grass minnow Archives - Consulting Firm, Business Consulting, Lifestyle Coaching

Published: 23 June 2012

Written by Alex Tech

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Categories: Huddleston Deluxe, Swim Signatures, Weedless Swimbaits

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsygKdiPAac]

The Grass Minnow has proven itself to me in the grass. Shallow grass lakes of the South East. As I spend more time in the Arkansas Ozarks, I am broadening my application of the Grass Minnow. The warm and cold water creeks and rivers that feed the Ozarks are full of smallmouth and largemouth, and trout. So, it’s not the heavy grass fishing, but it is more a finesse approach, but still a real swimbait approach. I’m fishing the Grass Minnow much like I currently fish the 3″ Big Hammer. Yes, a spinning rod. Wet wading, aloha colored swimming trunks, oversized sunglasses, big hat and Buff covering my face, walking or floating a few miles of river here and there. Getting some exercise and just trying to do it all. The Shimano Cumara 7’2″ Rod + 15 pound Power Pro Braid + 3 feet of Yamamoto Sugoi 10# floro are working really well for me which is crazy to have a bait that fishes well on 50 # braid and GLoomis 964 BBR (Okeechobee style) and now I’m fishing it on a spinning rod. The Huddleston Vortex continues! The Grass Minnow is just an extremely real looking and swimming bait, and I’m realizing cannot be pigeon holed into being just a grass bait by any stretch.

Huddleston Deluxe Grass Minnow Ozark Style — How many zillions of minnows are there in our lakes and rivers? Little narrow looking fishes with forked tails. Fish tend to bite the Grass Minnow. With the right equipment and hookset, you’ll land your bites.

The Grass Minnow is a pretty sophisticated little candy morsel of a swimbait. The bait is flat sided, has a unique swallow tailed vortex tail, yet the belly and shoulders are full and bulbous, so the bait has the classic Huddleston water displacement and push that we’ve gotten hooked on with his 8″ Trout. Sometimes people discuss what is the definition of a swimbait, and where you draw lines, etc. Sophistication trumps size in this case. The Huddleston Deluxe Grass Minnow is a swimbait you need to learn. I now have a heavy grass assault (ie, Okeechobee), sparse grass assault (ie, Champlain) and river fish (Ozark) application for this bait. You have to be good to really understand, fully leverage, and fish this bait properly. It’s fairly easy to swim, yet if you want to slow down, pause, dead stick and finesse fish with it, it does that too very well. In shallow rivers, I’m finding it an alternative to the little tube where you can sorta hop/drag/swim it, and skip it under trees and into shade pockets which tends to be where fishes live in shallow low water Arkansas.

Grass Minnow swimbait fishing — The Grass Minnow fishes well on the drop and can be dragged/hopped, like the 3″ Big Hammer, except its ROF 5 vs ROF 30 respectively (approx). The Grass Minnow is very neutral buoyant and falls nice and slow and graceful. It has a hollow midsection, used as part of the weedless design, that also gives the bait an internal bladder. The bait falls and orients nose down and just drags nicely over hard bottom. It’s not just an excellent grass bait.

So, here’s the hookset with a spinning rod: Tighten up your drag, so line doesn’t come off when you set the hook. Point your rod tip at the fish when you get a bite and reel down until you feel tension of the fish at the reel and once you make really good contact with the reel>line>fish, put the rod into the mix and lift up hard with the rod and drive the hook home and maintain a good strong constant pressure as you move the fish and rod a few feet to really pin the fish. Reel hard and heavy get maximum pressure as you swing the rod to set. I could probably get away with a slightly heavier spinning rod than I’m using, perhaps the MH vs. the M model. I am surprised how well it is fishing for me and hooking fish. I am pretty converting a bunch of my stuff over to braid + leader setups, it just works great for me and my style of fishing. This is another instance where braid provides something that couldn’t be done with mono or floro (fish a weedless Huddleston bait on a spinning rod, and still be able to hook fish).

