OJdidit wrote:
Use a quick strike rig, but there is always risk of killing the fish, so it had better be legal size!
We can't use live bait in most of the west so when ice fishing with smelt or herring, i will cut a small slit along the back bone behind the head and ahead of the tail. then push the trebles into the sits burying them. Pike and muskies often carry the bait several feet and then drop it. Perhaps feeling the hooks if installed external to the bait. This gives you a little more time to get to the tip up and set the hook. You can do the same under a bobber summertime but set the hook quickly to prevent swallowing the hooks.