Light Fishing: Topwater and Minnows

Last weekend I had a short fishing session in the morning. After a medium-heavy spinning trip in the Egean sea it was time for me to try some new light lures and have fun with local horse mackerels and seabass.

The trip was very productive in terms of lure testing and some small action on light gear.

My main purpose was to try some new lures and see its action in the water. My focus was on the DUO spearhead Ryuki and some topwater lures such as the Maria Pop Queen and Pockets Pencil.

I was lucky enough to be fishing in clear and calm waters. This situation might not be very productive for catching but was good enough for seeing the action and casting abilities of the new lures.

What I tried and what I liked


Spearhead Ryuki 45

This little fella was a big surprise. It sinks fast, casts great and has an incredible wobbling action. A main trout lure in the conception, the ryuki was a fun to cast and retrieve. It likes fast retrieves and the faster you crank the reel the happier it swims. I scored two small aji (horse mackarel) in less than 20 minutes. Also I got an hit on a garfish and another missed by an inch.

Great little lure. Aji loves it.

DUO Toto 42

The "salty brother" of the Ryuki. It is lighter and thicker. Somehow I liked the Ryuki more and the action of the Toto was more regular. I didn't get any hits on this one but it doesn't mean it is not capable as the Troutist Ryuki. I need more time to spend with this little Toto.

Toto 42 with single hooks (Decoy size 8)

Jackson Pigmy Box Minnow

This is a very small and cute lure. It might be useful as a keychain too. It is a great lure with a crazy wobbling action. It loves darting movements with rod twitching (somehow is deviates and dives on the left on every stop). It looked more like the Ryuki but maybe with an deeper range. Again, I didn't get any hits and I need more time to spend with the lure.

Maria Pop Queen 5cm

This small popper is a clear winner. I always considered the pop queen series as one of the quintessential poppers. It just "pops" the right and good way. No more no less. I catched many bluefishes with the 105 and 80mm version but never tried the smaller brother before.
After a couple of casts I got a small seabass on shallow waters just 3-4 meters from the shore. The fish itself was small but the catch meant a lot for me. A quick photo and the seabass was back in the water.
A great little popper.

The rest...


My YGK X3 0.4 PE was again as soft and smooth as silk. It id definitely a great cheap ultralight braid.
The Shimano Elf 2000S has done the job as usual. Smooth retrieve and cranking.

As for the snaps, I have used the regular size 0 WaterLand Snaps and the Gamakatsu size SS.

The leader was a 6lb Sufix Invisible Line. Decent fluoro leader.