Ice Fishing Question

Ok, this is my first year ever ice fishing and I have seen a lot of people both fishing and on TV using a jig of some sort and tipping it with just a minnow head.  Why just the head and not the full minnow?

Just trying to learn as I go.....

It’s a combination of things. 

One is it gives off scent.

Two is it allows the bait to work as intended. 

Three is it gives the fish something to target. 

I

they must have a lot of flavor cause a minnow head gets 3 strikes to 1 over a full minnow if your walleye fishing, that and you would not believe how many times they cut the minnow off right at the head when they hit a whole minnow ________----lot more hookups with just a head........ps dead minnows fit in a bait puck that fits in your pocket wish I knew how good heads were wasted a lot of time and money trying to keep minnows a live for years...........(talking tipping a spoon or jig ) live minnows are fine under a bobber.......

Because most fish in winter are not very hungry, and just want a little snack. 

Tipping with the minnow head gives it some scent and hides the hook a little. When your jigging your lure and use a whole minnow, it robs the lure of it's intended action. Not so much with just the minnow head. If your dead sticking a whole minnow on a spoon then it doesn't really matter.