Fiiish

Fiiish Black Minnow at Charlie's Fishing: the weedless softbait for sea bass

Fiiish is a French softbait brand from Brest in Brittany. Matthieu Guennal, a graphic designer and sea bass angler, built the first Black Minnow prototypes in his garage, and together with his brother Pierre and Frédéric Orlach he sold the first ones in August 2010. The idea: a pre-rigged shad with the hook point hidden in the body, so you can fish it right through rocks and weed where sea bass hunt. Design and assembly are still done in Brittany. At Charlie's Fishing we stock the Black Minnow in all three sizes, 90, 105 and 120, as ready-to-fish combos, spare bodies, jig heads and Krog hooks, plus the Power Tail Evo and Fiiish snaps. Below you find which size and which head to choose.

How the Black Minnow works: body, head and hidden hook

Every Black Minnow is three parts. A soft paddle tail body with a lifelike swim even at slow speed, a khaki jig head that sets the weight and depth, and a Krog hook made by VMC that sits in a slot along the back, so the point stays hidden until a fish bites. That makes it weedless and snag resistant around rocks, harbour walls and kelp. Because the parts are sold separately, you change the head for the depth and current and keep fishing the same body. The heads have names: Shallow and Shore for shallow water and calm conditions, Search to cover water at medium depth, Off Shore for deeper water and current, and Deep and X-Deep for vertical fishing and strong tide. Read the full story in our Fiiish Black Minnow guide.

Fiiish Black Minnow 120 (N3): the big one for sea bass and zander

The 12 cm Black Minnow 120 is the size for bigger sea bass, for fishing in current and from the boat, and it catches zander in fresh water too. Ready to fish: the Black Minnow 120 N3 Combo Shore 12g with a spare body, the Combo Search 18g and the Combo Off Shore 25g, and two rigged lures in one pack in the Double Combo Shore 12g and Double Combo Search 18g. Build your own with the Black Minnow 120 N3 Jigheads from 6 g Shallow to 50 g X-Deep and the Black Minnow 120 Spare Bodies N3.

Fiiish Black Minnow 105 (N2.5): the all-round size

At 10.5 cm the Black Minnow 105 sits between the two: big enough for a good sea bass, light enough for the shore. Choose the Black Minnow 105 N2.5 Combo Shore 8g for shallow water, the Combo Search 12g to cover water and the Combo Off Shore 16g for depth and current. Refill with the Black Minnow 105 N2.5 Jigheads (8, 12 and 16 g) and the Black Minnow 105 N2.5 Spare bodies.

Fiiish Black Minnow 90 (N2): finesse for shallow water and perch

The 9 cm Black Minnow 90 is the light one for shallow coasts, harbours and estuaries, and for perch and zander in fresh water. Ready to fish: the Black Minnow 90 N2 Shore Combo 5g, the Off Shore Combo 10g, and the double packs Double Combo Shore 5g and Double Combo Search 8g. Spare parts: the Black Minnow 90 N2 Jigheads (5, 8, 10 and 20 g) and the Black Minnow 90 Spare Bodies N2. See the whole system in our Fiiish Black Minnow collection.

Fiiish Krog hooks and snaps

The Fiiish Black Minnow Spare Hooks Krog are the sharp, slightly offset spare hooks for the hook slot, in N2, N2.5 and N3, four per pack. Change them when the point gets dull on the rocks. The Fiiish Snaps are compact stainless steel snaps that leave the nose of a light lure free to swing, from Ultra Light 8 kg for perch and shore fishing to Extra Strong 50 kg, ten per pack. The Fiiish the Glue keeps the body tight on the jig head, so it stays in place bite after bite and lasts longer. More in Hooks and Rigs, Jigheads and Small fishing tackle.

Fiiish Power Tail Evo: compact vibration lure

The Power Tail Evo is a dense, streamlined vibration lure that casts far and sends a tight, high-frequency vibration even at slow speed, for reaction bites from perch, trout and asp, on the cast or jigged. It comes in three sizes: Power Tail Evo 30 (3 cm), Power Tail Evo 40 (4 cm, 5 g) and Power Tail Evo 50 (5 cm). See all Vibration Baits.

Which Black Minnow for which situation

• Sea bass from beaches, harbours and estuaries in calm water: Black Minnow 90 or 105 with a Shore head.
• Covering water along the coast: Search head, 8 g on the 90, 12 g on the 105, 18 g on the 120.
• Current, tide and deeper water: Off Shore head, or Deep and X-Deep on the 120.
• Bigger sea bass and fishing from the boat: Black Minnow 120.
• Perch and zander in fresh water: Black Minnow 90 or 105.
• Reaction bites from perch, trout and asp: Power Tail Evo. See Seabass, Seabass Softbaits, Perch and Zander.

Why buy Fiiish at Charlie's Fishing

We fish the Black Minnow ourselves on the Dutch coast and stock all three sizes with the heads, bodies and hooks to keep them fishing, not just a few combos. Every product ships from our own stock in the Netherlands with fast delivery across Europe, and we can tell you which head weight fits your spot and tide. The Charlie's Fishing Giftbox regularly contains Fiiish lures too.

Where does Fiiish come from?

Fiiish is a French brand from Brest in Brittany, founded in 2010 by Matthieu Guennal, his brother Pierre and Frédéric Orlach. The Black Minnow is still designed and assembled in Brittany.

What do Shore, Search and Off Shore mean?

They are the jig head weights. Shore is the light head for shallow, calm water, Search the medium head to cover water, and Off Shore the heavy head for depth and current. The 120 also has Shallow, Deep and X-Deep.

Which Black Minnow size should I choose?

The 90 for shallow water, light tackle and perch, the 105 as the all-round shore size for sea bass, and the 120 for bigger sea bass, current and fishing from the boat.