As I rummaged through my tackle box trying to figure out which lure may get the muskies to bite, my fishing partner John Stellflue stopped casting and turned my way.
“You know you’re going to use that orange minnowbait anyway,” he said from the bow. “Why don’t you just get it over with?”
Following Stellflue’s suggestion, I snapped the lure to the leader. An hour later as I released my third muskie, I thanked him for the recommendation.
Minnowbaits are mainstays in my boat all season long because they catch muskies regardless of water temperature. You can flutter them over or through weeds, bang their lips on rocks, and even troll them over deep water for suspended muskies.
You can fish them fast or slow, and they trigger muskies – aggressive or sluggish. When asked which lure I would pick if I was allowed only one, the reply is always minnowbait.
Since minnowbaits have a diving lip, they are essentially a crankbait, but their flat sides set them apart. When twitched, the flat sides catch and reflect light, while also producing a more intense wobble. Muskies have great eyesight and long lateral lines that sense vibration in the water, so minnowbaits are perfect for triggering a bite.
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And as great as the lure type is on its own, there are a number of ways to take your minnowbait fishing to the next level. Let’s start with rigging.
Their buoyancy can vary. Baits made of balsa and other softwoods tend to be more buoyant than those made of injection-molded plastic. Smaller baits of 7 inches and less have less buoyancy than larger baits. Therefore, the action of smaller baits can be greatly affected by leader and line weight and drag.
For this reason, a few years ago I helped a tackle company design a leader specifically for smaller minnowbaits. I also recommend 65-pound test braid for smaller baits.
The factors of line and leader weight and drag are less important with larger baits (8 inches and up) because they have more buoyancy.
Action also is influenced by lip design. Lures with rounded lips tend to have more roll when twitched, while those with flat or squared-off lips have a more pronounced wiggle.
Whichever action the muskies prefer can vary day to day, so you need minnowbaits with both lip styles. I almost always add a split ring to the line tie as it helps produce an even more pronounced wiggle while making it easier to attach the lure to the leader.

Rod, reels and working the minnowbait
Rod and reel choice matters greatly. Smaller minnowbaits, again 7 inches or less, get more wiggle when fished with a medium-heavy action rod. If your rod has a softer midsection, you will see even more wiggle compared to a rod with stiff action through the length of the blank. Larger minnowbaits require a heavy action rod to get the most from them.
Snap the rod tip to pull the bait forward and make it dart, then pause to let the lure stop and rise somewhat to the surface before resuming the twitching action. (It’s very similar to twitching a Rapala for bass, which most every angler has done).
As the lure rises, reel up the slack line, but don’t do it too quickly because you don’t want to inhibit the lure’s wiggle. I prefer a baitcasting reel with a mid-range retrieve speed of no more than 6:1 because faster reels pick up this “controlled slack” too quickly.
When casting to heavy weeds, twitching the rod upward helps keep the lure above the weed tops. If you see individual weed stalks, pull the rod tip left and right to guide the lure past and through them. At some point in the middle of the retrieve switch to a downward twitch to keep the lure in the water.
End every cast with a figure-eight even if you don’t see a following muskie.

Subtle strikes
Because slack line is so important to properly twitch a minnowbait, you must set the hook on anything that feels different. A muskie’s strike may feel as subtle as a walleye hitting a jig, or you may try to make your next twitch and find you’ve lost contact with the bait.
In this latter scenario the muskie overtook the lure from behind and pushed it forward, making even more slack. Sometimes you may think your lure is hung up on a weed. Regardless, set the hook to anything that feels different during the retrieve. Every year in my boat, the single greatest reason why muskies are lost is because clients thought they were fouled in weeds and did not set the hook.
A great way to trigger a following muskie is with the “slack line twitch.” With slack already in the line, snap the rod tip sideways with your wrist. This movement creates lots of flash and vibration with minimal forward lure movement, and can often get a sluggish fish to react and bite.
When fishing over shallow rocks, twitching the lure hard may result in a broken diving lip. Usually, a steady retrieve will allow the lure to dive to depth and bang its lip on the rocks, which produces more than enough action to trigger muskies holding there.
Minnowbaits are a terrific lure choice throughout the muskie season. Learn to use them and you may find more muskies in your net.