Contrary to popular belief, there are times a good thing can be made better. Take, for example, modern fishing sonar. Nowadays, not only can you decipher bottom-hugging fish, but even the most minuscule baits show up crisp and clear on the screen. Tackle totes, too, have taken turns for the better over time. Today, they’re smaller in build yet hold more lures and essentials in an ultra-organized fashion than ever before.
To that, even time-honored tackle can be bettered. Ponder, for a moment, the classic minnow-shaped swimming jig. Simple to fish, with a shape representing wintertime’s primary forage, they have been standard fare for decades. Nevertheless, they still have their flaws.
But rather than go through a list of imperfections of the past, let’s introduce you to the attributes Custom Jigs & Spins’ new Rotating Power Minnow (RPM) has to offer. New in the beginning of 2016, this must-have lure brings several novel features to the vertical swimming jig category.
First, its fishy-looking silhouette: The RPM’s baitfish-simulating body is anatomically accurate, with the natural beer-belly, arched back and ghoulishly large eyeballs baitfish sport. The RPM is also heavy for its size, falling fast before sonar marks turn into memories. As for patterns, let’s just say the eleven shades range from the most realistic minnow-imitating patterns—right down to mimicking every scale—to florescent hues that predators can spy from afar in the dingiest of water. Custom Jigs & Spins made sure that there’s an RPM pattern to match every primary baitfish species and water clarity condition.
Next, the action: The RPM doesn’t drop like a lead sinker. Instead, it has a wide, natural swim and sway on the fall and equal animation on the pump. And it’s not just the perfectly-engineered tail fin that gives the RPM its lifelike motion; a built-in swivel subsidizes rotation while thwarting line twist, eliminating the need for a cumbersome swivel. Just tie your line directly to the RPM and start catching.
And speaking of catching, the RPM’s hook configuration is thought-through as deeply as the color palette of patterns. There’s no nose-hook to catch the bottom of your ice hole, meaning less fish lost at the moment of truth. A colored epoxy “eye” is molded onto the lower treble hook for added enticement, foiling panfish that are only interested in pecking. The smaller tail-treble holds its own stinging fish lips with short strikers as well.
So, what action should one employ to the RPM? Short, repetitive snaps of the rod tip, perhaps? High rips with long falls, perchance? And is it different depending on water clarity? You decide.
The new Rotating Power Minnow – proof the wheel can be reinvented.
ABOUT CUSTOM JIGS & SPINS, Inc.
Custom Jigs & Spins started almost 30 years ago producing high quality ice fishing lures. We continue today by improving our existing lures and developing new ones with input from our Pro-Staff and suggestions from serious ice anglers. We’re extremely proud that some of our newest lures, as well as many of our tried and true favorites like the Ratso, Shrimpo, Nuclear Ant and Rat Finkee, have crossed over into the open water market.
We at Custom Jigs & Spins, Inc. use only the highest quality raw materials including Owner and Mustad hooks. Most all of our lures are hand painted with a super hard finish and paint free eyes.”
Our other quality brands include B FISH N Tackle, Flu Flu®, The Worm® and Vertigo Tackle®.