Bandit Does it Again! The NEW Suspending Minnow Walleye Crankbait for 2022 – Bait School Bite Spec

Bandit Lures’ newest walleye lure opens a once-secret strategy to every angler and provides a highly valuable walleye trolling lure, especially during the pre-spawn period.

A lure designed for trolling, but also engineered to suspend in the water column? With trolling being a generally steady approach, it might seem like those concepts contradict one another.

In truth, a suspending lure is critical to innovative strategies used secretly for many years by select walleye anglers in the Great Lakes Region and Zander anglers in Europe. Until now, these anglers had to custom weight their favorite Bandits to suspend, which is a touchy process when lures must remain properly balanced and true running to be effective, and it is not something most anglers would want to take on.

That’s why in-the-know anglers have been begging Bandit for suspending version of their favorite trolling lure and what led to the development of the Bandit Suspending Minnow. Let’s take a closer look.

Lure Specs

Bandit Lures used the same body shape as the legendary Bandit Walleye Deep and Walleye Shallow when creating the Bandit Suspending Minnow. The size and shape are deeply proven, and there was simply no reason to stray from this body design.

Differences are in the lip, which controls the running depth and swimming action, and in the weighting, which allows the bait to suspend and is critical for proper balance. The Suspending Minnow runs to an in-between depth, relative to the Walleye Shallow and Deep, and it has a tight, aggressive swimming action.

The Bandit Suspending Minnow comes in 14 colors, including several favorites from the Bandit Walleye Deep and Walleye Shallow series.

When To Use It

The Bandit Suspending Minnow provides an important advantage any time the fish are somewhat neutral or negative, possibly due to a cold front or heavy fishing pressure. It also comes into play for flat-line trolling when the walleyes aren’t quite shallow or deep because of the in-between depths it natural hits.

Most importantly, for this time of year, the Suspending Minnow appeals to pre-spawn fish that are slow moving and relating to slower forage, in much the same way a suspending jerkbait appeals to pre-spawn bass.

Where to Fish

Open water doubly defines areas for fishing the Bandit Suspending Minnow this time of year. Walleye waters need to be open, as in free of covering ice, and legally open to fishing.

Those factors noted, this a fairly large lure designed primarily for trolling, so it’s generally at its best on good-sized walleye lakes or rivers, especially those where the walleyes relate significantly to open-water baitfish species and grow to large sizes.

For pre-spawn fish focus on flats or breaks just off flats just outside mouths of rivers the fish move into when the spawn or in the vicinity of spawning areas in lakes.

Why a Suspending Minnow?

When walleyes are aggressive, a bait rising when the motion stalls on an inside turn of a trolling pass creates a strike trigger. For tentative fish, the same movement would turn them away. The Suspending Minnow hangs enticingly in place in the same situation, and that pause can be just enough to entice a strike.

Because of the Bandit Suspending Minnow’s unique capability to suspend level, this creates outstanding crankbait trolling opportunities at a time when most walleye anglers would not have chosen a trolling approach in the past.  

How To Fish

Two attributes destinguish this specialized trolling approach. First, trolling speeds tend to be slower than normal. Second, intentional turns are a critical element for capitalizing on this lure’s capacity to suspend.

Pre-spawn walleyes tend to be inactive, overall, so slow is the way to go. Keep the bait moving just fast enough to keep the lure’s wobbling, diving action engages when the boat is going straight.

Turns are critical to coaxing strikes because the inside lines slow and even pause for a moment, suspending in the strike zone, and that can be the difference maker. Incorporate slow regular turns in both directions. When inside rod tips lose their wobble, the bait is suspending. Pay extra close attention when they are slack and just as they tighten when the boat straightens, and they begin wobbling again.