Minnows?

[fishfighter91]

So I ended up having a more productive fall than I had planned and ended up running out of minnows in my personal stash. I know that Sportsmans has them but they always seem to be mushy, and on a student's budget I would prefer to catch my own. Are there any productive places to catch minnows this time of year?
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[DeadI]

I have never caught my own but would like to. Where do you typically catch them?
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[FSBO_SLAYER]

Below the dam at Scofield is a good place to catch plenty of chubs.
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[SkunkedAgain]

Don't know if you're up north or not, but I found a bunch of fatheads off the boat ramp at Benson Marina.. However, there are a lot of crappie and bass minnows in the bunch so you have to be careful to release them quickly and most of the fatheads are quite small... I ended up with nets full of minnows but only able to find about a dozen keepers big enough to do the job... Few carp in the mix, but not near as many as I wish I could have found... Sorry it's not a great source, but there are a few... Good luck... J
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[RonPaulFan]

I've been thinking about minnow hunting, too. Friday, I ordered a ten foot casting net. I never used one before, so I'll have to learn. Let's go minnow hunting!
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[fuzzyfisher]

good luck finding any this time of year... ya should be stocking up in the summer..
i know of 3 places 2 in Sanpet and 1 in juab that are warm springs there are minnows there fatheads and chub.. if your looking for red side shiners your S.O.L!!! put some money in minnow mans pockit and get a bunch of soft old stinky minnows... i'll did really well on minnows this year.. after suffering last year with them old stinky minnows...
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[Trout_lover]

Is spring a good time to harvet minnows? Was thinking of getting a minnow trap next year. Saw tons of them at Navajo Lake this summer. Be nice to put them on jigs or Ratfinkees.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]There are a lot of ways to fish minnows effectively. If fishing them through the ice...by tipping jigs with them...you will often do better by just using a piece of the minnow on your fave jig. A lot of ice holers use only the head...or the tail section. Others cut a whole minnow into several small pieces. Get more mileage from a minnow and you still get the scent in the water. In fact, you will sometimes get more hits and better hookup ratios by just using a small piece of minnow rather than a whole small one.

Most minnows spawn in the first warm months of spring. They usually swarm in the shallows and are easier to see for properly setting your minnow basket...or throwing your cast net. Just be careful if you are catching minnows in a lake that also has trout or other protected species. Not uncommon to have a few small fry of the protected fish in with the minnows. That can be expensive if you are checked by a CO. Also, you need to be sure to kill the minnows before transporting them away from the place you caught them...and definitely kill them before using them.

If you make a good haul and catch lots of minnows it is a good idea to sort them by size and freeze similar sizes together in small bags. That lets you pick the right sizes for the kind of fishing you plan to do on any given trip.
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