Mighty Mite: 1/16 and 1/10 oz Sonic Baitfish

By Captain Pete Rosko

Every story has a beginning and an end.  I hope this story is the exception and never has an end, but just keeps evolving. The title of “all roads” tells the story of how the creation of the Sonic Baitfish resulted from the sequential creation of its predecessor metal jigs, the Crippled Herring then the Kandlefish. For the very beginning of this story, refer to how the Crippled Herring was created.

The Kandlefish is the successor to the Crippled Herring and was created for the founder of Rapala in North America, the late Ron Weber. Baitfish have two shapes, short and wide and long and slender.

Short and wide refers to the Crippled Herring (Pacific herring) and long and slender refers to the Kandlefish (candlefish, a member of the smelt family). Between these two body forms, predator fish prefer prey that is longer and slender because they are easier to swallow. 

The Kandlefish, and the Sonic Baitfish are the same lures. The only difference is that the Sonic Baitfish has a metal attachment on the top of its back to which a snap or line can be attached to increase vibration when vertical jigging.

The creation of the Sonic Baitfish was more by accident than design when a fouled Kandlefish presented a unique opportunity. The Kandlefish has a “hair trigger” action. This means it is a finesse-type of jig that requires very little rod action for this lure to come to life. Overworking your rod, when jigging in turbulent water, at times will cause the hook to foul on the leader line. When this occurs, the retrieved lure comes in sideways and creates excessive vibration. It doesn’t take Einstein’s scientific mind to realize that schools of chinook and coho salmon, attacking this fouled lure, are trying to tell you something! That was the beginning of the creation of the Sonic Baitfish.

In my past articles, I have attempted to convey why the action of a properly designed metal jig is so uniquely special when vertically jigged. It is the flutter and vibration on the fall that creates the best-injured bait fish actions to trigger fish to strike! All predators seek prey that they do not need to chase down to conserve energy. This is a fact of life for all types of predator-prey interactions.

This crippled/injured concept is deeply ingrained into all my metal jigs. This is why they are so effective in any waters across the globe where you have predator fish. Lead head jigs, spinners, crank baits, and any other jigging, casting, or trolling lures do not have this type of action. They are lures that have a natural swimming and vibrating action that operate on a horizontal plane. Conversely, a metal jig excels when vertically presented. 

During my younger years, I mainly trolled spinning lures and propeller-bladed worm harnesses. I quickly learned that working the rod caught more of everything, including walleyes. Pulling the rod forward, and then dropping it backward, resulted in more strikes. At the time, I had little idea why this worked. Now we know it’s that downward flutter and vibration. Most “sonar”- type lures vibrate on the lift or when trolled or retrieved. 

Here is where the sonar part is different from the Sonic Baitfish: When vertical jigging, its side-to-side sonic action operates on both the lift and fall. This reciprocal, side-to-side, windshield wiper-type action is unique when applied vertically. It is especially effective when vertically fishing in turbid water and at night.

Versatility is the other reason why the Sonic Baitfish can be fished across the globe in open water, and through the ice. It is the only lure type that is truly proficient at catching fish both horizontally and vertically. This is because of its darting and vibrating actions, especially when trolled.

PRO TIP:  Most trolled lures and baits move in a consistently tight pattern, basically resembling a normal healthy bait fish. The Sonic Baitfish action is not normal or healthy. Its erratic and darting actions resemble a crippled or injured bait fish, an easier meal for opportunistic predator fish. Although the Sonic Baitfish has three different attachment points (nose, tail, or back), I almost exclusively fish it with the snap attached to the nose.

The main reason is that I catch a lot of fish from the nose of the Sonic Baitfish. 

PRO TIP:  When trolling, I always attach an Indiana blade to the tail of the Sonic Baitfish, with a snap, to the opposite side of the hook point. Just make sure the blade extends no farther than the end of the hook. This gives the Sonic Baitfish extra flash and vibration in addition to harmonics with the sound of the blade striking the hook shank.

I keep the tail and back attachments in reserve in case I need to switch on a rare day when the nose attachment is not producing.

Attaching to the back is especially effective for me when “dead-sticking” for certain species like Kokanee or through the ice for walleyes or perch. The Sonic Baitfish is presented in a more normal horizontal “swimming” position with the rod held motionless. If you are not convinced of this technique, try this with your second rod, mounted in a rod holder.

PRO TIP:  The rod must be parallel to the water’s surface and not angled upward like most rod holders that are not adjustable.

