Stan Fagerstrom
11-03-2001, 02:53 PM
New Bitsy Pond Minnows Great
For Panfish, Bass & Trout
By Stan Fagerstrom
It’s wise to carry lures smaller than you normally throw in your tackle box each time you go bass fishing. You never know for sure when they might come in very handy.
Never have I had that proven more clearly than on a fishing trip at Siltcoos Lake on the Central Oregon coast one beautiful fall day a couple of years ago. Mike Pedersen, my long time fishing partner from Longview, WA, was my companion.
Mike and I were fishing along one of the reed fields that Siltcoos has. We were both throwing spinnerbaits. The bass fishing, as isn’t uncommon at Siltcoos, had been really slow. I cast my spinnerbait up next to the reeds and had a quick tug as a fish hit and missed. Then Mike had the same experience. Within a matter of seconds the experience was repeated for both of us.
“Mike,” I said, “that must be perch or crappie whacking our baits. It can’t be bass or one or the other of us would have hooked one by now. Have you got any small panfish lures?”
Both of us quit casting to check our tackle. I found a couple of tiny crankbaits that I’d stuck in one of the trays. I gave one to Mike and took the other for myself. We rigged them on the spinning rods we both had along for fishing plastic worms. We had 10-pound test line on our open-faced reels and it was difficult to get the required distance with that test line and those lightweight lures.
I was first to cast. Wham! It wasn’t a panfish that lit into that little lure. Instead a trout came twisting up out of the water. It turned out to be a dandy rainbow measuring 16-inches. I’d just got it unhooked when another of about the same size grabbed Mike’s lure.
For the next hour the two of us experienced trout fishing that was just about as good as it gets. Those rainbows continued to slam into our little crankbaits as if they’d been waiting for them all summer. The hooks on our small lures were difficult for the trout to get hold of and we missed as many as we caught. We still wound up catching and releasing a couple dozen and Mike took home five that measured from 14 to 16 inches.
Now I love bass fishing. It has been a large part of my life. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore the other species if they happen to show up in numbers as they did that morning on Siltcoos. Nothing helps the fishing like fish. Besides, I never kill bass and I occasionally enjoy inviting trout or panfish to join me for dinner.
I mention this experience because now there are some brand new little crankbaits available to anglers for the first time. The Strike King Lure Company introduced them this past summer. I’ve had opportunity to try them. If your fishing trips take you where mine do, you’re missing a bet if you fail to carry an assortment of these fish-catching little baits.
The new Strike King lures are called Bitsy Pond Minnows. What they amount to is a scaled down version of some of the popular standard size Strike King crankbaits. And scaled down really isn’t an adequate description because the Bitsy Pond Minnows are scaled down big time. And their hooks are small enough that trout won’t have any trouble getting hold of them. Neither do crappie and other panfish.
These new lures weigh only 1/8th ounce. What that means, of course, is that you’ll need the appropriate tackle to use them successfully. I throw mine with 4-pound test monofilament and an open-faced spinning reel. My rod is a G. Loomis SJR 700. The combination is a dandy for lightweight fishing.
You’ll note the Strike King folks used the word “Pond” in naming these tiny lures. That’s because the company’s lure designers figured they would be used most on small waters like farm ponds. That’s probably true, but by golly you’re missing a bet if you don’t also give them a shot wherever your piscatorial travels take you.
I can’t wait, for example, to throw those little hummers at smallmouth bass in the Pacific Northwest where I do most of my fishing. I’d bet big bucks they will knock the scales off those red-eyed scrappers in spots like the Umpqua or the John Day Rivers. I’ve already had crappie whack ‘em at Oregon’s Tenmile Lake and I wish I’d had them along that morning the trout were on that feeding binge at Siltcoos Lake. Be assured I’ll have them available if and when it happens again.
Examine one of these new Strike King lures up close and careful and you’ll note they are beautifully finished. They also come with those fish-attracting reflective eyes that have been so popular on the company’s larger crankbaits. The Bitsy Pond Minnows are available in six colors. A couple of my favorites are the Tennessee Shad and the Crawfish colors.
You can see for yourself what these new little baits look like if you have access to a computer. Go to www.strikeking.com (http://www.strikeking.com) and click on the link to the company’s catalog. You might choose, as I’ve done, to order a free copy of the Strike King catalog. You can do that at the company’s web site or by writing to Chris Armstrong, Strike King Lure Company, 174 Highway 72 West, Collierville, TN 38017.
Bigger might be better some of the time, but now and then the reverse is true. Strike King’s dandy little Bitsy Pond Minnows will very likely wind up proving that for you. They already have for me.
http://www.ifish.net/Bits1.jpg
Strike King's new Bitsy Pond Minnow catches darn near everything.
http://www.ifish.net/Three1.jpg
Bitsy Pond Minnows come in six colors. The best bet is to select those colors that match those of the baitfish in the waters you fish most often.
