Northwest Fishing Reports

Does anyone here have any experience with the Banjo Minnow? Are they worth it or is it all hype?

What a great topic in my opinion! I forgot about these lures in my tackle box. My girlfriend bought me the kit of Banjo Minnows as advertised on tv. All I can say from my stand point is that they are over hyped and not that effect in my opinion. I have caught maybe 2 smallmouths of fa banjo minnow. I would say spend your money else where. Now, one factor that might skew my opinion is that I might not be fishing them correctly, but I have watched the video and still no success. Maybe I should use them more often. I would suggest you try one out if possible and make your judgement from there.

I saw a box of them when I walked by the as seen on store a couple weeks ago. Just chuckled.

Yeah, got a box of those banjo minnows like 10 years ago and never used them lol. Maybe next time we go to potholes ill try them by goose island on the rocks for walleye and smallmouth,im sure theyd catch one of the two there.

i have used them a few times with limited success so they are out in my catch-all shed, of course if you fish with any one type of lure long enough you'll catch something! there are so many types of plastics/rubber baits out there that you just need to learn how to fish them.

They were already ordered and on the way prior to me making this post. Oh well. I'm sure they are good for something.

panfisher wrote:there are so many types of plastics/rubber baits out there that you just need to learn how to fish them.

I am dazzled by the vast array of lures available every time I walk into the fishing section of just about any store. Do you have any advice on where I might learn more about how to use different lures? I have tried reading the back of the packages and found almost no help there.

First there was "The Flying lure" Than come along "The banjo Minnow" / I honestly think that they make lures like this for guys who dont know any better .. Hears some Good advise for any T.V. PROMOTIONAL lures .. "If you dont ever hear about these lures on any official bass fishing tour i.e. FLW , bassmasters, DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE ..trust me your a better fisherman than just a promo kit ..

Hey Snarg. I'm not much of a bass fisherman so take this with a grain of salt, but in my opinion they are as good as any soft plastic minnow. I have a couple in my box, they often seem to catch the stupider smaller bass in the pound or so range. From my experience fishing it it's one of those lures that bass usually come look at, glance at it as to say "whatever", and swim off. They're fun to retrieve at least!

I got some banjo minnos years ago and have caught only a few fish on them. Try using them for spawning bass which will take most anything if presented correctly. That is probably the only way that you will get your money worth out of them. And hey Dez you should really try those flying lures sometime. I have suprisingly had great success with the 3" ones, especially when fishing docks that are flush with the water because they do actually glide under the dock pretty well. In fact my biggest smallie at 6.5 lbs came on a flying lure.

Snarg wrote:Does anyone here have any experience with the Banjo Minnow? Are they worth it or is it all hype?

OK Snarg, now for a somewhat different opinion. Banjo Lures are a tool, nothing more and nothing less.

I have caught Bull Trout, Rainbow (over 26" below Libby Dam in MT), Browns, small mouth bass, largh mouth bass, and a few crappie on them. But there is a time and a place for them.

When you would fish a plastic jerk bait, they are better than most styles. But remember, they are essentially just a plastic jerk bait with a bit more action.

You can make your own version by getting "hitch-hickers" from stamina and matching with your own hooks, using just about any plastic bait with a sitck or minnow shape.

Flying lures, they work too in certain conditions, but .........tool, nothing more and nothing less.