Are you shaking a minnow?

[Koz]

Forget about forward facing sonar for a moment. Have you incorporated shaking a minnow into your arsenal?

 

Over the years I've fished a lot with minnow type baits with flukes, paddletails, Freeloaders and other pintails, and other minnow type baits rigging them on wide gap hooks, underspins, and jig heads. I'd twitch them, jerk them, let them dive and sink, and reel them at all speeds and cadences.

 

But shaking a minnow is a bit different. It's generally done with a forked or pintail bait on a light jig head and you constantly and subtly shake the bait while reeling it in, most often with a slow roll. 

 

Although I employ FFS on my kayak and use it a lot, I never took up this technique. Occasionally I would vertically drop and hover a minnow over a brush pile or other structure, but that's it. 

 

Because wok has been busy for the past three weeks and I've been sick the past week I haven't had time to go out on my kayak and fish. But when I take my dog out I have been taking some casts off my dock and throughout the back yard. The fishing in my part of the lake is never very good this time of year, but I still give it a go. I caught a few on an A-rig, but things like crankbaits, chatterbaits, and spinnerbaits weren't getting me any bites. So for the past few days I took to shaking a minnow.

 

The results have been great as I'm getting consistent bites. So far it's all smaller bass one pound and under, but I'll take it. Maybe it's all timing and coincidence, but it's working. I'm hoping I can shake the rest of this cold this week and get back out on my kayak next weekend and fish. I'm going to set up 3 or 4 different rods for this technique and see what shakes out (pun intended). I want to experiment with different baits, jigheads, and equipment.

 

So, have you tried shaking a minnow with or without FFS? Like me, have you tried it from the bank? 

 

If you haven't tried this technique, why is that? Set in your ways? Carryover from opposition to FFS? Think it only works with FFS?

[Pat Brown]

I shake a jig a lot and sometimes I'll quiver a frog which is similar.

[5by3]

I do it without ffs and have had some decent luck. Not a lot of big fish, but have caught a handful of 3-4 lbers. 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

I started doing it, not to add action, but to keep the bait from dragging the bottom when fishing very shallow.  

[Spankey]

I’ve been fishing the Berkley Maxscent FlatWorm and FlatNose minnow the same. 
Drop Shot, Split Shot, light T-rigs. 
Shaking and twitching of both. Eventually I’ll try both with a jig head and I’m pretty confident it will work. 

[Bluebasser86]

Probably 12-15 years ago, before I knew what a Ned rig was, one of my go-to techniques was a 3" Gulp or Powerbait minnow on a 1/8oz jighead just cast out and swim and shake it back to the boat. 

[TnRiver46]

Been doing it since I was a little kid, no FFS. Go below any dam and there’s a dozen people doing it from the bank. Crappie fishin 101

[Koz]

I’m still getting lots of bites, but missed some hookups as the only spinning rod I have is a medium light / medium soft drop shot rod.

 

I’m looking to add. Cashion rod to my arsenal soon. I need to pick out a spinning reel as well.

[softwateronly]

I'm not fishing with ffs, and have done really well with it this last year for both SM and LM.  It's given me something slower to fish above them when they aren't willing to go down to the bottom.  But, it's also deadly when bottom strolling too.  Playing with weights and baits is a game unto itself, the smallest changes influence the action tremendously.  Raid fish rollers, 4" and 6.5" and owner rangeroller jigheads are my most consistent but every combo I've tried, and I've tried dozens, has its pluses.  I fish them on baitcasting, ML, M, and MH and reel set them.  A snap or loop knot unlocks extra roll.  Scroungers are good thing to have available if they're really active and chasing.

 

scott

 

[Pumpkin Lizard]

Yes. 
 

Lately I have been using the Crush City Freeloader on a VMC Hybrid jig.

[looking45]

I’ve been doing something similar since the early 70’s, using a dart head and a 5 inch grub. This method has caught a lot of fish

[Pumpkin Lizard]

7 hours ago, looking45 said:

I e been doing something similar since the early 70’s, using a dart head and a 5 inch grub. This method has caught a lot of fish

 

Yup. First keeper bass I ever caught was in '90s on purple mister twister with a lead head. There isn't much new under the sun.

 

Can't wait for the next trend which will be finesse jitterbug topwater fishing.

[Koz]

9 hours ago, Pumpkinseed Lizard said:

Yes. 
 

Lately I have been using the Crush City Freeloader on a VMC Hybrid jig.

That Freeloader is magic. I also fish it weightless rigged like a fluke.

[Pumpkin Lizard]

4 minutes ago, Koz said:

That Freeloader is magic. I also fish it weightless rigged like a fluke.

 

Yeah. I don't fish with any sort of electronics right now. I actually use it on the VMC Boxer jig not the hybrid. I fish it deep, shallow. I do a rolling, shaking retrieve and it works. I hop it and it works. It's durable, I love it.  When I see pods of shad I'll cast into it and it works.

 

The other Crush City product I like is the Ned BLT. It seems to outfish the TRD for me. I have a TRD in identical colors.

 

If Jacob Wheeler made those then he really is a savant.

[Pumpkin Lizard]

On 10/16/2024 at 7:22 PM, Koz said:

That Freeloader is magic. I also fish it weightless rigged like a fluke.

I tried the Freeloader’s cousin “The Mayor” Sunday night. I bought the bigger size.  I was headed to a lake where  I was running into some wipers and I thought it would be good and it was.
 

It swims like a small Magdraft paired on the VMC Boxer Jig. Good tail action and that wobble.  

Results were a lost LM that was easily 4, and a few others. Also a mess of wipers. I burned through half the package. My only beef is that after a few fish they really don’t stay rigged in place well. 
 

It outfished the Rat L Trap and the 25 dollar Jerkbait I was also using.