Hey have any of you used the 4 inch new Berkeley Power minnows yet? I think they're new for this year and I picked up some in the Black/Gray Smelt and the Rainbow/Emerald Shiner color.... I am planning on fishing them on a #1 dropshot hook with a splitshot above it. Anyway, just wondering if you bass guys or anyone else has messed with them this year yet?? I'll let you know how I do on them this weekend.... I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures also.[cool]
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[font "Gourmand"][blue][size 4]yes i have. to no avail. They suck. I got them through a promotion venue. I used chubs -vs the Berkeley minnows and the berk minnows were a big fat zero on production. Let me know how you do on them. i could have had a bad day. [/size][/blue][/font]
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They been in use for awhile. Drop shotting and split shotting in clear water is very effective. This is Troutrods secret bait.
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Dude, Quantum, that sucks that you had such a bad experience with them. I use the 3" bass minnows and I've just slayed the fish with those... I thought I might step up a size and see if I can't weed out some of the tiny bass and trout I've been catching. Hey Tomegun, did those two colors produce or are one of the white/chartreuse colors better? I thought about grabbing a bag of the black/sparkle but found those didn't work so well the last time I tried them.....
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Keep it simple and natural
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Sorry to be a pain, Mr. Gun, but I've seen you recommend split shotting before. I know what dropshotting is, but could you give me a quick description of how to split shot for bass.
Many thanks.
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Correct me if I'm wrong but split shotting as I do it is putting a piece of split shot about six inches to a foot or so above your bait so that you get the bait to fall but the weight is far enough from your bait that it doesn't spook fish. I use a jerk, jerk, pause retrieve with a split shot rig. Used to slay the smallies at both Jordanelle and Deer Creek with that. It works awesome for trout too. If you can find an area with current holding bass or in my case, trout, then you move the split shot down so that its only three inches or so above the bait to minimize line twist. The biggest trout I ever caught came on a Berkely minnow on a split shot rig. I hooked the trout, lost it, watched it swim back into the hole and tossed in there again. The second time the fish just inhaled the minnow and I had my avatar.... [cool] I've caught tons of big scrappy rainbows out on the Rock Cliff side of Jordanelle throwing that rig out and just doing the jerk, jerk, pause back to the tube. No browns for me yet on that side, but plenty of nice bows and smallies.
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Split shotting or light Carolina rig is an easy and less expensive way to drag baits either on bottom or slightly above the bottom. Very few bass guys use the plain ol' split shot any more, bass pro shops or Cabelas have small cylinder weights(or bullet weights) that will do the trick.
Leader length is such a personal thing. What you tell your wife is 8 inches might be somewhat less[
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Just about all plastics can be split shotted. Its also a great way to fish out of a tube.
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Thanks for your instruction. One more thing: Do you usually let the weight slide, like on a Carolina Rig, or do you peg it into place? Do you fish this setup often?
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Rule of Thumb, Carolina Rig is a qrt oz and better. Peggings aren't unheard of, but usual.
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