my experience has been that the minnows purchased at local shops are very hardy. They survive their time in the jar quite easily.
At the end of the trip, I place any leftover minnows back in my minnow bucket and freshen the water. I have found that these minnows do quite well with brackish water from our local tidal creeks or freshwater from ponds. I do not recommend using tap water if it contains any chlorine. The minnow bucket sits inside a larger bucket in my garage. If I am not going to use the minnows for several days, I typically drive to the nearest water access point, drain the bucket and add more water. During the cold months, I can keep minnows for several weeks in the bucket that way.
002_9.jpg
Cast the minnow out and work it slowly back to you, the same as if you were fishing a paddletail. I often cast for pickerel in shallow water. I choose a jighead weight and retrieval speed that is slow enough to look natural, but that keeps the minnow from contacting the slime on the bottom.
Once you decide to use minnows (and I recognize that some/many anglers don't like to do that), you need to find a system for storing the minnows while you are in the kayak. When I first began winter pickerel fishing about 15 years ago, I bought minnows and placed them in a large bait bucket. I would bring the bucket on my kayak, keeping it onboard while paddling and dropping it over the side (tethered with a short cord) when at my fishing location. This clearly worked, but in my 11' kayak, the bucket took up more space than I preferred. I work very hard to keep my cockpit area uncluttered, and the bucket did not work well.
Here is a system that I developed a few years later. It has worked beautifully for me, keeping minnows alive during the trip and minimizing clutter.
001_8.jpg
Just before launching, I transfer several dozen minnows from the bait bucket to an empty dry roasted peanut jar (or the equivalent) that has a water-tight screw-on lid. I place a plastic deli container in the cup holder in front of the seat and pour a few minnows from the jar into the container. I can grab a minnow easily while on the water, and can place the jar with the remaining minnows somewhere out of the way on the kayak.
2021-04-11-001.jpg
If I have really packed the jar with a lot of minnows, I can periodically drain it and add fresh water. But my experience has been that the minnows purchased at local shops are very hardy. They survive their time in the jar quite easily.
At the end of the trip, I place any leftover minnows back in my minnow bucket and freshen the water. I have found that these minnows do quite well with brackish water from our local tidal creeks or freshwater from ponds. I do not recommend using tap water if it contains any chlorine. The minnow bucket sits inside a larger bucket in my garage. If I am not going to use the minnows for several days, I typically drive to the nearest water access point, drain the bucket and add more water. During the cold months, I can keep minnows for several weeks in the bucket that way.
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