Why I Hate Minnow Plugs

[@gregreinert642]

Your description makes it clear you're fishing it wrong, in the wrong conditions and with wrong colors. The retrieve is very slow in a strong sweep where only a limited number of metal lips are useful. A redfin is not used in the same conditions as an SP. A plug that is used in the same conditions is a darter like the SS or Yo-zuri. Saying they don't catch big bass is either due to your local conditions or again fishing the color and conditions. I've had plenty of night were I've seen or caught many 40s and 50s on SPs and other minnow plugs. Just because you don't do well on them, dont discourage others to shy away from $9 plug in favor of a $40 plug.

[@surfrat8884]

Ask Frank Dinault how many bass he and his family caught in the 1970s on rebel minnows when he was fishing for money.

[@Skolmann]

You lost me within the first minute. I’ve caught many #25+ bass on SP minnows and other minnow plugs

[@Trophy_T]

That aint big

[@Skolmann]

@@Trophy_T what part of #25+ did you not understand ?

[@Trophy_T]

@@Skolmann exactly 25lb ain’t big, if you compare to a schoolie not even a slot maybe, but a slot is not a big fish sorry

[@Trophy_T]

In the first minute he uses 25lb as an example, the bare minimum. Now if you said you caught many 35-50lb I’d be surprised the hooks could hold, even on a sandy beach.

[@Skolmann]

@@Trophy_T caught them up to #37 on minnow plugs. I change out the stock hooks and replace them with Owners.

[@tomlamp7503]

Al McReyolds bass was literally caught on a minnow plug

[@maikp5505]

That plug has landed me the most fish and the most species. Ironically my cheapest plug gives me the best results and my $50 metal lips barely give me fish.

[@Peter-zg3em]

they're not what i am throwing first to target big bass but they're a fantastic plug that i will swear by as someone who fishes every day. they are absolutely lethal at night and in smaller water with current and structure. throw one out in a blitz next time when there are big fish and you might get your first big one, too. switch out the splits and the hooks and hang on. sps were one of the only consistent performers for me in a particularly light 2022 summer and fall on the north shore. my best fall and late summer trips were all with floating sps with heavier hardware switched in. chickenscratch and bone. in the spring i didn't need the sp because i was targeting the big, hyperactive, predatory fish that were in the rivers pushing bait up to the surface. there are ultimately better casting plugs and performing plugs in those situations and so i was on big to giant pencils and medium to large spooks by choice and to start each morning for much of my spring. the sp is not that kind of plug. it is, however, one of the best plugs around for coaxing out a bite from inactive, picky or local fish. once you get familiar with a few of your sps and how they sink and suspend you can really start to swim them with precision over rips and into spots that hard to get to with any other subsurface plug. you have a ton of power over the with and depth of the swimming motion. my guess is that you'll have a video out in a few years talking about the sp, or the new zuri minnow plug which is well reviewed by my sources but i haven't tested, which sings a different tune. might make for a great video. "young but talented surfaster is made a believer when he gets a 35 lb bomb on an sp at night in the wash with his buddies." remember that this is a 12 dollar plug. my big pencils cost me 30-40 bucks and last half a season.

[@StripedBassHunt]

Thanks for the comment. I stand by what I said in the video, and worded myself carefully and harshly. I made this video because I see a lot of new surfcasters stuck using this plug when in nearly every scenario there is a better plug to use. SP are a great plug to get smaller more aggressive fish to eat. As well as a great plug to introduce people into fishing plugs. But as I said if I am targeting big fish I will almost never use one. I have no doubt that if I was fishing into aggressively feeding big bass I could catch one on a SP. But I also have no doubt that if I was using a different plug I would get more fish and bigger fish. I disagree that it is "one of the best" plug for getting finicky local fish to eat. But we can agree to disagree on that. As far as the price goes there are lots of inexpensive plastic plugs that are fantastic. To end this long winded reply I want to say everyone fishes differently and there is no right or wrong way to fish.

[@thehamptonsbutcher3786]

They're for bluefish. I caught all my big fish on darters and pencil poppers. I'll always have in my bag, but prefer a neddle plug.

[@samuelwilson3461]

10+ 45+” stripers on big bombers at night (black/burple) in last couple years (including 52”). Located in Cape Ann. Also agree on Redfin being deadly with 30-40” class, and I will add the 2oz mag darter to that list as well as the 2oz windcheater.

