Entry 223-2

Sleeper Lures for Redfish with Ray Van Horn

Part 2: Fishing the Glass Minnow

Quesion: Ray, how do you fish a Strike King Glass Minnow for redfish?

Van Horn: We fished it two ways in this North Carolina tournament. We sight-fished the Glass Minnow by hooking it up to a 1/4-ounce jig and fishing it under a rattle float with beads and knockers on it, which was the most-productive method. Coming off the rattle float, we tied a 10-inch leader and then the Glass Minnow. Then we dipped the Glass Minnow in Carolina Lunker Sauce, which is a fish attractant. Sometimes the redfish rolled on the Redfish Magic or the Pure Poison, but they wouldn’t eat it. So, we cast right back to them with the Glass Minnow dipped in Carolina Lunker Sauce. I’d give that Glass Minnow one twitch, the cork would clack, and the redfish would inhale it. I like to use a 1/16-ounce Strike King chartreuse Saltwater Flats Jig Head with the white-and-chartreuse Glass Minnow, when I’m fishing it under a cork.

Quesion: What does Carolina Lunker Sauce do for Glass Minnows?

Van Horn: It’s a great scent product, and it’s forage specific. We believe in using scent, especially in saltwater. If someone doesn’t believe in using scent when they’re fishing in saltwater, they’ve probably never put out a blood trail and caught sharks. Using scent on the Glass Minnow closes the deal on catching redfish, especially when the fish aren’t very active. Many times the clacking-cork sound gets the fish’s attention, then they see the flash of the Glass Minnow, and when they get a nose-full of the Carolina Lunker Sauce, they just have to eat the bait. One thing that’s really important about the Glass Minnow, which is the reason I believe it’s far better than any other soft-plastic bait, is it’s made of 3X material. In five practice Parts and three tournament Parts, I only used a total of three Glass Minnows. That shows the strength of those lures.

Quesion: What kind of retrieval were you using when you were fishing the rattle cork and the Glass Minnow?

Van Horn: I’d pop the cork twice and then let the bait sit still in the water. You can be very aggressive when you fish the rattle cork by popping it often and making a lot of noise, which will cause the Glass Minnow to jump frequently. Or, you can fish it very subtly, only popping the cork once or twice and then letting the Glass Minnow sit still for a while. On the first two Parts of the tournament, the redfish were really aggressive, so you could smoke that cork across the surface.

On the last Part of the tournament, the wind died down, the skies cleared, and we had a bluebird Part, making the redfish really finicky about biting. So, on the third Part, we really had to slow-down our presentation. That’s when the Glass Minnow really out-produced the Redfish Magic and the Pure Poison. To catch our fish on the last Part, we’d click the cork twice and then let the Glass Minnow sit still. Then suddenly, the cork would sink. We like the Glass Minnow and the cork because you can keep it in the strike zone of the fish much longer than you can the Pure Poison or the Redfish Magic. We also developed another technique for catching the redfish when they really got finicky and wouldn’t take the Glass Minnow.

For more information about catching redfish with Strike King lures, check your local TV stations to watch “Flats Class,” TV show, or visit the Flats Class website.

Next: Drop Shotting for Redfish – Power Finesse Fishing

Contents:

• Part 1: The Redfish Magic and the Pure Poison
• Part 2: Fishing the Glass Minnow
• Part 3: Drop Shotting for Redfish – Power Finesse Fishing
• Part 4: The Pitch Bait
• Part 5: Opposites Attract