YUM FF Sonar Minnow & Jighead Offerings Expanded

YUM has filled an important niche by adding new sizes of the highly popular FF Sonar Minnow and FF Sonar Jigheads for Catching Bass and More.

Nothing remains secret on the biggest stage in professional bass fishing – the Bassmaster Classic – which is where the angling world learned about the YUM FF Sonar Minnow system in 2022. Jason Christie used a technique he had been quietly perfecting for several years and prototype lures created for that technique on the way to winning the ’22 Classic at Lake Hartwell. 

The FF Sonar Minnow system, which he’d used extensively at Oklahoma’s Lake Tenkiller throughout the development process, proved perfect for targeting the suspended deep-water bass that Christie was watching on forward facing sonar and produced all of Christie’s deep-water fish during the Hartwell Classic.

Fittingly, YUM Bait Co. is releasing an expansion of the FF Sonar Minnow line-up at this year’s Bassmaster Classic, which is based in Tulsa, with the competition held on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees March 22-24. The expansion includes the addition of 4- and 5-inch FF Sonar Minnows and larger FF Sonar Jigheads to match with them.

Notably, the new larger FF Sonars could play a critical role on the water at the same Classic where the new sizes will be shown to the broader angling community at the Outdoors Expo.

Original FF Sonar Minnow

The YUM Sonar Minnow offers a slim, shad-like profile, with the body tapering to a small, horizontal forked tail. The body quivers irresistibly when matched with an FF Sonar Jighead and fished with slow reeling and subtle jiggling of the rod tip. The FF Sonar has a molded scale pattern that delivers incredible realism and comes in 10 highly natural color patterns to match different kinds of baitfish and provide options for a range of water colors and light conditions.

The original 3-inch FF Sonar Minnow became an immediate hit, initially with bass anglers seeking to match Christie’s success and using his technique. Soon after, anglers began rigging and presenting the FF Sonar Minnow a variety of ways and finding great success with bass and other gamefish species.

Beyond bass, the 3-inch FF Sonar Minnow has gained popularity with anglers targeting walleyes, stripers, crappie and even saltwater gamefish like speckled trout and redfish. Popular techniques, other than the slow jiggling presentation for fish seen on forward facing sonar, include drop-shotting, using the FF Sonar as a spinnerbait or bladed jig trailer, rigging it weightless to jerk and pause, and rigging it on a jighead or underspin and swimming it like a swimbait.

Demand for Larger Sizes

Of course, it didn’t take long for angers to start asking for the same lure in larger sizes for water that was a little less clear, to match larger forage, to appeal to bigger fish, and to use for other applications. Among those anglers was Jason Christie, who wanted a larger FF Sonar Minnow for destinations like Grand Lake, which is generally clear at the lower end, but not as clear as Lake Tenkiller, where he originally developed the technique.

Christie likes the 4- and 5-inch FF Sonars and corresponding larger jigheads for a beefed-up version of his original technique for targeting fish that are visible on forward facing sonar. However, he’s also excited about using the larger versions as trailers for spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, bladed jigs and swim jigs. He also believes the 5-inch version is likely to be a very important lure for summer fishing on ledges.

With three sizes now available, Christie considers the FF Sonar Minnow a very versatile bait. “It is a bait that is always going to be in my boat,” he said.

All three sizes of  FF Sonar Minnow are available in AYU, Goby, Sight Minnow, Tennessee Shad, Houdini Shad, Gizzard Shad, Clear Shad, Natural Shad, JC Natural and Tenkiller Gold

YUM FF Sonar Jigheads are ball-head style and feature a 90-degree line tie and a sickle style hook for perfect rigging and maximized hook-ups. The new heads, designed to match the larger FF Sonar Minnow, have a 3/O hook, and come in 3/16-,1/4- and 3/8-ounce sizes, all in the same three durable glitter paint finishes as the original FF Sonar Jigheads.