Smallie Livebait of Choice

Hello,

Curious what is the livebait of choice for smallies in the fall on Mille Lacs?

4 – 6″ suckers

gizmoguy wrote:

4 – 6″ suckers

x2

gizmoguy wrote:

4 – 6″ suckers

X3!

Yup these guys are right

On Green Bay chubs or suckers both work. Chubs are usually more active and draw harder strikes. I think active clubs fire up the smallest.
JMO

All you sucker fans – side by side they are generally better than a redtail or creek chub?

dirk-w. wrote:

All you sucker fans – side by side they are generally better than a redtail or creek chub?

I’ve never done a side by side comparison, but I think any big minnow would work.

An artificial lure that imitates a small sucker or other minnow would also likely work. Plus you wouldn’t have to buy dozens of minnows either. A crank bait, jerk bait, or kietech swim bait comes to mind.

dirk-w. wrote:

All you sucker fans – side by side they are generally better than a redtail or creek chub?

Any large minnow works fine. Chubs are better but they generally are more expensive. Suckers are cheaper and more readily available.

gimruis wrote:

An artificial lure that imitates a small sucker or other minnow would also likely work. Plus you wouldn’t have to buy dozens of minnows either. A crank bait, jerk bait, or kietech swim bait comes to mind.

I challenge you to do a comparison on fall mille lacs smallmouth. Live bait vs artificial. I promise you that you’ll see why everyone buys all those minnows.

grubson wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>dirk-w. wrote:</div>
All you sucker fans – side by side they are generally better than a redtail or creek chub?

Any large minnow works fine. Chubs are better but they generally are more expensive. Suckers are cheaper and more readily available.

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>gimruis wrote:</div>
An artificial lure that imitates a small sucker or other minnow would also likely work. Plus you wouldn’t have to buy dozens of minnows either. A crank bait, jerk bait, or kietech swim bait comes to mind.

I challenge you to do a comparison on fall mille lacs smallmouth. Live bait vs artificial. I promise you that you’ll see why everyone buys all those minnows.

100 percent agree.

grubson wrote:

I challenge you to do a comparison on fall mille lacs smallmouth. Live bait vs artificial. I promise you that you’ll see why everyone buys all those minnows.

I didnt say it would work as well or better. I simply said an artificial lure that represents the minnow would work. If only a crayfish worked, would you use that or try an artificial lure that represented a crayfish? That’s all I’m saying grubson. Not everyone wants to go through dozens of minnows all the time.

Not sure if you guys know who Spencer Samplowski and Eric Haataja are? Both tournament anglers and guides. They did the live bait vs artificial experiment few years ago on Mille Lacs for smallmouth. You can go to the end of the video when they do a wrap up on the day. I think they said it was something like 75%:25%, live bait : artificial.

Chubs are $5 for a scoop and medium suckers are $12/dozen at Trailside Bait and Tackle in Isle.

Not sure how many exactly a scoop gets you with chubs.

Kyle Wills wrote:

Chubs are $5 for a scoop and medium suckers are $12/dozen at Trailside Bait and Tackle in Isle.

Not sure how many exactly a scoop gets you with chubs.

You’re referring to fatheads for $5 a scoop. Yes some bait shops do call them chubs incorrectly.
The chubs referred to in this discussion are redtail or creek chubs. They are a large river minnow that regularly sell for over a dollar a piece.

gimruis wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>grubson wrote:</div>
I challenge you to do a comparison on fall mille lacs smallmouth. Live bait vs artificial. I promise you that you’ll see why everyone buys all those minnows.

I didnt say it would work as well or better. I simply said an artificial lure that represents the minnow would work. If only a crayfish worked, would you use that or try an artificial lure that represented a crayfish? That’s all I’m saying grubson. Not everyone wants to go through dozens of minnows all the time.

I get that some don’t want to buy minnows. Im not trying to argue. Im just saying you should try it. I’ve spent hours doing both on mille lacs lately and the artificial bite is very tough compared to the doubles, triples, and sore arms you’ll get from live bait.

For what it’s worth, a naturally colored 4″ paddle tail has been about the only artificial that I’ve had any decent success on the last couple times I’ve been up there. Can’t get much more minnow like than that. Those fish have seen it all, twice.
They sure are fun though.

grubson wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Kyle Wills wrote:</div>
Chubs are $5 for a scoop and medium suckers are $12/dozen at Trailside Bait and Tackle in Isle.

Not sure how many exactly a scoop gets you with chubs.

You’re referring to fatheads for $5 a scoop. Yes some bait shops do call them chubs incorrectly.
The chubs referred to in this discussion are redtail or creek chubs. They are a large river minnow that regularly sell for over a dollar a piece.

Thanks for the correction. I thought that was a bit weird.

Johnsons has a creek mix, $12 for a dozen, might give that a try.

grubson wrote:

I get that some don’t want to buy minnows. Im not trying to argue. Im just saying you should try it. I’ve spent hours doing both on mille lacs lately and the artificial bite is very tough compared to the doubles, triples, and sore arms you’ll get from live bait.

For what it’s worth, a naturally colored 4″ paddle tail has been about the only artificial that I’ve had any decent success on the last couple times I’ve been up there. Can’t get much more minnow like than that. Those fish have seen it all, twice.
They sure are fun though.