Grass Minnow in the grass — Grass is where you find it. Weedless baits sometimes fish really well without weeds. Just like some non-weedless baits fish really well in weeds. A softbait without a top hook sticking out, treble hook hanging or sticking out, or trap rig of any kind. Just a clean real bait, sans hook. It looks really good in the water and fishes super clean.

spinning-rod-swimbait-fishing-arkansas-grass-minnow — Yes, that is a spinning rod. The Grass Minnow fishes amazingly well with the spinning rod. Braided line gives me the hookset I need, and the floro leader helps me get bit in uber clear skinny water. But boy, they eat it. Weedless swimbaits fish really nicely in all waters, but around current, where your bait can tumble/ deadstick and hop and stroll, that’s where not having a hook or any exposed hardware really pays off and gives ’em a different look, keeps your bait free from muck, and is a much more refined approach, especially in clean water. Stay tuned, this whole spinning rod swimbait thing is still being tested, but appears to be excellent.

Music:

“First Light”

Bobby Vega & Chris Rossbach

Usage Courtesy: Body Deep Music

Published: 12 November 2011

Written by Alex Tech

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Categories: 2011 Tournament Fishing, Huddleston Deluxe, Themes from our Southern Trout Eaters DVD, Weedless Swimbaits

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT2Y5HJExMk]

Here is some previously unreleased footage and insights into grass swimbait fishing with the Huddleston Deluxe Weedless Suite of Baits: The Grass Minnow, The Weedless Shad, and the 6” Weedless Trout. This is the first part of what we are calling “The Big O Sessions”, and this Part One is called: Grass Swimmers.

This footage was shot on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee, in January 2011. We are celebrating the launch of a new site for southernswimbait.com and just celebrating rising water levels on Okeechobee and counting our blessing for still being on the road, fishing. Gonna keep the train rolling into 2012.

Gear for the Grass Minnow:

Rod: G-Loomis 964 BBR
Reel: Shimano Curado 200 G6 or G7 (either 6.5.1 or 7.0:1 Gear Ratios will work)
Line: Power Pro 50#
Knot: Palomar

Gear for the Weedless Shad:

Rod: G-Loomis 964 BBR
Reel: Shimano Curado 200 G6 or G7 (either 6.5.1 or 7.0:1 Gear Ratios will work)
Line: Power Pro 50#
Knot: Palomar

Gear for the 6” Weedless Trout

Rod: G-Loomis 965 BBR
Reel: Shimano Curado 300 E
Line: Power Pro 65 or 80#
Knot: Palomar

Sunglasses: Black Kaenon Hard Kores with Y-35 Lens

Notes: Watch the hook sets in the above video. Slower action rods, sweeping pressure set style hook sets. Long whip casts, where you have 12-15” of line out from your rod tip and make a whip cast to get the bait out there and maximize casting distance with an 8 foot rod. Whatever style or brand of sunglasses you wear, try out some Yellow lenses in the black Florida water. You will be amazed at what Yellow lens technology does to brighten up that black Florida water, no matter if the sun is out or not. I wear my Kaenon Hard Kores with the Y-35 lens everyday in Florida (including out to the night clubs in South Beach, it helps me blend in with the hipsters!).

Published: 12 November 2011

Written by Alex Tech

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Categories: Huddleston Deluxe, Weedless Swimbaits

lake champlain weedless swimbait fishing — The Eastern Front: From New York to Florida, just add grass, and get into the Huddleston Deluxe Weedless suite of baits. This is the Weedless Shad, my first time ever fishing the baits, August 2010, Lake Champlain whackfest.

The Weedless Shad is the latest edition to the Huddleston family of weedless swimbaits, and fits in size between the Grass Minnow and the 6” Weedless Trout. You will notice the Weedless Shad has an absolute threadfin shad profile, and a miniature vortex tail, borrowed from the proven 8” Huddleston Deluxe Rainbow Trout. It’s more of a ball knob or boot tail (vs the swallow tail of the Grass Minnow).

huddleston vortex tails — The Grass Minnow (foreground) tail is a swallow tail, and is a more subtle swimmer, less thump and vibration than the tail of the Weedless Shad (background) that is more a ball knobber, and provides a bit more thump and vibration. You can feel the Weedless Shad swimming toward you much better than the Grass Minnow, especially when you have calm conditions and have gotten onboard the braided line bus.

