Thread: What was your best bait this year that caught them guills and all?

Spinfisher, that jig head looks like it is a Northland Mimic Minnow. Can be purchased on Amazon or eBay.

worms (redworms and nightcrawlers) and slip bobber.

Originally Posted by Spoonminnow

What was your best bait this year that caught them guills and all?
Easy - light jigs and soft plastics for all species, the lures either hand poured or modified using a pair of scissors and candle to melt the ends to be joined - hybrid lure example:

Crappie Magnet tail added to a larger grub body (white sucker couldn't resist):


hand pour mini-sticks:



thin straight tail (the one on the far right is a hybrid using a French Fry worm segment)



Curl tail hybrids:



Spike tail



Crappie Spin with various lures:

Newbie here.

i know im Jurassically late here, but I think Spoonminnow should change your name to “Frankenminnow” after creating these productive hybrid soft baits.

D’OH (face palm to head). Just read the post you made “Photos of lures that work” that your name is Frank Stein. Your parents must have had a great sense of humor and fun to be with.

Fish On!

Something new that I tried that has been extremely effective is a small topwater micro frog! The micro frog is from Creek Life Lure Company and is 1.7" long. See picture. I rig this with some small size 6 EWG hooks I got off Ebay. Total weight of hook and frog is about 1.2 grams. Topwater for panfish and crappie is a blast!

A couple of weeks ago I was tossing big 3-4" floating toads/frogs at weed lines for bass. I had big bluegill and crappie hitting these things. They would bite one leg and ride it all the way back to boat and let go. Some of those crappie were huge! Next I scaled it down and threw a smaller Z-Man Finesse Frog and it was still to big with it's 2/0 hook. I had some of the micro frogs I bought from Creek Life last year and dug them up. Next I dug up the small EWG hooks I had from Ebay. Put them on the scale and said heck ya!

I am using the Trout Magnet Trinity 501 rod, a Daiwa Legalis JDM reel and Daiwa J Braid X8 Grand in 6lb test. I can actually cast this farther than a Trout Magnet. I crank it in with a steady retrieve and they chase it down and smash it. To improve the hook up ratio, I do not skin hook this, I just keep the hook laying flat on the top of the frog. If the fish are picky, I will pause the frog when cranking back. Usually do not need to do this. You will miss a few, but it is worth it, because you land some big ones!

This is the most fun panfishing I have ever had! Smallmouth will smash these also.

Those frogs look cool. The lines on them look like the mold was made in a 3d printer. I’ll bet they’re busy around the weeds in the early morning.

Originally Posted by skeetbum

Those frogs look cool. The lines on them look like the mold was made in a 3d printer. I’ll bet they’re busy around the weeds in the early morning.

They work good but I am struggling with them a little right now. I might be crazy, but the legs are stiffer on some of the frogs and don't always work as well. The crazy part is, it seems some colors are stiffer than others. Now ad a jig head for weight and it is no problem. No jig head and low mass, the kicking legs can be a problem, and this seems color dependent.

What I am going to try is to put the small EWG in my fly vise and make some lead wraps on the hook, cover with thread, and then coat with UV glue. Maybe a little extra mass will help. I also tried the Z-Man Micro Goat last night. The regular bass size Goats work well for topwater, the Micro also seems to need a little more mass. Still a work in progress, but love trying new things. Weedless topwater for panfish is fun!