That is good information, thanks. It has become increasingly difficult for me to catch bass regularly on artificial lures out there too. It’s the pressure and clear water. Makes you wonder how those tournament guys can catch 20+ pounds of bass regularly without using any live bait.

grubson wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>dirk-w. wrote:</div>
All you sucker fans – side by side they are generally better than a redtail or creek chub?

Any large minnow works fine. Chubs are better but they generally are more expensive. Suckers are cheaper and more readily available.

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>gimruis wrote:</div>
An artificial lure that imitates a small sucker or other minnow would also likely work. Plus you wouldn’t have to buy dozens of minnows either. A crank bait, jerk bait, or kietech swim bait comes to mind.

I challenge you to do a comparison on fall mille lacs smallmouth. Live bait vs artificial. I promise you that you’ll see why everyone buys all those minnows.

Took a friend to GB. He didn’t want to mess with chubs/suckers. He through everything he had at the smallmouth. He caught a few. He finally switched to bait. It’s hard to keep throwing artificials when your partner is out fishing you about 5 to 1.

I’ve got a great spot for getting creek chubs. I might have to go get some. With light tackle they were a fun way to spend my lunch break. Should have no problem getting a bucket full.

This is what you guys are talking about, right?

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Smallies will swallow live bad pretty quickly, and if you’re not careful you will kill some fish. Quick hook sets are a must. I’ve also started using wacky rig hooks because of the shorter shanks. You can put your pliers in through the gill and roll the hook out much easier than even an octopus hook. Highly recommended: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Gamakatsu_Finesse_Wide_Gap_Hooks/descpage-GFWGH.html?from=gshop&gclid=CjwKCAjw_NX7BRA1EiwA2dpg0lHplRIG02n8b16ii0t1rGITobfRz88YOi34vveG3Q3jKKGuuqMcjxoCLQUQAvD_BwE

grubson wrote:

I get that some don’t want to buy minnows. Im not trying to argue. Im just saying you should try it. I’ve spent hours doing both on mille lacs lately and the artificial bite is very tough compared to the doubles, triples, and sore arms you’ll get from live bait.

For what it’s worth, a naturally colored 4″ paddle tail has been about the only artificial that I’ve had any decent success on the last couple times I’ve been up there. Can’t get much more minnow like than that. Those fish have seen it all, twice.
They sure are fun though.

I know it’s mostly common to transition over to live bait the later it gets in the season.

Grubson, curious…are you mostly using live bait all summer or is it something you start using later as water temps drop?

Just from my experience and witnessing, artificial do produce very well early to mid-summer.

Or are we seeing something like gimruis mentioned that they’re becoming more conditioned and averse to artificial on ML?

john23 wrote:

Smallies will swallow live bad pretty quickly, and if you’re not careful you will kill some fish. Quick hook sets are a must. I’ve also started using wacky rig hooks because of the shorter shanks. You can put your pliers in through the gill and roll the hook out much easier than even an octopus hook. Highly recommended: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Gamakatsu_Finesse_Wide_Gap_Hooks/descpage-GFWGH.html?from=gshop&gclid=CjwKCAjw_NX7BRA1EiwA2dpg0lHplRIG02n8b16ii0t1rGITobfRz88YOi34vveG3Q3jKKGuuqMcjxoCLQUQAvD_BwE

This is exactly what I do. Honestly if you give the fish the rod tip for a couple seconds and set the hook you’ll very rarely hook one deep.

Andy. I generally only use live bait for smallmouth in the fall time. It’s effective and fun.
I use crawlers a lot in the summer and they catch the walleyes or smallies.
I think the fish have gotten harder to fool on mille lacs. 3 years ago I could go out with a ned rig or lipless crank and catch them all day. That hasn’t been the case the last two summers. I know the fish are still there. If I use live bait I catch them.
The pros still catch them on artificial so I know it can be done but I guess I’m not a pro because it’s not as easy as it used to be. I can catch them regularly on artificial baits on another nearby lake that doesn’t get near the pressure as mille lacs does. So in my opinion it is directly related to the heavy pressure those fish receive.

gimruis wrote:

An artificial lure that imitates a small sucker or other minnow would also likely work. Plus you wouldn’t have to buy dozens of minnows either. A crank bait, jerk bait, or kietech swim bait comes to mind.

Warm water yes, colder fall water temps no

Great information grubson, thanks!

Refreshing this forum still can provide useful, relevant fishing information other than arguing about all the “other” problems in the world.

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

Great information grubson, thanks!

Refreshing this forum still can provide useful, relevant fishing information other than arguing about all the “other” problems in the world.

Ok ok easy there Andy now I’m offended…

I use so much live bait when i hit mille in the fall that i have to preorder it a couple weeks in advance to avoid buying out every bait store around the lake.

A few years ago i just showed up and figured it was normal to need 90 dozen live baits in 4 days….nope….and if you want to find a great way to make people mad…buy all the bait at every bait shop within 30 miles. Whoops….i don’t do that anymore.

Bachelorpads wrote:

A few years ago i just showed up and figured it was normal to need 90 dozen live baits in 4 days

You’re saying you spent 1000 bucks on live bait in a 4 day span? C’mon.

3 boats, 2 dudes per boat….10 dozen per boat per day….i buy it at the same place every year now and have done it 3 years in a row. yes, i spend $1000 dollars on bait in 3.5 days of fishing for 6 guys.