I've made this statement before, and it's definitely worth repeating -- "No lure triggers more strikes from shallow cover muskies, conditioned from repeated casts, than the twitched minnow bait". I've also made the claim "no other lure is a more efficient tournament musky bait than the twitched minnow bait". Statistics prove my claim to right on. The minnow bait has proven to be the best trigger bait, on pressured muskies, by far.
In my estimation, the perfect minnow bait for twitchin' pressured fish is one that has flat sides for higher flash, low buoyancy for slower speed twitchin', a strong vibration to draw fish out of thick weeds, a durable hard-body finish, and an indestructible built-in diving lip. The durable plastic body and built-in diving lip are important to me because, once I find a hot producer (minnow bait), I want to use it over and over again. Nothing is more frustrating than having your favorite "twitch bait" loose a diving lip or break right in the middle of a hot bite.
That's the principle reason why I designed the Baby ShallowRaider with a molded-in diving lip with a reinforced throat section. I was frankly sick and tired of the "broken lip syndrome". This problem is now virtually eliminated with the lip design on the new BSR. Like every lure I've ever designed, there are basic principle reasons why I made the lure do what it does, and look the way it looks. This lure is certainly no different. Admittedly, I took the best qualities of the many other minnow baits I've used for years, and combined them all into one super plug. I'll never forget the very first sample of my BSR that came from a very crude mold. I pitched the bait out off my dock, with no paint on it, and began a series of twitches, pulls, and cranks in an effort to test its track, action, and other characteristics. Believe it or not, a musky followed that crude, unpainted version on the first cast! Right off my dock. I knew right there and then that this was going to be a very special lure.
There are many ways to fish this great plug, and I do plan to tell you about all of them. But right now, let's explore one of the very best all around tactics for all big gamefish species -- The Twitch. Nothing triggers a "cover tight" predator quite like a twitched minnow bait. More bass tournaments have been won lately with this tactic (they call it "jerkbait fishing"?). And the twitch minnowbait tactic has literally dominated musky tourneys for over a decade.
What's less known is how deadly twitchin' is on big pike. Twitch big minnow baits for reluctant cover-tight pike can really score big. One of my last Canadian pike trips proved this tactic was as worthy on the spotted member of the pike family as it is on muskies. Perhaps even more so. Big pike can't resist flashy minnow baits, twitched along shaded banks, weed patches and woody cover.
One of the keys to twitchin' is simply -- Trying to get as much action out of the minnow bait while twitching it near cover without moving it forward. This is a key to drawing fish out from underneath brushpiles, fallen trees, and thick weed clumps. The best minnowbait twitchers I know are masters of this technique. They can fish behind the fast casting, run and gun caster, and literally clean up, if the fish are reluctant to chase.
The trick is to pitch that minnow bait as close to cover as possible, and simply twitch it in place for an endless amount of time. If there's a fish up inside that piece of cover, it'll get a plenty of time to look that bait over. The vibration, flash and teasing action eventually is just too much to resist.