Berkley's Flicker Minnow

On April 15, Pure Fishing and Kevin Jarnagin of Blue Heron Communications announced to the angling world that Berkley's Flicker Minnow will be on the market in June. And with that note, Gary Parsons of Glidden, Wisconsin, could commence publicly singing his praises about its manifold virtues. And straightaway, Parsons posted a short video clip on his The Next Bite website about the Flicker Minnow.

Parsons is a noted walleye angler, who has competed on a variety of walleye tournament circuits for 31 years, and at those many events, his name has graced the top or near the top of the leader boards nearly a hundred times. Moreover, he has garnered six angler-of-the-year trophies and numerous other honors. During this spell, his insights have embellished many pages of In-Fisherman's publications, such as his book entitled "Walleye Trolling Secrets" that In-Fisherman published in 1991.

His influence is indelible -- especially his genius for developing and using crankbaits.

In mid-2010 he and Keith Kavajecz of Kaukauna, Wisconsin, started helping the lure designers and engineers create, modify, and field test the Flicker Minnow.

They wanted to create a bait that was longer and dove deeper than the Flicker Shad. They also wanted it to replicate the characteristics of a pelagic minnow, such as a smelt and emerald shiner. What's more, they wanted it to perform equally well on the Great Lakes and western reservoirs and at all of the waterways in between those two extremes.

The body of the initial prototype was considerably different than the final one, and when Parsons and Kavejecz field tested the original one, they couldn't get it to work consistently in all kinds of situations and waterways. Ultimately, they discarded that model. Then they started from scratch by sitting down at a computer, and with the assistance of Keith Ostrum, they used a CAD software program to design the crankbait of their dreams. Ostrum is Pure Fishing's Product Development Manager and Senior Project Manager, and Parsons endlessly thanks him for his patience in allowing them to create a peerless crankbait.

Throughout 2011, 2o12 and into 2013, they created and tested an array of handcrafted prototypes, which they incessantly revised and adjusted. After they developed a nearly perfect hand-made Flicker Minnow, they advanced to the task of mending and fine-tuning the machine-made prototypes.

The staff at Berkley spent a lot of time testing it in their glass tanks, while Parsons, Kavejecz and Parsons' son, Chase of Denmark, Wisconsin, field tested it.

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Throughout the 2013 walleye tournament season, Gary Parsons, Kavejecz and Chase Parsons used it, and it yielded impressive dividends. For example, Gary Parsons and Chris Hansen of Saint Michael, Minnesota, used it to catch 21 walleye that weighed 137.13 pounds of walleye and win the Angler Insight Marketing's Bay of Green Bay tournament at Oconto, Wisconsin. What's more, Chase Parsons and his partner utilized it at that same tourney, and they finished in fifth place and pocketed $4,700. Likewise, Kavejecz and his partner used it to place in eighth place and win $3,500.

It also helped Gary Parsons to inveigle an impressive array of walleye at tournaments at Lake Erie and Sturgeon Bay.

Parsons says that tournament situations provide the ultimate test for measuring the effectiveness of a bait, and in 2013, the Flicker Minnow, which was still in its research-and-development phase, proved that it is a top-of-the-line crankbait.

Parsons said another excellent measure of its effectiveness occurred when he used at Lake Superior, which is not a superb walleye lake, and at this trying and stingy waterway, it allured a remarkable catch of walleye.

Not only did it bewitch nearly unending numbers of walleye from various environments around the Great Lakes, but Kavejecz and both of the Parsons worked with it to catch countless numbers of walleyes on a variety of other kinds of waterways.

Moreover, the engineers and designers who monitored the tank tests told Parsons that it is the finest performing crankbait that they have ever tested. And, of course, they have tested untold numbers of prototype crankbaits, as well as crankbaits manufactured by other companies.

In a conversation that we had with Gary Parsons on Sept. 10, 2013, at a media event at Table Rock Lake, he said he and the staff at Berkley were working on a new crankbait. At that time, he said that it was the most tank and tournament tested crankbait ever created. Because the Flicker Minnow was still in its research and development phase, he wasn't able to utter any details. But he did say it was the best crankbait that he has ever used. And since Pure Fishing introduced it to the angling world on April 15, he has been able to talk incessantly and in detail about its many attributes.

The pitch of its bill is sharp, which allows it to dive deeper than similar crankbaits. Its internal weight system facilitates casting.

The body of the Size 7 Flicker Minnow is 2.75 inches long, and that doesn't include the length of its long, clear-plastic bill. Parsons says it can be trolled into 14 to 17 feet of water, and its dive curve is radical. It weighs a quarter of an ounce, and it is enhanced with a state-of-the-art internal rattles.

The Size 9's body is 3.5 inches long. It weighs a third of an ounce and can be trolled into 18 to 23 feet of water. It possesses the same internal rattles as the Size 7.

Both sizes are tuned to perfection. And as they swim and flicker through the water and across various lairs, they undulate with a noticeable rolling action.

Parsons noted that more sizes are in the offing, and it is likely those sizes will be similar to the sizes of the Flicker Shad.

They will be available in 12 colors: Black Silver, Chartreuse Pearl, Firetiger, Pearl White, Pink Lemonade, Prime Time, Purple Flash, Racy Shad, Slick Alewife, Slick Firetiger, Slick Green Pearl, and Slick Mouse.

It can be purchased for $5.99.