While watching In-Fisherman’s Ice Guide on Sunday, there was a very handy tid-bit shared on how to increase your hooking percentage for walleye. It can also be applied to perch and crappie as well when fishing with spoons.
What they did was add a curly-Q type fast snap, that they termed as a fast attach snap. What this allowed them to do was take off the treble hook and slide the shank up through the minnow head, and then quickly attach the treble back to the lure.
The reasoning behind this is simple, but made a lot of sense. The predators are attracted by the flash of the spoon, but still go for the piece of meat dangling on the treble hook. They swipe at the bait, and in some instances simply take the meat and run off. By running the hook shank up through the minnow head, they have no choice but to take the hook as well.
This should increase your hook sets, and put a lot more fish on the ice. So simple, and yet this is the first time I have ever heard of it being done. I googled, and could not find these snaps. Looked at the In-Fisherman website…nadda.
Alternatives could be using a small duolock snap, which would be easy to put on your split ring that comes with your spoon. Perhaps a No-Knot Fast Snap, if you can get to slide through the split ring. Think I will try the duolock option for now, and see what happens this winter!