GEARING UP
mid-strolling minnows
By Mitchell Forde
The red-hot technique that has dominated tournament bass fishing lately goes by a few different names — Damiki rigging , tight-lining , mid-strolling , moping . But don ’ t be daunted – this isn ’ t some complex , newfangled contraption that fish , and fishermen , have never seen before .
In 2023 alone , a simple , softplastic minnow on a jighead — a slightly upsized version of the rig crappie anglers have employed for decades — won the Bassmaster Classic on Tennessee River smallmouth , keyed Jacob Wheeler ’ s romp at Lake Guntersville on ledge-dwelling , postspawn largemouth and dominated the Top 10 on Table Rock Lake at the Toyota Series Championship during the fall . As a result , it ’ s earned a spot on just about every pro ’ s front deck and quite a bit of space in this edition of MLF Bass Fishing magazine .
Part of the beauty of the technique lies in its simplicity ; a few jigheads and a pack of minnowstyle plastic are all you need . However , all minnow baits aren ’ t necessarily created equal . Nuance exists within the expanse of seemingly similar plastics on the market , with several top pros opting for different baits under different circumstances . The following soft plastic minnows have either proven their chops by contributing to Top 10 finishes in major tournaments or brought something new to the category .
1
berkley powerbait power switch
$ 7.99 – 9.99 | berkley-fishing . com
Okay , most minnow baits are nothing anglers haven ’ t seen before . The Power Switch represents the exception . It ’ s no secret that the rise of this technique has been tied to the proliferation of forward-facing sonar , and Berkley designed the Power Switch specifically with ‘ Scoping in mind . The minnow ’ s PowerBait body comes pre-molded around an internal jighead . That allows anglers to achieve the same action as increasingly popular hover-strolling rigs without having to mess with nail weights or purchase special hooks .
As a result of its design , the Power Switch is heavy for its size , allowing it to be cast accurately and sink quickly to fish . It also darts erratically when twitched or popped . Add in its lifelike profile and unique , subtle tail , and this bait can be fished several different ways — hence its name , as it gives anglers the ability to switch between retrieves to trigger bites . The Power Switch can be hopped along the bottom , jigged vertically , twitched horizontally or hung just above fish . Bolstering its versatility is the fact that it ’ s offered in 14 colors and six different sizes , allowing anglers to target different depths and species .
Size options are 1.75-inch ( 1 / 16-ounce ), 2.5-inch ( 1 / 4-ounce ), 3-inch ( 3 / 8-ounce ), 3.5-inch ( 5 / 8-ounce ), 4.25-inch ( 1-ounce ) and 5-inch ( 1 5 / 8-ounce ) models .
2 damiki armor shad
$ 4.99 | damiki . com
Color : Blacknose Shiner
Color : American Shad
There ’ s a reason many refer to this technique as “ Damiki rigging .” Some of the first tournament anglers to expose the effectiveness of a jighead minnow did so with the Armor Shad . Key to the bait ’ s success is that it sits horizontally in the water when affixed to a jighead with a 90-degree line tie , its thin tail providing a subtle , quivering action . While the original Damiki rig was typically fished vertically , the Armor Shad has also proven effective when cast and retrieved back to the boat . It ’ s offered in three sizes , with the 2.5- and 3-inch versions being the most popular , as they provide a smaller profile than many other minnow baits , which can be ideal when bass key in on small shad . The Armor Shad is available in 17 colors .
54 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | FEBRUARY-MARCH 2024