Over the years, I have been out-fished, by a properly angled rod in a rod holder, far too many times. This is a deadly technique for calm water (when dead-sticking) and for water up to a one-foot chop (while vertically bottom-bouncing the jig on the drift.

During the 1980s & 90s on Lake Erie, this was a deadly technique for big walleyes, drifting in a one-foot chop, using a ¾ oz Crippled Herring in a bright chrome finish.  Naturally, I was fishing with heavier bait casting rods for these hard-striking fish than what I use for Kokanee.

A fast action rod tip, positioned parallel to the water’s surface, excels at finesse fishing. This means that its presentation is closely working in harmony with what is naturally occurring in the environment that surrounds your lure. This is especially enhanced when combined with water current.

This is also why drift fishing is usually more effective than any other presentation because you are moving with the natural flow of water and not against it. (Those exceptions are rough water and windy conditions.) 

PRO TIP:  A slow-moving drift, in a light chop, is ideal for thoroughly contacting the bottom structure when vertically jigging! Once you locate the fish, this is how you out-fish all other techniques!!!

A final note on how I like to fish and more so, how I love to jig. I like all techniques when it comes to sport fishing. However, I am most passionate about finesse metal jig fishing because, for me, it is the closest thing to the pure art form of fly fishing and working that certain fly to where the fish are.

PRO TIP:  When fish are not suspended, they are usually located close to the bottom structure and either feeding or resting. It’s easy to catch those feeding fish but what about those resting fish? At best, they are usually neutral, and at worst, they are negative and not feeding. 

For a chance at catching those “most difficult to catch fish”, micro metal jigs, and sensitive spinning equipment, are a necessity. (When fish have stopped biting, rarely will they be enticed to bite a large lure. However, a 1/16 or 1/10 oz Sonic Baitfish is a tiny tidbit. 

After consuming a large restaurant meal, how many of us are enticed to sample a little dessert?  It’s hard to refuse. The predator instinct of fish will overcome its negative attitude to bite if the offering is small and subtly presented. Fortunately, the Mack’s Lure Company solves half the problem. That being, it is unique in that it manufactures some of the smallest Sonic Baitfish metal jigs in the tackle industry, ranging from 1/16 to 1oz.

On the contrary, most metal jig companies begin with 1oz, as the smallest size, and go larger. A G. Loomis rod, and braided line, solve the other half of the problem with sensitivity. My 6 1/2 ft. Mag-Light Loomis spinning rod is lightweight with a stiff backbone with a fast action tip that bends no more than 1/3 of the entire length of the rod. It’s strong enough to provide a fast hook set and light enough to feel how the Sonic Baitfish is working through the rocky bottom structure.

Without that feeling, your jig is usually suspended above the structure and not in it where the fish have their bellies touching the bottom. At times, I refer to the smaller Sonic Baitfish as “mighty mites”. Despite its small size, the 1/10 oz Sonic Baitfish can catch big fish. 

Many years ago, Terry Rudnick gave a jigging demonstration with a 1/6 oz Crippled Herring in the Seattle Sea Aquarium. The title of that seminar was, “small lures catch big fish”. This highly regarded Pacific Northwest writer contacted me after his seminar. He stated that he was, “caught by surprise to see large salmon continuously attacking that small metal jig”. After all these years, I never forgot Terry’s words because those tiny metal jigs very seldom disappoint me!

Finishing touches when targeting fish near the bottom: 

• I always fish metal jigs with a single siwash-style tail hook when jigging in a snaggy structure. A Sonic Baitfish does not sink like a lead head jig. Instead, it flutters and glides through the structure, with minimum snagging.
  
  
• To minimize snagging when cast-jigging out of a boat, always cast directly down-current or down-wind, when there is no current. By casting “directly down-current”, your line will remain taut, maximizing the feel of your Sonic Baitfish working in the structure. You will get better hook-ups and miss fewer strikes.  Never cast sideways because a bow will occur in your line and you will lose the feel of bottom and miss strikes.
  
  
• Once your Sonic Baitfish hits bottom, methodically bounce it back to your boat with the rod tip pointed toward the water and in the direction of your down-current lure. NEVER jig your lure with a sideways-pointed rod if you want to be proficient with this finesse cast-jigging technique!  You must always retain the ”feel of the lure working in the water”. Whether fishing for fish near the bottom of lakes, rivers, or oceans, proficiency with this technique will substantially increase your hook-ups!

For additional information regarding this jig-casting technique, please refer to previous similar articles in the archives. Happy fishing and be safe on the water.