Minnows as Bass Fishing Lures.

Baits for Bass.

I used to live on a small bass lake. As you can imagine, bass fishing lures were a perennial question mark. One year I decided I’d only fish it using one bass lure. Silly? Maybe so. But that’s what I did.

Could have been any of the bass fishing lures in the tacklebox. Most bassers would reach for either a plastic worm or a spinnerbait. I chose a silver and black Rapala. Sometimes casting only for an hour, sometimes fishing hard all day, I used nothing else but that one bait for about 200 days of fishing.

Know something? I did better that year than any other time in the 10 years I lived on that lake. More bass, and bigger bass, fell to my rod using that lure than any other bass fishing lures I'd yet tried.

There are two reasons for this. First, I knew the water well---a prime consideration for any successful fisherman. Next, and more important, I learned every nuance of fishing that plug. By the end of the year I could place the lure anywhere I wanted it, and make it dance to any tune I played. Those in the shooting sports fraternity have a saying: “beware the man with one gun.” Same syndrome applies here.

There was a third factor leading to my success. Choice of bass fishing lures. The Rapala, and its many clones, is a natural for bass. Its shape and wiggle are such that if you put it down anywhere near a bass she’s likely to hit. It’s the very nature of the lure.

Call them injured minnows, pencil baits, or merely that “long skinny one,” all these baitfish imitators share certain things in common. They are long and thin for their size, as compared to other bass fishing lures. They come in a myriad of colors---both natural and psychedelic—and finishes. They’re available in every size from 1/8 ounce ultra-lights to giants in the three and four ounce class. And they serve their purpose for every bass species, in any kind of water.

With a few notable exceptions, minnow baits are not deep divers. They are designed to work on, and just below, the surface. Contrary to popular belief, speeding up the retrieve will not make them dive deeper. In fact, too fast a retrieve ruins the action, because the thin minnows turn over rather easily.

Those that come with split rings can be tied directly to the fishing line. Those with nose wires should be attached to the line with an open loop. Tying directly to the nose inhibits action of those lures. The larger the loop the more side-to-side action you get. But beware of using too large a loop, though, as it can double on itself and foul the hooks.

Casting out and retrieving straight back has resulted in more than one trophy with these bass fishing lures. But they are much better producers if you add some action. Watch the way real injured minnows behave. They’ll lie quivering on the surface for a second or three. Then they’ll wiggle and flop on top. Maybe a burst of energy will take them down an inch or two and let them swim a couple of inches laterally as well.

Point is, you can, and should, make your minnow baits behave the same way. Think of it as a cross between walking the dog with a stick bait and using a stop-and-go retrieve with a larger crankbait. Periodically pause and let the lure rise to the surface and lie there a bit.

Sometimes you will want to work these baits deeper. While there are some deep-running models you can maintain better flexibility (not to mention lowering the number of bass fishing lures you carry) by combining the shallow divers with extra weight.

Although it works well for some, I don’t care to add weight directly to the lure body. For reaching minor depths, a few split shot in front of the lure make a big difference. Just make sure to keep the shot far enough ahead of the bait so it doesn’t interfere with the lure’s action. At least 16 inches of space is needed.

For going deeper than that, set up a three-way swivel with a dropper line to carry the weight and a leader for the lure. The more weight you use, obviously, the deeper the lure will work. One interesting use for this kind of rig is to control height of the lure in the water.

For instance, when fishing a weed bed you can rig things so the length of the dropper line keeps the weight on the bottom, while the bait floats just above the top of the weeds. The weight itself, slowing moving through the bottom muck, can really stir up the fish, who then attack the injured baitfish struggling just above the weeds.

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