[@jayshields6696]

Interesting perspective. I’ve found there are situations where less displacement, a tighter wiggle, and a twitch is superior to larger displacement wide wobble. But you’re 100% right that as a general prospecting tool for targeting larger fish there are better methods in normal conditions. I’ve often used the displacement of the wood to get more follows and give an indication of what’s there. Followed up with a rubber, jig, or SP has resulted in converting a lot of those fish.

[@isaaccarlson8549]

Jerry Audet (editors of Surfcasters Journal) claims a lot of the same ideas. Especially, the nature of bait. Bait fish are slow, gliding, and they dart around. Metals give a louder profile and action as well. It depends on situation but I usually carry an SP/hydro minnow around most spring days. Mag darters are special because of how I fish and rig them to me… mine don’t swim/roll at all. They’re still (action wise)until jerked. Remember also- the old timers caught more giants on redfins and bombers than most of us will see in a lifetime. Lastly- more more plug recommendations: if you like the cast a retrieve idea, without imparting a ton of action, super slow sink gliders are the way to go

[@surfrat8884]

That’s because when the old timers were fishing, there were a lot more bass and large bass.

[@alexdolly6077]

I believe that it's based on the situation. I live in southern Connecticut and have kayak the sand flats of Sandy Point and barn Island as well as harbor Refuge in Rhode Island and have caught fish well over 30''with the SP..2018 was my first time ever at the canal and out 13 fish caught with the SP that day, my two largest were over 38 and average was 29-1/2. I think that it's just like a worm hatch or a pod of bay anchovies. once they get lock into size. that's it they are lock in. Great video...

[@travisalexphoto]

Ooof, a lot of things to unpack here: 1. Well I don't disagree that how your quality plugs can work better when it comes down to pursuing larger bass, as we all know the motto, "larger the bait, bigger the fish", what's your argument literally falls apart when you consider one of the most important aspects of fishing; and that is financial privilege and accessibility. While fishing is your main interest, not everyone has unlimited funds to spend $30-$40 for one nice metal lip swimmer. Whether you want to accept this as a fair point or not, $11 for a Diawa or Yo Zuri is much more cost effective when you really consider that most anglers will lose lures, and nothing hurts a financial strike angler like watching a $35 Gibbs snap off in the current. 2. This argument can be reserved on you in saying one simple thing "maybe because of your bias you don't know how to fish then properly". Which is a fair argument. My biggest bass was on a pearl 7 inch Yo-Zuri at 44 inches and my second was on a Longshot Bomber in 5 inch in Chicken Scratch that was 41 inches. It's all a matter of luck and skill. I'd re hash out your argument more in the future and repost later. What might be even more interesting is for you to do a video with the plugs and see if you can prove yourself right or wrong.

[@StripedBassHunt]

I stand by what I said in most situations there is better plugs to use then minnow plugs. As I talked about in the video there is always exceptions. As far as price there are many expensive metal lips but there are also cheaper ones out there. As far as me having bias when it comes to minnow plugs. As I said in the video I primarily used them form many years. It was when I finally started using different plugs instead of minnow plugs I started catching bigger bass.

[@GREEKgangsta15]

Personally I found that minnow plugs do really well on fish into the mid to high 20s. Bigger fish I've found tend to want bigger meals (blackfish, scup lobsters, etc.) So when I don't see alot of small bait schools, I try to mimic the bottom dwellers that are almost always in the rocks. That means big deep diving metal lips, big darters, bucktails, and plastics on jig heads. 9 times out of 10 I'll be able to pull bigger fish that way. But again everyone fishes different and it all depends on conditions and bait present. Tight lines!

[@churchwood5016]

Most people that use them are just looking to catch fish and eat them, because the lures work and are cheap. All the interlopers in my area use SP minnows and keep all their under and over slot size fish.

[@noahlamperti4164]

I agree with your analysis that plugs like the SP Minnow are only key when sandeels are the primary forage. I have caught many over slot fish on black/blurple SPs and Swarters at night, when the sand eel bite is hot on a certain stretch of beach that is famous for producing record bass on eels. I think many people don’t realize how slow you have to retrieve minnow plugs in order to draw strikes

[@garypollio4960]

Swarters are my favorite

[@ryanschembri4139]

everything you are saying makes a lot of sense to me. at the same time the biggest bass ive hooked at the surf was on an SP minnow. the water i fish is always rough though so having a little more flash and vibration is ok for my scenario, the minnow plugs just arent a good fit for a lot of conditions but i think in rough and turbulent surf they are a good option because they can draw some attention in the underwater storm

[@Onewayto2024]

I used to fish 7” HellCats in wickedly strong currents by just casting out over a well-known sandbar, letting the lure swing over it and then just holding on as it thrummed violently in the current. I caught dozens of large bass right in that spot with these minnow plugs.

