Griffond Posted October 14, 2013 Report Share Posted October 14, 2013 So I was down at the Mississippi river yesterday for a fun day of just fishing my brains out caught tons of bass and some really nice ones... I noticed along the dam wall under water there were tons of creek chubs I tried some last little bit of crawler I had and nothing and I even made a quick 2 liter pop bottle trap (since the bottle was in the car) baited it with some crawler... .nothing... I did finally get one to smack a the absolute smallest jig I had in my box took for ever but it finally did... which I then in turn put it on a bigger hook and caught this... Just shy of a 4lbs smally on it... biggest I've caught out of the Mississippi... my question is does anyone have advice on catching these chubs... either on rod or in a minnow trap... bait for traps etc... thanks in advance guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted October 14, 2013 Report Share Posted October 14, 2013 I don't no what your laws are where your at but a Sabiki rig should do the trick you may need to cut off some hooks, if you do don't cut the whole teaser off just the hook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted October 15, 2013 Report Share Posted October 15, 2013 We always hit the local creek with ultralight rods the smallest of hooks and tiny bread balls. Just flipped the bait into the creek and quick flick hook set and you would fill a bucket in no time with lively chubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffond Posted October 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2013 Can't do the Sabiki rig here DNR wouldn't like that much lol and I tried some bread I had with a even a little corn and a baby chunk of crawler... no takers... but the one... it was strange there was a whole school of them hanging around the dam wall in the calm part and there were some really big ones in there as well... but no body was biting... I was tempted to go get a minnow trap and try some wet and dry cat food to see if that would do the job. You can watch the walleyes come up in the evening to feed on these things so I know they would make great bait once the sun set for some big eyes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted October 15, 2013 Report Share Posted October 15, 2013 Are cast nets legal in Minnesota? If the chubs are close enough to the surface to see them you could get more than enough to fish with by using a cast net. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffond Posted October 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2013 No they really don't make life easy hear... I just got a tip on where to maybe find some in a creek vs the river so we will have to see what turns up there if I get the time to go check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted October 15, 2013 Report Share Posted October 15, 2013 What about a seine? Are they legal? Seines are an easy way to gather bait in small holes or creeks. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted October 15, 2013 Report Share Posted October 15, 2013 Creek chubs were always easy to catch from my experiences. Cast after cast sort of thing, at times just a bare hook would catch them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted October 17, 2013 Report Share Posted October 17, 2013 When I was a kid growing up in MN we used small hooks and pieces of worms all the time. Did real well on chubs. I also ran a minnow trap or two and it did well also. My dad gave me my bait idea. I would grab a handful of oatmeal and get it wet. Squeeze out all the water so you have a tightly packed wad of oatmeal. bait your trap with this bait and I always caught plenty of creek chubs,shiners and red belly dace. The oatmeal would slowly separate from the wad and float around in the trap attracting the minnows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffond Posted October 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2013 Now that I'll give a try to I am going to go pick up a minnow trap tomorrow at fleet farm since tomorrow is payday! lol I would just make one put that sounds like allot of time right now. I have never dealt with chubs in anyway shape or form and I have lived in this state all my life... and allot of guys around town that are older keep saying there is no better bait in the river... well I can see why the walleyes come up to shore at night and just go nuts for them while the smallies during the day hours go nuts for them... seems to be the predominate minnow in the river... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 Yeah we had trips where the fish would hit the chubs as soon as they hit the water. At the same time my cousin on the other side of the boat was using store bought minnows and caught nothing. Good luck it is fun catching your own bait and catching a fish on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toadfrog Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 Some times they will hit a black fly that looks like a mosquito . Shiners will hit it too if you can keep the perch off long enought to get one . I just put a split shot on and kind of jig it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffond Posted October 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2013 Now that is a good idea... I will have to try that I can just tie some simple black fly's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billzedge Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 just use the smallest octopusor Aberdeen hook that you can find, & a small piece of an old torn up rubber worm on some very small mono.I have a chub rod with two pound Cajun red on it, and fill a bucket in about 20 minutes. kind of fun too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 Okay I have to admit I had no clue Creek Chubs were actually a fish. I thought it was just a old bait company! Guess that shows you what us "left coasters" know. LOL You guys in the south have all the fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleriver Posted November 9, 2013 Report Share Posted November 9, 2013 @griffond Here it is shad that run along the dam walls. I have seen folks catch them using a square wire basket. Basically they were the shape of a square milk carton , The used ropes tied to where the handles would be on a carton. Then they were lowered into the water with one edge resting against the concrete wall. As the shad would make their way along the wall they would pull the basket up very quickly trapping the bait. A weighted plastic milk carton lined with screen matt may produce the same result; provided it is legal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted November 17, 2013 Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 Trout guys fly fishing find them often, dries or small soft hackles work well. Might catch a few trout and take home some bait! Agreat excuse to take up an additional type of angling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
