Sinking Minnow Fishing Lure 45g 120mm – Heavy Long-Cast Plug for Sea Bass and Pike

If you are sick of watching fish crash bait “just out of range”, this sinking minnow fishing lure 45g 120mm is the kind of heavy plug that suddenly makes all that water reachable. It is a streamlined 120 mm body with serious weight behind it, built to punch into the wind, sink fast and wobble back like a panicked baitfish when you crank it through the strike zone.

Why This Lure Works

On paper, the sinking minnow fishing lure 45g 120mm is pretty simple: long, slim body, 45 grams of weight and a tight, hard-thumping action. On the water, that combination is exactly what you want when predators are pinned to current lines, reef edges or the back of the surf. The dense body means it flies like a bullet, so you are not feathering casts and hoping – you are actually reaching the showing fish.

The body profile is classic minnow plug territory – a narrow, baitfish shape that cuts the air and the water. Stout split rings and treble hooks (as shown on the generic 120 mm / 45 g versions of this lure on other tackle sites) are there to cope with proper fish, not just schoolies. A set of 3D eyes and a reflective finish help seal the deal when a bass, pike or tuna tracks it down that last couple of feet before it piles in.

Because it is a true sinking minnow, not a suspending jerkbait, you can count it down and fish pretty much any band of the water column you like. That is what separates heavy plugs like this from lighter shallow divers. Where your standard crank hits a ceiling, a 45 g long-cast minnow just keeps dropping until you tell it otherwise.

If you want a bit more context on where this style of lure sits, have a nosey at your own heavy sinking plug options such as the dedicated heavy sinking minnow lure guide on BassFishingTips.US and the 40 g–60 g sea bass models in the range. They all share the same idea: long cast, fast sink, tight flash and wobble.

How To Fish It

The beauty of a sinking minnow fishing lure 45g 120mm is that you do not need a PhD in rod-twitching to make it work. Count it down, wind it back, mix in a few pauses and rod sweeps, and let the body do the heavy lifting. That said, a bit of thought makes a big difference.

From the shore, treat it like a cross between a metal jig and a traditional jerkbait. Cast as far as you physically can, thumb the spool to keep the line tight and then count it down – one second per metre is a decent rough guide. Once it is where you want it, start with a medium retrieve, rod tip low to the water to keep the line cutting into the chop. Every few turns, give the rod a short sideways sweep and a half-second pause so the lure flares and drops. Bass and seabass often nail it right as it stalls.

In colder water or when the fish are sulking deeper, nick a page from the jerkbait playbook. Bass pros on Bassmaster’s jerkbait features are always banging on about cadence – mix up your twitches and pauses until the fish tell you what they want. Do the same here but let the extra weight work for you: two or three sharp rips, then a pause while the lure sinks back on a semi-slack line. If something is following, that kick and flutter as it drops can be the trigger.

When you are fishing from a boat or kayak, you can get even more aggressive. Cast slightly up-tide or cross-current, count it down so it tracks just above the bottom and then burn-and-kill it back. Short bursts of speed followed by controlled slack make the lure dart, then wobble and sink, imitating a wounded baitfish trying to get back to the school. Heavy sinking minnows are a staple for this on many saltwater boats for a reason.

If you want to go full lure geek, there are some cracking deep dives into minnow styles and retrieve tweaks on sites like Wired2Fish’s minnow bait breakdown. The short version is: mix in speed, pauses and changes of direction; do not just “chuck and wind” like a robot.

When To Use It

Heavy plugs like this really come into their own whenever distance and depth both matter. Think autumn surf sessions when seabass are herding bait just off the back bar, big wind-blown points on reservoirs where pike are pinned to the first drop, or breakwaters where tuna, mackerel and wolfish predators are smashing bait on the edge of the light.

In open surf, the sinking minnow fishing lure 45g 120mm is ideal when metals are drawing follows but not proper bites. Metals are great search tools but can have a slightly too “spinny” look at times. A long-bodied minnow with a tight wiggle often looks more like a real sand eel or joey mackerel just trying to mind its own business. Cast diagonally across the waves, count it down and then track it back just above where you think the fish are holding.

