Hey Everyone - Buddy and I are heading up to Ogish on the 20th. First trip and we're both super excited. The final decision I have to make is what live bait I want to bring. I'm bringing a variety of artificials, but I grew up fishing for walleyes with minnows. Once we locate some fish, live bait will be my preferred way to fish. The questions are - If you had to choose, would you choose crawlers or minnows for late September? Crawlers are obviously easier to keep alive and pack, but will a crawler under a float produce the same as minnows will? Originally I had thought about leeches, but it sounds like they're getting pretty scarce at this point of the year (and, they're not a preferred fall bait). Thoughts? My live bait presentations will be jig, lindy, and float.

I would take both.

Never had much luck with crawler under a float for walleye. There isn't enough movement to trigger the bite, I think. Might be best off trolling the crawlers. A good method is the 'slow death' presentation referred to in another recent post on that topic. Hauling in minnows could be a pain. Leeches will be hard to find this time of year. Some bait shops will still have them, but I've found that late-season leeches, to the extent available at all, are generally puny and sickly.

Minnows generally get the nod for fall walleye. Naturally one has to decide if it is worth the additional aggravation. If your not to terribly far from an entry point I would definitely bring minnows. While larger minnows might be preferred they are not very practical. I like the smaller black "toughies" over shiners which are not very hardy and difficult to keep alive. The Missouri minnows, we call them toughies, can be fished on the back of a jig and will prove irresistible to walleye, perch and crappie alike. Slip float or drifted they will serve you well.

Toughies are just as tough as the name implies. We once put 8 dozen into a standard minnow bucket. As long as I agitated the little buggars by lifting the inside pail and vigorously plunging it downward (thus creating current and bubbles) they fared well on drives up to an hour.

If bigger minnows are to be taken I might invest in a bubble maker which runs on "D" cell batteries. Take note of water temp differences.......that is a sure way to kill you bait. I have killed bait every way possible including, but not limited to, electrocution.

Crawlers will take fish but you might need an education first. A crawler under a bobber isn't going to get you much. Lunkers Love Nightcrawlers is a cult classic and will instantly propel you into the ranks of potential big fish catcher in short order. Tough to beat a big crawler lightly nose hooked on a #8 214 eagle claw on 4 or 6lb test.

If there is current, or the right wind crawlers are deadly under a slip bobber. It can’t move to slow or to fast, but under the right conditions it works great.

A full crawler hooked at at the tip will work in any situation. The tricky Thing with using it under a float is the extra resistance from the float when letting the fish run.

I'm from Missouri and have not heard of "toughies" but that doesn't mean much, I haven't heard of a lot of things. This may be a dumb question, are they readily available at most bait shops?

The correct term is fat heads! :)

mastertangler: "Minnows generally get the nod for fall walleye. Naturally one has to decide if it is worth the additional aggravation. If your not to terribly far from an entry point I would definitely bring minnows. While larger minnows might be preferred they are not very practical. I like the smaller black "toughies" over shiners which are not very hardy and difficult to keep alive. The Missouri minnows, we call them toughies, can be fished on the back of a jig and will prove irresistible to walleye, perch and crappie alike. Slip float or drifted they will serve you well.
Toughies are just as tough as the name implies. We once put 8 dozen into a standard minnow bucket. As long as I agitated the little buggars by lifting the inside pail and vigorously plunging it downward (thus creating current and bubbles) they fared well on drives up to an hour. "

I may have missed it, but why did you need to keep agitating the minnows in the pail during your drive????
Don't they use oxygen packs in Missouri??????? :)

The Great Outdoors: "

mastertangler: "Minnows generally get the nod for fall walleye. Naturally one has to decide if it is worth the additional aggravation. If your not to terribly far from an entry point I would definitely bring minnows. While larger minnows might be preferred they are not very practical. I like the smaller black "toughies" over shiners which are not very hardy and difficult to keep alive. The Missouri minnows, we call them toughies, can be fished on the back of a jig and will prove irresistible to walleye, perch and crappie alike. Slip float or drifted they will serve you well.
Toughies are just as tough as the name implies. We once put 8 dozen into a standard minnow bucket. As long as I agitated the little buggars by lifting the inside pail and vigorously plunging it downward (thus creating current and bubbles) they fared well on drives up to an hour. "

I may have missed it, but why did you need to keep agitating the minnows in the pail during your drive????
Don't they use oxygen packs in Missouri??????? :)"

This was a very long time ago.......I was a kid and going to Norris lake with my Grandfather. We bought the minnows off the side of the road and we must of had 3 pails of various kinds. The little black minnows were so thick in the bucket it didn't seem like there was any water. On the hour or so drive from Kentucky to Tennessee my Grandfather would keep saying "pump yer minnows". We fished almost all night via lanterns off the side of the boat........I kept falling asleep. My grandpa caught a few of the biggest crappies I had ever seen but the striped bass that we were seeking never showed up.

So the little dark (almost black) minnows are called Fatheads? Seems like they are more or less available throughout the country, or at least east of the Mississippi. Grandpa, and my Dad, called them Toughies. We never liked shiners much as they always died easily.

Good story.
I'm now an informed minnow buyer. Missouri minnow = Toughies = "Fatheads"