When fishing with frozen minnows, no matter the species of fish you are hunting for, it is important to present the minnow in such a way to the fish that they think the minnow is alive. Sport fish, like trout, pickerel and bass will not strike a baited hook unless they think that it is a meal. They can tell if the bait is fake or dead if given enough time to check it out, so you should keep a constant action on the frozen minnow, either by jigging or reeling the line in slowly.
When you head out on your fishing trip, you should take the frozen minnows in a large cooler, packed with ice, so that they stay frozen for a long time. The main reason for using frozen minnows is that in many States, it is illegal to fish with live bait. With this in mind, many people found the loophole which allows them to freeze their bait, be they worms, minnows, grubs or crayfish, and use them with leaders or spoons that give them a lively presentation to the fish they are fishing for. The bait is dead, after all, and they are not fishing with live bait.
Fishermen can set up their frozen minnows with spoons that make them swim in the water behind them, with the spoon also acting as an attractant to the fish. One of the best spoons for this purpose are the Lake Claire Warblers, or any other warped blades or spoons that act as leaders. You set the spoon at least twelve to eighteen inches from the frozen minnow, and the fish will strike the bait due to the smell of the minnow, and the wild action that the spoon makes the minnow take.
If you want to save money from buying a bunch of minnows from the bait store, where they can be over $10 a dozen, you can catch them by placing minnow traps at the entrances and exits of culverts, as well as in ponds with high numbers of minnows visible to the naked eye. In the evenings, you can check on your traps, and take the minnow you caught home, and freeze them in a chest freezer, so as not to anger the wife. Wrap the minnows loosely wrapped in freezer safe plastic, and keep them separated.
Using frozen minnows, you can insert small pieces of buoyant foam inside the stimack of the minnow, to keep it floating at the level of the weight you attach about twelve to eighteen inches from the frozen minnow you are using as bait. You can also add weights to the inside of the frozen minnow, so that it will swim lower than the weights that are used on the fishing line to keep the line submerged at certain levels in the water.
Fish safe, fish informed, but most of all, fish on!
