A couple of years ago we were camping on an island that was infested with little mice. Has anybody out there ever used mice for bait. I'm thinking the pet stores sell them by the Dozen to feed to snakes. Just wondering how much the northern pike would be attracted to them as they scooted along the top of the water.

I've never used (or seen) actual mice used, but mouse patterns are used in fly-fishing, and to a lesser degree in spin fishing.

I was on a trip on the Sutton river in 2015 and some of the guys were using mice patterns to fish for top-water brook trout. Watching brookies devour them was quite entertaining.

I knew a few old timers who used mice as bait. They said they caught big northerns and bass with them.
We used live frogs when I was young. Caught a bunch of fish on them.

I caught a smallmouth that had a couple mice in it’s stomach.

My Dad had a rubber mouse lure in his tackle box. I think he used it for Pike. I have a deer hair mouse that I bought for Smallmouth Bass. I have no idea why I have not tried it yet.

When I was in Jr High I had a science teacher that said he fished for northern with mice.
He said he would rubber band a hook to their back, then he wood take a small wood shingle and put the mouse on it and float his boat away from it. Then when there was a big northern below he would nudge the mouse off the wood into the water... Bam.
Or so he said. Of course it helps if to know fish are below.

Nothing beats catching fish on live bait that YOU CAUGHT yourself. It can be a lot of work but once you get the hang of it, you can get in a steady, efficient rhythm. Personally, though, I've never used live mice. I have caught several northern on artificial mice.

My grandpa used to use mice. I have no idea how he attached them to his line (hook through the tail?), but I do remember being a kid, watching that mouse wiggle on the surface, and then watching it get crushed by a bass.

Just tie on a black jitterbug topwater no mouse needed !

Plenty of ideas here.