A.C. Plugs
Modernizes the AC Minnow

Date: |
4/12/09 |
Tackle type: |
Lures |
Manufacturer: |
AC Plugs |
Reviewer: |
Zander |
Total Score:
8.0 -
GREAT
Introduction:
Few swimbait companies
have such a storied
history as that of AC
Plugs, and the company
that was among the most
influential in the
beginning of the big
bait craze brings back
their popular AC Minnow
with new performance
enhancements.
AC Plugs
AC
Minnow
Specifications |
Type |
BigBait |
Depth |
Wakebait |
Class |
Floater (F) |
Size |
5", 7",
9" |
Colors/Patterns |
Rainbow,
Shad, Ayu,
Silver Shad,
Chartreuse
Shad, and
Black and
Purple
|
MSRP |
7" ($26.99),
9" ($29.99) |

The AC Minnow is back and features
new diamond foil finishes
Impressions:
Allan Cole was fishing swimbaits back in the 60’s and at that time big brown
trout was his primary quarry. It was only in the mid 80’s did he start targeting
giant stripers with big baits, and he has personally
put 30 brown trout over 10 pounds in the boat, 29 stripers over 40 pounds and
caught 65 largemouth over 10 pounds, which are impressive stats to say the
least! Through this period he also created a number of swimbaits in the
pursuit of trophy fish and he started selling some of them to other anglers
looking to boat monsters, the AC Minnow was one such bait.

The AC Minnow features a rather
subtle plastic tail
The AC Minnow heavily
resembles the handmade AC Real Trout but is much more polished. Four years ago
when I reviewed the Real trout I remarked “while the lure doesn't look
stunningly real, it certainly did look like a collector’s piece.” Each Real
Trout is hand carved and painted bait by Allan himself, and each and every lure
is unique. Though rough in appearance the Real Trout lures we reviewed back in
2005 produced fish and still continue to today.

Time to see if the updated bait is
better than the original
The AC Minnow was first
introduced by AC Plugs then licensed to Optimum who introduced the baits in a
number of new patterns. The license agreement ended two years ago and due to
popular demand AC Plugs has brought back the AC Minnow but with a number of new
enhancements intended to combine the original lure’s proven fish catching design
with contemporary components and enhanced durability.

The lure is armed with Owner hooks
and HyperWire split rings
The new AC Minnow features
multiple layers of gloss for superior durability and under that gloss anglers
will find much more realistic finishes which make use of diamond foil to create
a scale pattern that is flashier than the original painted finishes. The lures
are also armed with Owner hooks and
HyperWire® split rings and
each lure comes in a “QuickShot” lure storage box which allows you to hang the
bait when not in use.

A close look at the new foil
finish on the trout pattern
Real World Tests:
To test the AC Minnow we targeted largemouth bass at the California Delta and
Clear Lake, both of which can be excellent at times for topwater. We knew it was
a bit early for really consistent topwater action as the water was just starting
to heat up at the tail end of winter, but we hoped for a few warm days when the
fish would come up to feed.

The plastic lip has been beefed up
for more durability
Casting:
The AC Minnow is very light for a big bait and weighs in at only 1.8oz. each. It
is possible to fish the lure with a flipping stick but I still prefer to fish it
with a swimbait rod so that I can effortlessly fling the lure and set
energetically on topwater strikes. For the entire test I fished the AC Minnow
with a Dobyns Medium-Heavy 7’9” Mike Long Swimbait Rod, this rod has a lure
weighting of 1-5oz. and as you would expect I could barely even feel the lure on
the end of the line each time I made a cast.

With a steady retrieve the AC
Minnow creates a wake and a clicking sound
Next
Section: A fish calling "click"
