Diawa SP Minnow.
 

So last year i picked one up at M&D's, i was so sure it would be an absolute killer. Casts like a dream for what it is, has a gorgeous finish and looks like a winner. But i never did catch a fish with it. It was weird for me, i had confidence in it even after the total lack of success. Once last year an one of those days at the canal when everything in the box caught fish that didnt get sniff. I was even throwing unweighted sluggos McKenna style and spanking the fish, but the SP got nothing. Another time at block the only lures that were catching were greenish mambo minnows, the SP nothing... Who loves em, who hates em? Anyone else have the same experience as me?

There were a lot of times that's all they would touch :smash::wall::fishin:

I used the mackeral pattern with moderate results last season after a friend raved about his success. . . called it his new secret weapon.

I've trolled it from my yak and had a couple of small takes.Nothing to write home about.

Keep on fishing it. ;)

Rob I've had decent success with them fishing them with a go pause method of retreive. Holding the reel handle still and working the whole rod itself around the stationary handle for the retreive causing reactionary strikes pretty regularly. I think the Rapid acceleration and deceleration makes them throw caution to the wind and they just crush it.

take note of rip formations as well as current seams, on your retreive try staying in front of the rip line, then center etc. Ahead, middle, back. Hang it in front of em like a meatball :). Dead swings trying to positions ahead! Middle and or through also help. Not the end all and I'm sure very basic direction but these are things I've noticed helped me with them. best of luck.
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IMO the x rap is a better made, better casting, and overall better plug. Caught some of my best fish last year in canal on that in mack pattern. Got 4 in my bag right now and hope to ruin them all in next week or 3. And yes Vic has the right idea as to fish them. I almost jig them in the rips,for lack of a better word, pull up and let fall back in current repeatedly, with really not a lot of reeling until they get in too close. I luv to fish most plugs against the tide and this plug shines doing that.

You heathen! First it was Polish Shads and now Rapala X-raps!

i did good last year swinging them thru a ripline funny thing is i don't really care for the swimming action it don't seen to dive much if the rips 60-80 feet out I'm sure its deep out there...but the fish hit it a foot from the surface... plug took a beating bent the hook wires...i just bought 2 more lol they work

I Picked one up this year, fished it half a dozen times or so, not even a bump. I guess I'll keep trying it and hope for better luck.

Roy L was kind enough to hook me up with one 2 weeks ago.
Only thing I caught so far is my finger. Hooks on the S.O.B are SHARP.....casts like a missle for a little plug. I have always been a HUGE fan of Yozuri Crystal Minnows (red head/ white body) and I always fished em the way Dr Timber speaks of so eloquently. Very similar.

2 weeks ago, I watched the great Mr. T. Orlando SMOKE fish with that plug!

I've had 2 instances since December when it was all they would take.

Its still in the bag. Im going to try Dr Timbers technique. Very informative. Id say thats about worthy of next years cold as a bastard how to threads. Thanks.

Caught quite a few nice fish with that lure last year! Put aside my redfins, bombers, and mambos. Casts well, swims well, right out of the box. Split rings seem a little weak so I change them.

Worst split rings ever!

It's a niche plug .. doesn't catch all of the time ,, not even some of the time ... went thru my all my go to's ,,, nada .. I saw bait spray ,, put the xrap on and got a bump .. put the sp minnow on and fish almost every cast to 30#'s .. Only thing scary about that plug is the tiny hooks .. keep bending them back ,, Tempted to go larger hooks but would probably kill it .. That plug stays in the bag for those rare occasions they are keyed in on small . It's a thin plug ,,no problem carrying it .. I have blue mack ,,, green mack ,, but did well recently with the greenish , flashy side with the black line on it . so happy i had it with me .

Upgrade the hooks, too. I use a 6x VMC 1/0 on the belly and a size 1 on the tail. The smaller the hook, the stronger you need the metal to be. If they come with 4x, those aren't strong enough. ;)

i've done well with them. Schoolies mostly. But i carry them at all times, like Eddie said, small enough to carry in the bag, all of them.

41" heavy 25 #'s ,,, since upgraded to 6X ,,,,, thanks Ditch .

Congrats Eddie. I threw one today but only got tiny fish
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not a tiny fish lure ... been getting some nice fish on it ,.. That fish today was loaded with sand eels ,, explains a lot .

grabbed 4 fish to high teens never changed rings or hooks lol danger is my middle name lol

First split ring fail ever (on any lure though i change many) for me yesterday with a SP. Will change them all now. There was a time yesterday before "it" happen that I caught a dozen fish on the SP while everyone else was throwing poppers and catching almost nothing. After that the pencils were the way to go as most of fish were too far out for the SP.

There's always 1 in the bag.

Just curious, those not having great daytime success - are you using a heavy leader? The canal is one of those places where during those those clear days you get more hookups with the lighter leader.
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The split rings fail after two or three good fish. I added a better split ring and a 4X VMC hook (2/0? same size, stolen from another plug) on the belly, and lost the tail hook as these are small plugs and tend to be inhaled. Set up like this, the plug will go up to 4 feet deep and I like the action even better.

Update:

They work. But then again most everything seemed to be working the last couple days. There was one time when the fish got picky and that was all they would take.

I bought one yesterday but haven't had a chance to use it yet

they look and seem weighted right, Change those hooks and split rings because what they come with are weak I bent one with my finger

During stupid fishing on the canal last friday, we learned you can catch 4 to 5 good fish before needing to replace the hooks and rings.

For those of you that want it to dive deeper:

Take the tail hook off, and put on a 2/0 4x VMC treble and a nice split ring on the belly. It dives about 3-5 feet that way and the swimming action is much more intense.