Cabellas Frozen Minnows

I am going to Canada this summer (June and July) and am thinking about getting some frozen minnows from the cabellas cataglog. We have taken leeches and crawlers across in the past, but minnows are the natural food of preference for the walleyes. As you know it costs an arm and a leg to buy them from the resorts etc..Has anyone ever tried these before? Do they stay on the hook for a period of time? How are they packaged? Any info anyone has on this would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.

On this same note, has anyone ever ordered crawlers from Cabellas? I see that they guarantee live delivery in worm bedding. I usually buy from my local bait store, but Cabellas would be about $20 cheaper in the end. Thanks again for any info you can share.

if i ever go back to BWACAW ill be bringing salted minnows.

Mike from Hooked on Fishing in rochester does them and i wish i had known that he did it when i went b/c leeches/worms didnt do much for us

For some reason I have never had good luck with salted or frozen minnows. I would suggest trying the Gulp Minnows. Gulp Minnows The smelt or the shiner colors would work the best.

I would have to agree with TBO!!!! With the scent disbursement given off by Gulp it makes it hard to beat!! Then you don’t have to worry about keeping your frozen minnows frozen on the trip up there! I have used salted minnows in the past and they work great. Kinda messy but still works good!
I did put minnows in sawdust!!!! I bought some minnows at outdoor headquarters in Intl Falls and they put them in sawdust since you cannot bring the live bait into Canada!!!
So that is another option!!!
I would try any form of plastic this year!!!
Have you tried Ringworms or K-Grubs in canada yet??
If live bait does work that well, you might have to ask the resort to give you a few extra scoops!!!!
Good luck and let us know if you use the plastics and how it works out for you!
Enjoy your trip!!!!

My Father, use to own a preserved bait company- It was called Super Natural Baits- he sold it a long time ago, to lady who worked at In-fisherman…His bait, was used by a guy in some state to catch the state record Northern Pike… He aslo filmed a show with Al Lindner using the baits on the mississippi, showing his theory on “bigger baits equal bigger fish”…(and he did catch a TON of big walleyes on that show)..

It worked really really well…it was just too much of a hassle buying and packaging it, when he was guiding. I know they work- if the baits you are talking about are the Cabela’s Preserved Fatheads They will work, and work well. I have used them in similar circumstances…I didn’t even refrigerate, or keep them frozen, I ran out of them, in two weeks, but at the end of two weeks, they were still catching fish! Get some of those, or some from HOF, and give them a try..what do you have to lose?

All that being said, I rarely use anything other than plastics.. I honestly believe you can catch more, and most importantly BIGGER fish on plastics.

Where about are you going fishing in Canada? The reason I ask, is because I’ve had very good luck, on many remote lakes, throwing nothing but artificial stuff….worked on pike and walleyes! Infact, on my honeymoon up there I could’ve gotten by with one .79 cent spoon. The walleyes tore it up just as much as the pike! Just a thought, it’s nice not to have to worry about bait in Canada if you don’t have to. Good Luck, hope you have a Great Trip. Post some pictures when you get back, eh?

In all my canadian trips I’ve salted minnows..Buy fatheads from a local baitshop by the gallon…layer them in a 5 gallon bucket with salt (I use pickling salt)let cure for 3-5 days….put in zip lock bags & refrigerate. Work great on jigs

Thanks for all the replies. We got to the English River NW of Kenora. We typically use jig and cralwer/leeches. It works very well, but was just thinking about the minnows. We have had good success with powerbait twister tails and some have tried gulp. They both worked well also. Thanks again.

I was up last year and it had to be close to where you will be. I was on Seperation Lake which is part of the English River system. Anyways, we did extremely well on jigs tipped with crawlers. Didn’t try minnows but we did try leeches and the walleye definitely seemed to favor the crawlers.

Good luck!