The Weedless Shad is slightly bigger and heavier than the Grass Minnow and it’s more bulbous vortex tail gives off more thump and kick than does the Grass Minnow. Because it is heavier, it tends to fish in the wind a bit better because you can cast it better. The overall size and profile of the Weedless Shad make it an excellent tournament swimbait, and pretty much anywhere you have grass or wood, this bait is something to explore.

I find myself throwing baits like the Weedless Shad in places and areas where other guys are throwing swimming worms like the Skinny Dipper or a swim jig. The Weedless Shad is extremely weedless and fishable, and because of the collapsable air pocket that surrounds the hook, it has an excellent hookup ratio. Once again, we highly recommend you fish your Weedless Shad on braided line. You need the zero stretch, instant connection, buoyancy of braid around grass, and ability to pull fish from heavy cover with ease.

huddleston deluxe realism — Realism in shape, color, swim signature (vortex), and profile. The Weedless Shad (left) and Grass Minnow (right) are the epitome of realism in a tournament swimbait.

The hook set on the Weedless Shad is the same as the Grass Minnow or 6” Weedless Trout. You want to keep your rod tip somewhere between 11 and 12 o clock, and when you get bit, drop your rod to parallel to the water or 9 o clock position and wait for your line to tighten up and/or your rod get some bend in it. Then you know the fish has the bait, and go ahead and sweep hard (but don’t jack them) and reel. The spinnerbait hookset if you will. Just keep applying pressure and wind them in the boat.

Gear for the Weedless Shad:
Rod: G-Loomis 964 BBR
Reel: Shimano Curado 200 G (6.5 or 7:1, whatever you prefer)
Line: 50# Power Pro or P-Line Spectrex Braid

Strengths: The Weedless Shad is a super realistic bait and has an excellent swim with added vibration and thump (over the Grass Minnow). It is slightly heavier than the Grass Minnow so fishing it in wind makes sense sometimes (vs. the Grass Minnow). The overall size and profile make it an excellent tournament swimbait, one that gets bites and lands fish. Anywhere you have grass fishing or wood, this is a bait to go explore with. You can cover a lot of water, just steady grinding this thing around like you would a spinnerbait.

okeechobee weedless shad — You are going to catch a lot of fish on the Weedless Shad (and Grass Minnow). You will get a lot of fish per bait, but do carry super glue or Huddle Bond, because between the grass, the fish and the fish's teeth, a lot of tears and rips happen.

Ideal Conditions: 1-3 feet of depth, shallow grass lake fishing with sparse lilly pads, mixed grasses, reeds, etc. The clearer the water, the better. The bait is very real and fish that see this bait tend to eat it.

Notes: Colors aren’t a huge concern, because whatever natural or unnatural colors you throw, the fish will eat it. I haven’t found a color of Grass Minnow or Weedless Shad the fish won’t chew. Like all swimbaits, the better your bait swims, the more fish you’ll catch with it. Swim comes from the lure’s designer, but also depends on the angler.

Published: 18 October 2011

Written by Alex Tech

No comments

Categories: Huddleston Deluxe, Weedless Swimbaits

The grass minnow and weedless shad — The Grass Minnow (foreground) and Weedless Shad (background) speak to Ken Huddleston's commitment to realism and innovations in engineering baits with vortex tails that match the swim signatures bait fish leave behind as they swim

The Grass Minnow was the first of Ken’s small weedless swimbaits that followed the release of his 6” Weedless Trout. The Grass Minnow is a special bait because it has incredible realism and includes a special vortex tail that was engineered to match the signature that a minnow or small baitfish leaves behind in it’s trail. The tail kick is extremely subtle, but when you step back and think about how much thump a real minnow gives off when it swims, it occurs to you what Ken is doing with the Grass Minnow. The bottom line is the Grass Minnow gets eaten by big fish and little fish.