[@petergucci4024]

Not just the sp minnow my friend but many many plastic lip swimmers over time they are one of the holy Grails of striper fishing from the redfin swimmer to bombers long a without these style of swimmers all would be at a lose all those nights under the lighthouse using a plastic swimmer how many 50+ plus stripers I put to rest on these lures

[@WD-41469]

I’m out there for harvest, and an SP picks up slot stripers just fine. Anything over 35” is a waste of my time.

[@happywrench3044]

Nothing wronge with Sp minnow type lures. They do catch big 🐟, I've stop useing them years ago because of the type of fishing I do. I tend to toss heavier and bigger profile plugs. Especially the biggest metal lip, darter, spook, ect.. I'm still stuck in the idea of big profile big fish! 🙃

[@franciscosantiago2753]

Right now, where I'm fishing, the only plugs that are working are the minnows and the darters. As far as the size of the fish, I've caught many 30 plus inches on SPs, the biggest a 38 inch stripper. Minnows are good for night time fishing.

[@vsonic86]

“They don’t catch big bass”

[@SQ_og]

Are you saying metal lip plug?

[@brianwaterman9588]

Can you make a video on your jetty fishing clothing. I am struggling with it and it's deep water I don't want to wear waders. Ty

[@joeyb9111]

There’s still time to delete this bro…. Many big fish have been caught on minnow plugs.

[@StripedBassHunt]

I stand by what I said in most situations there is a more productive plug to use then minnow plugs. There is alway exceptions which I talked about.

[@joeyb9111]

@@StripedBassHunt I watched the whole video. I just disagree. What do you do when you have a wind in your face? Still gonna throw a metal lip?

[@Fishyoverlandernj]

Bone and Chicken Scratch SPs slay Blues here in Central Jersey.

[@mikelobraico8]

That's not true I caught 2 in the 40,s several 30,s and countless 20,s on a blerple sp minnow plug

[@andrewhirtle3525]

Huge bass are caught on bombers ever day? Not by me personally lol but it seems like a popular big bass plug

[@karlneumann6833]

SP minnows catch fish yes they do, personally I’ve landed bigger fish on the OG Redfin and love that lure. I once heard that fishing a SP for Stripers is like riding a bike with training wheels 😂 . Every spot is different, time of year, weather conditions and all that factored in somedays redfins or SP may not be the best option. Either way good clip ! The cool thing about fishing is that there are no rules so fish however you want and throw what works for you !

[@StripedBassHunt]

I agree as I said in the video this is all my opinion and why I don’t like to use them.

[@andrewhirtle3525]

Can you do an episode on big swim baits like the sebile?

[@smokster0604]

Variety the spice of life….Fish on

[@mazzola930]

Chuck and wind and ya your probably not gonna catch big fish.. but treat it like a jerkbait and you'll be surprised. The mag darter is also a big bass catcher

[@travisalexphoto]

Yup, the big Mag Darters are amazing

[@boarderr1]

Do you load your Red fins?

[@StripedBassHunt]

Yes I do. I don’t put much thought into it just so they are neutrality buoyant.

[@boarderr1]

I load mine with BBs. Do you think the rattle is good or should I load with water or mineral oil ? My sad use to use mercury

[@aaronnokaoi]

I don't like minnows because everyone else tells me they don't like it...

[@StripedBassHunt]

Lol

[@totalnoobfishing1753]

I hated you for this video 😡.... BUT, all of my night-time fish on an SP are outside of mouth "face trebling" if you get me... it reinforces your point that they are not fully committing to eating the plug. Bass I have caught on bucktails or soft plastics ( if fished right ) they obliterate the lure and basically choke it down with 100% commitment to eat it. I love the plug and catch plenty of slot and over-slot fish on it and I'm far from a beginner.... alas to each his own

[@dashriprock5720]

Anecdotal Evidence! There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to support the opposite view. Ever hear of Al McReynolds'? Some baits work better in certain conditions, perhaps you are not using right.

[@MJ-oq7kq]

are you trolling? sp minnows out fish everything except eels. lol.

[@cscott661]

I couldn't disagree more lol.

[@jessegraham1004]

Are you serious?

[@StripedBassHunt]

Yes