For Panfish, Bass & Trout
By Stan Fagerstrom
It’s wise to carry lures smaller than you normally throw in your tackle box each time you go bass fishing. You never know for sure when they might come in very handy.
Never have I had that proven more clearly than on a fishing trip at Siltcoos Lake on the Central Oregon coast one beautiful fall day a couple of years ago. Mike Pedersen, my long time fishing partner from Longview, WA, was my companion.
Mike and I were fishing along one of the reed fields that Siltcoos has. We were both throwing spinnerbaits. The bass fishing, as isn’t uncommon at Siltcoos, had been really slow. I cast my spinnerbait up next to the reeds and had a quick tug as a fish hit and missed. Then Mike had the same experience. Within a matter of seconds the experience was repeated for both of us.
“Mike,” I said, “that must be perch or crappie whacking our baits. It can’t be bass or one or the other of us would have hooked one by now. Have you got any small panfish lures?”
Both of us quit casting to check our tackle. I found a couple of tiny crankbaits that I’d stuck in one of the trays. I gave one to Mike and took the other for myself. We rigged them on the spinning rods we both had along for fishing plastic worms. We had 10-pound test line on our open-faced reels and it was difficult to get the required distance with that test line and those lightweight lures.
I was first to cast. Wham! It wasn’t a panfish that lit into that little lure. Instead a trout came twisting up out of the water. It turned out to be a dandy rainbow measuring 16-inches. I’d just got it unhooked when another of about the same size grabbed Mike’s lure.
For the next hour the two of us experienced trout fishing that was just about as good as it gets. Those rainbows continued to slam into our little crankbaits as if they’d been waiting for them all summer. The hooks on our small lures were difficult for the trout to get hold of and we missed as many as we caught. We still wound up catching and releasing a couple dozen and Mike took home five that measured from 14 to 16 inches.
Now I love bass fishing. It has been a large part of my life. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore the other species if they happen to show up in numbers as they did that morning on Siltcoos. Nothing helps the fishing like fish. Besides, I never kill bass and I occasionally enjoy inviting trout or panfish to join me for dinner.
I mention this experience because now there are some brand new little crankbaits available to anglers for the first time. The Strike King Lure Company introduced them this past summer. I’ve had opportunity to try them. If your fishing trips take you where mine do, you’re missing a bet if you fail to carry an assortment of these fish-catching little baits.
The new Strike King lures are called Bitsy Pond Minnows. What they amount to is a scaled down version of some of the popular standard size Strike King crankbaits. And scaled down really isn’t an adequate description because the Bitsy Pond Minnows are scaled down big time. And their hooks are small enough that trout won’t have any trouble getting hold of them. Neither do crappie and other panfish.
These new lures weigh only 1/8th ounce. What that means, of course, is that you’ll need the appropriate tackle to use them successfully. I throw mine with 4-pound test monofilament and an open-faced spinning reel. My rod is a G. Loomis SJR 700. The combination is a dandy for lightweight fishing.
You’ll note the Strike King folks used the word “Pond” in naming these tiny lures. That’s because the company’s lure designers figured they would be used most on small waters like farm ponds. That’s probably true, but by golly you’re missing a bet if you don’t also give them a shot wherever your piscatorial travels take you.
I can’t wait, for example, to throw those little hummers at smallmouth bass in the Pacific Northwest where I do most of my fishing. I’d bet big bucks they will knock the scales off those red-eyed scrappers in spots like the Umpqua or the John Day Rivers. I’ve already had crappie whack ‘em at Oregon’s Tenmile Lake and I wish I’d had them along that morning the trout were on that feeding binge at Siltcoos Lake. Be assured I’ll have them available if and when it happens again.
Examine one of these new Strike King lures up close and careful and you’ll note they are beautifully finished. They also come with those fish-attracting reflective eyes that have been so popular on the company’s larger crankbaits. The Bitsy Pond Minnows are available in six colors. A couple of my favorites are the Tennessee Shad and the Crawfish colors.
You can see for yourself what these new little baits look like if you have access to a computer. Go to www.strikeking.com (http://www.strikeking.com) and click on the link to the company’s catalog. You might choose, as I’ve done, to order a free copy of the Strike King catalog. You can do that at the company’s web site or by writing to Chris Armstrong, Strike King Lure Company, 174 Highway 72 West, Collierville, TN 38017.
Bigger might be better some of the time, but now and then the reverse is true. Strike King’s dandy little Bitsy Pond Minnows will very likely wind up proving that for you. They already have for me.
http://www.ifish.net/Bits1.jpg
Strike King's new Bitsy Pond Minnow catches darn near everything.
http://www.ifish.net/Three1.jpg
Bitsy Pond Minnows come in six colors. The best bet is to select those colors that match those of the baitfish in the waters you fish most often.