Phat Results: Testing the Skinny Minnie Pattern

Adapted from Capt. John King's article "Phat Results on the Skinny Minnie," written late fall 2017 on MichiganSportsman.com. Read the original.

On September 26, 2017, Capt. John and Todd B. went out of Manistee to test a new color with low expectations. They caught only 4 fish, all Coho, but three topped 12 lb and one weighed 16.95 lb, a record for John's boat.

The new pattern

• The Alewife SUV Salmon Buster spoon was John's #1 seller in 2017, so he put the same baitfish-image tape on flashers and meat rigs.
• On the boat, "Alewife SUV" became "Skinny Minnie."
• He'd done the same thing in 2016, when the Ghostbuster spoon pattern "earned the right" to become flashers and meat rigs.

How John tested it

Run the new color head-to-head against a proven one. In 2016, Ghostbuster went against X-Glow Frog, which had been "pounding out boxes of Salmon since 2006." In 2017, the proven Ghostbuster was the control against Skinny Minnie. Final tally: 5 hits, 3 on Skinny Minnie and 2 on Ghostbuster. It went into production for 2018.

The trip details

• Conditions: late September, daytime highs near 90°F, seas under 2' going flat calm by noon.
• Thermocline: pushed down to 70–80' by recent south winds. "Perfect depths for a dedicated meat program."
• Spread: 6 rods, all meat. 2 riggers, 2 wire divers, a 300' copper and a 450' copper.
• Where: about 125' of water, using structure.
• Speed: slow, about 1.8–2.0 mph, with a little extra bend in whole bait in Super Mag heads for a snappy roll.
• Bites: 8:52am to 11:56am, on both 10" and 12" Skinny Minnie combos.

Big Coho

John had caught thousands of Coho since 1968, and only two over 16 lb: one in 1999 and this one. Most adult Coho run 8–10 lb. "You don't know, unless you go."

About fish finders

John compared his older Raymarine with a 50 kHz wide-angle transducer to a newer Simrad with CHIRP and side scan. The Raymarine marked deep fish better; the Simrad marked high fish better, and side scan showed promise for spotting fish off to the side when surface temperatures are in the 50s or lower.

Shop the colors: Ghostbuster combo · X-Glow Green Frog Meat Rig · Salmon Buster spoons