In clear, cold lakes or big rivers, it is a cracking option for pelagic predators. When baitfish are balled up mid-water, you can bomb the lure past them, let it sink through the school and then rip it back up, which can be easier for the fish to track than a simple spoon or jig. For pike, runs along drop-offs and over mid-lake humps are happy hunting grounds.

Time-of-year-wise, you can fish this from early spring right through to winter, but it shines when fish push bait into wind lanes or structure and you need to cover water fast. In proper winter jerkbait conditions, you might dial back to suspending hard baits, but right on the shoulders of the season a fast-sinking minnow can still be money when paired with a slower jerk-pause retrieve.

Does It Actually Catch Fish?

Short answer: yes, if you put it in the right place. Heavy 120 mm / 45 g sinking minnows like this are a staple on plenty of coastal rocks and harbour walls worldwide. They are popular with seabass, bluefish and tuna anglers because they cast a mile and stand up to a beating. The combination of weight, slim profile and strong hardware makes them ready for serious fish straight out of the packet.

If you are used to only fishing lighter shallow divers, the first few sessions can be a bit of an eye-opener. Suddenly you are hitting fish that you previously watched from the beach, and you will quickly realise how often bass and other predators sit just off the first major depth change. It is also a nice halfway house between “chuck-and-chance-it” metals and more finesse jerkbaits.

Big sites and pro anglers that focus on minnow-shaped lures – especially jerkbaits and sinking plugs – routinely highlight how effective they are once you nail cadence and depth control. You can dig into plenty of examples on Bassmaster’s deep jerkbait tactical pieces, even though they mostly talk suspending baits; the logic of keeping a minnow-profile lure in front of fish for longer is the same.

Gear Pairing

A sinking minnow fishing lure 45g 120mm is not a toy, so leave the little brook-trout stick at home. From the shore, look for a rod in the 9 ft–10 ft range rated somewhere around 15 g–50 g or 20 g–60 g. You want something with a crisp, fastish blank that will punch 45 grams into the wind without folding like a wet noodle.

On the reel front, a 4000–5000 size spinning reel with a sensible drag is the sweet spot. Load it with 20 lb–30 lb braid and a 20 lb–30 lb fluoro or mono leader. If you are leaning towards tuna or proper toothy things, beef the leader up accordingly. This sort of setup mirrors what you would already be using for the other heavy minnows in your box, like the ones in your own 40 g–60 g heavy sinking minnow range.

If you want to get nerdy about jerkbait and minnow hardware, there is a good general rundown of rod, reel and line pairings for hard baits in a lot of the jerkbait content on Bassmaster and Wired2Fish. But honestly, if your rod comfortably casts 45 g and your reel does not sound like a cement mixer, you are most of the way there.

Specs

• Product type: Heavy sinking minnow fishing lure
• Body length: 120 mm
• Weight: 45 g
• Body profile: Slim, minnow-style hard plug
• Buoyancy: Sinking, designed for long casts and fast drop
• Target species: Bass/seabass, pike, tuna, mackerel and other pelagics
• Hardware: Stout split rings and treble hooks (generic 120 mm / 45 g pattern)
• Typical colours: Baitfish tones like silver, blue, green and flashy patterns depending on stock
• Best use: Long-range shore casting, rock marks, breakwaters, boat work over reefs and drop-offs

FAQ

Final Verdict

If your current lure box tops out at 20 g crankbaits and a couple of battered spoons, this sinking minnow fishing lure 45g 120mm is the plug that opens up a lot of water you simply have not been able to cover properly. It casts like a rocket, sinks quickly into the danger zone and comes back with a tight, no-nonsense wobble that just screams “lunch” to anything with teeth.

Whether you are standing on a windswept point aiming at seabass, leaning over a harbour wall where tuna are shredding bait or sliding along a big pike reservoir, this style of lure has earned its place. It is not fancy. It is not subtle. It just gets out there, gets down and gets whacked. Stick one in the box next to your other heavy sinking minnows, and you will find yourself reaching for it whenever distance and depth both matter.

When the bait is just out of range, clip this on, send it to the horizon and get ready for that rod-yanking thud.