One of my favorite lures at the moment is the Hawg Hunter x Baitsanity Finesse Minnow. It’s a bit of a mouthful and the creator has described it as a ‘soft finesse swimbait designed for the utmost realism’ with a unique tail action ‘that produces a subtle and highly lifelike movement on a steady retrieve’. They also suggest using a spinning rod for this lure and in my case I happen to have a 7′ Dobyns Sierra rod that works very well with it. Having said that I personally feel like it would be perfectly ok to throw this thing on a casting setup and if you wanted to do that I’d say maybe just try to make sure that you use a gear with a lower gear ratio.
But enough about the marketing information and equipment details…let’s get into the bait itself. The first thing that I noticed about this lure is it seems to do best with a slow, steady retrieve. Spinning rods tend to have lower gear ratios and so I think that’s why they suggest using a spinning setup with this lure, but either way I can confirm that it has a nice, subtle action if you just cast it out, let it fall a bit and then slowly reel it back in. It’s definitely a subtle action that you get from the tail, and I’m pretty sure that’s why they are calling it a ‘finesse swimbait’ since you aren’t going to be pushing as much water back and forth as you would with a traditional paddle tail swimbait. The downside to this is that it’s probably not going to be the best lure of choice if the visibility is low, but if the water is pretty clear and the fish don’t seem to be as interested in ‘louder’ lures then this can be a great option.
In terms of the color selection they have several available, but my personal favorite is ‘Blue Ghost’ and that’s pretty much the only one I’ve been buying since it does a good job of matching the shad that are in the lake I’m on. They also have a ‘Threadfin Shad’ color as well as a ‘Light Perch’ color that might be interesting depending on your body of water and what the bass happen to be chasing. The lure also comes in two different weight options. I’ve personally been going with the 3/4oz option since the rod I’m using is rated up to 1oz and the water I’m on is usually pretty deep, but if you are in an area where the water isn’t as deep the 5/8oz option would also work fine.
One of my favorite things about this lure is the hook on it. It’s an exposed hook on the top of the lure, but it comes pre-rigged so you don’t have to worry about lining it up and making sure it fits or spending time getting the hook into the lure. I also tend to prefer single hooks on lures like this since there’s usually some grass and cover where I’m fishing and they typically do a little better than a lure with treble hooks on it when you hit a patch of grass.
The only downside I can think of when it comes to this lure is the price. At $20 for a two pack they aren’t exactly cheap, but after using it for a while it’s become obvious to me that they spent a fair amount of time and effort designing this lure, and so I personally feel like it’s a pretty good value anyway. You can also find it on sale sometimes and as an example most of the tackle shops I purchase lures from are having a Labor Day sale as I’m writing this article and so you can usually get about a 20% discount on these if you wait for them to go on sale.
In summary I really like this lure and it’s managed to find it’s way into my lineup. It isn’t always going to be what I pick up and the prevailing conditions are going to determine whether or not I’m throwing one on any given day, but if you are in calmer, clearer conditions and just want to throw a lure that’s easy to use and will most likely catch a few fish then I’d suggest picking this one up if you haven’t already.
Tackle Summary
Product: Hawg Hunter x Baitsanity Finesse Minnow
Category: Finesse Swimbait
Length: 5″
Weight: 3/4oz
Suggested Colors: Blue Ghost
