Fish eyes as Bait?!

[yankee2]

Ive heard you can use Perch eyes as bait.
When would you try this?
On teardrops?
Are Bluegill eyes used also...?

Y2

[mickey]

I used to do this when I would run out of bait. It works.

[The Whale]

I also was stunned when I first heard about using eyes as bait. It does work, especially when Perch are biting well. I have only used Perch eyes, do not know about gills eyes, I suppose they would work too.

[fishall]

I've had success with them also. I've only tried them with a plain hook and had heard to not pierce the center of the eye.

[Sarge]

Yup, I don't know why no one uses them all the time, but lots of folks have tried them when they run out of bait and they always work.

It might be, that when they are biting so frequently that we run out of bait, they're in the mood to bite on anything. I only know I've tried it and it worked like a charm.

------------------
Sarge

Live your conscience. Leave others to theirs.

[mickey]

When you put them down the hole, you have to say, "keep an eye out for me". I don't know, worked when I was a kid.

I have also used eyes when the fish are biting , works real well

[Larry Miller]

I've used them for years. At times when the fish quit taking the usual baits, I've switched to eyes and had them hit this way. At times they will take more fish than any other bait. Grumpy

[gottafish]

I've used them in the summer and fall when perch fishing and out of minnows, they work great....I hear they are packed with protien and all the critters love 'em...i once saw a seagull peck the eyes out of a dying salmon while steelheading in the UP...the gull didnt touch any other part of the fish, just the eyes

[bloo_gilz]

When I was a kid , We'd catch dink gills off a dock on Wolverine. An ol' timer told me to yank an eye out ,I put it out and immediately started hammering nice perch.NOTE-wise man say fish with one eye swims in circle !! Fish hard,Fish often . bg

[hoytshooter]

When I was a kid, my uncle used eyes all of the time. They work very well, and yes the eyes from gills work too.

[gman]

we hammer the perch on sag. bay with perch eyes. actually it's our preferred bait. for some reason they love em.

[rick adams]

I think it's the fresh tasteof blood. After they've been hit a few times they seem to loose effectiveness.Crappie love them and they come in pairs!

[DaveW731]

Rick:
Interesting idea....I have actually noticed the opposette: it has seemed (at least for perch) that the eye becomes MORE effective, after getting chewed on a bit....I only change mine, once the interior is so depleted that it has lost all shape. Be fun to do a side by side test to compare, eh?
Dave

[rick adams]

OK Dave, I stand corrected. I should have said a few TO MANY times! After just a few hits they put out a chum trail. That's where I got the "fresh blood" theory. Any way you "look" at it, They are a cheap bait stretcher.

[DaveW731]

Rick:
"Eye" agree with you.....sometimes they seem even more effective than minnows. You must really be an avid "Pupil" of the tricks with the bait, if you use them for Crappies...I've never done that. Other than depth, do you fish them any differently, than you do for perch?
Dave

[RemFire]

"EYE" had to jump in "Seeing" I had used them also. They are Very effective most of the time. But, the reason it's called fishing instead of catching is because sometimes, only the "right" bait is preferred. Sometimes it's a color, sometimes a size, sometimes the bait. But, all in all, perch eyes are an excellant choice, most of the time. The only problem I have is getting them out,,,,any suggestions?

[rick adams]

Hook em deep ,come in the back, pop em quick. Get it right the first time, odds go down fast that you'll make a clean pull!

[gman]

use your thumb and pop it out.

[chad 1]

i have a question. someone told me it was illegal to use fish eyes because it was considered chuming but reading all this i think it was bull. I just wanted to make sure. thanks chad

[Fishfoote]

This weekend I caught the biggest crayfish I've ever seen (Hubbard Lake), the body was about 4-1/2" and the main claws were over 2". I broke it up and tried jigging with it - no luck. Then I went back to a rappala/minnow, and through the body parts in the hole, I had four hits shortly thereafter, and picked up one nice walleye.

[mike woj]

In regards to the use of perch eyes. Yes they certainly do work. A few years ago I caught a number of perch out of Gull Lake and when I cleaned them, the postmortem autopsy showed their stomachs were filled with tiny bluegill fry that were the approximate size of an average perch eye. I'm not sure this explains the perch eye phenomena but I thought I'd pass this fact on.