Minnow Shakin’ - Not Just For Bass

Shaking a plastic minnow is arguably the hottest finesse fishing technique for bass right now. Popularity surged a couple of years ago when Rapala Pros Jacob Wheeler and Dustin Connell began winning bass tournaments using CrushCity’s Mooch Minnow and Freeloader on VMC jigs. Since then, minnow shaking (also known as hover strolling) has spread rapidly, becoming a go-to technique for both professionals and weekend anglers.

However, here’s a little secret: this tactic isn’t just for bass. Shaking CrushCity plastic minnows can catch a variety of fish, including walleye, pike, trout, and panfish.

At its core, shaking a minnow is a system. The plastic, jig, rod, and line work together as a cohesive unit. Anglers bring the bait to life by quickly shaking the rod tip with their wrists as they reel in the line. This motion causes the plastic minnow to roll and flash, mimicking the real thing. The end result is an irresistible presentation for any predator fish that eats minnows, which is nearly all of them.

Anywhere baitfish-eating predators swim is prime territory for minnow shaking. It’s effective for catching bass, walleye, pike, trout, and panfish from shorelines, points, weedbeds, sand flats, bays, and other shallow locations. Using the technique to catch fish from deep, offshore structures, or those suspending in lake basins, often simply requires increasing the jig’s weight to keep the presentation in the strike zone.

No, catching fish shaking a minnow is easy without forward-facing sonar. A well-executed retrieve will make any CrushCity soft-plastic minnow come alive. While traditional 2D sonar and side-imaging are helpful for locating fish, electronics aren’t essential for success. Even bank anglers without electronics can catch a lot of fish by shaking a minnow.

This said, many would classify minnow shaking as a sonar-driven technique because it becomes exponentially more efficient and powerful when combined with forward-facing sonar. Live electronics enable anglers to find fish, determine their feeding depth, and target specific ones with unprecedented speed and accuracy.

The CrushCity Mooch Minnow, Freeloader, and The Jerk are top choices for hover-strolling, and they’re frequently featured in the Top 10 Baits from top-tier bass tournaments spanning from Northern Ontario lakes to southern US impoundments. Each bait offers unique advantages, so it’s wise to have all three in your collection.

The Mooch Minnow and The Jerk are crafted from Rapala’s Super TPE, a buoyant, ultra-durable, stretchy, and pliable material. The Freeloader, on the other hand, is made with CrushCity’s PVC formula, which is more resilient and dense than typical plastisol, yet retains all the desirable qualities anglers expect from premium PVC soft baits.

Every CrushCity bait is produced using Rapala’s Smart Injection Technology. This advanced soft-bait manufacturing process combines custom colour, flake, salt, and scent combinations precisely where needed for the ideal presentation.

Recently, Rapala has extended the body length sizes of the Mooch Minnow, Freeloader, and The Jerk. This expansion gives anglers more options to match the hatch and tailor their minnow-shaking presentation to various scenarios.

These new sizes also broaden the appeal of these baits for multi-species fishing. For example, the smallest Mooch Minnow, at 2-1/2 inches, is highly effective for panfish and trout, and it’s also a great downsized presentation for fussy walleye and bass. Conversely, the upsized 7-inch The Jerk and the 6.25-inch Freeloader are outstanding for catching trophy smallmouth and largemouth bass, giant walleye, northern pike, and lake trout.

Several VMC jigs are designed with soft-plastic minnow tactics in mind, and feature balanced designs, rock-solid keepers to lock plastics in place, and ultra-sharp, strong hooks. The latest releases for the 2026 fishing season include the Grip-R Jighead (available in Finesse and Heavy configurations) and the Minnow Shaker Jig.  Other proven minnow-shaking picks include the RedLine Series Tungsten Swimbait Jig, Hybrid Swimbait Jig, Tungsten Moon Eye Jig, and Neon Moon Eye Jig.