lake champlain grass minnow water — This is what good water for the Grass Minnow looks like. Shallow grass fishing and the clearer the water, the better

grass minnow lake champlain — Getting a little carried away, looking for the good 'hard' grass. Find good clean hard grass, and throw that Grass Minnow. Lake Champlain, near the French Canadian border

I’ve caught fish on the Grass Minnow on just about every grass lake I’ve thrown it: Pickwick, Guntersville, Okeechobee, Champlain, Seminole, and Dardanelle. Braid is key to my Grass Minnow approach. Just like with the 6” Weedless Trout or any other Weedless Huddleston bait, I use braided line to aid in my hookup ratio and ability to fish the bait around grass. Do you fish a frog on anything but braid? Exactly. You need zero stretch, the buoyancy of braid and the hook set ability of braided line to maximize your effectiveness with the Grass Minnow.

Grass Minnow Fishing Lake Okeechobee — Lake Okeechobee has been ground zero for a lot of my weedless swimbait fishing. The Grass Minnow gets quality bites and serves as an alternative to the Skinny Dippers everyone else is throwing

My hookset is a sweep set. I don’t jack the fish. I keep my rod at 11 to 12 o clock, and just keep a steady grind on the bait. Not too fast, not too slow. When I get bit, I drop my rod tip to 9 o clock and let the fish eat the bait. When my line tightens up or the rod begins to bow up at 9 o clock, that is when I sweep hard to the side (like a spinnerbait hookset) and reel like mad to get caught up and apply pressure to the fish. I love the G-Loomis 964 BBR for the Grass Minnow. I can make long whip casts and really get the bait out there. But the 964 BBR also is a relatively slow parabolic action rod and is perfect for braided line and grass fishing, and helps me get a hook into almost everything that bites my Grass Minnow. I have a 90% or better hookup ratio on the Grass Minnow. Most of my bites get in the boat, hands down.

Lake Seminole Grass Minnow — Lake Seminole has the right ingredients, shallow grass fishing, clean water in places and highly pressured fish

Here is a whole YouTube video I did on Lake Okeechobee, fishing the Grass Minnow:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIubnP4fyoQ]

Here is another video that discusses my approach to Lake Champlain, but also includes a section on the Grass Minnow from the shallow grass largemouth fishery of Champlain:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K507beZ_4VU]

Bait: The Grass Minnow (colors? show me one that doesn’t work!)
Rod: G-Loomis 964 BBR
Reel: Shimano Curado 200 G (w/ 6.5:1 Gear Ratio)
Line: 50 Pound Power Pro or P-Line Braid

Strengths: The Grass Minnow is rare in that it is incredibly real and provides fish who are chasing small bait around grass something they haven’t seen. Fish aren’t used to such subtle swimming baits that look and feel so real. The Grass Minnow gets a lot of bites and is a resilient bait, meaning you can catch many fish on the bait and glue it back together a few times before you need to retire it.
Ideal Conditions: Lakes with super shallow grass fishing, like Okeechobee, Seminole, and Guntersville are ideal for the Grass Minnow. Anywhere fish are busting on small bait. I throw the Grass Minnow in a lot of situations where other guys are throwing swim jigs and paddle tailed tubes.

Notes: Keep the wind at your back whenever possible. The Grass Minnow isn’t super heavy (5/8 ounce) and can be difficult to get casting distance or cross wind. Keep super glue onboard because if you get into the fish, you are going to be repairing baits because you’ll catch a bunch of fish, big and small and they tend to inhale the thing, plus braided line and lots of muck and grass can wreck your baits.

grass minnow

Swim Signature: Huddleston Deluxe Grass Minnow

The Big O Sessions Part One: The Huddleston Deluxe Weedless Suite in “Grass Swimmers”

The Huddleston Weedless Shad

The Huddleston Deluxe Grass Minnow

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