Sebile Bonga Minnow ~ A Chunky Topwater Walking Morsel

The bonga minnow is a member of the herring and shad family commonly found in the estuaries and along the west coast of Africa.

It's also a superb new topwater lure found in Sebile's product line. It comes in three sizes.

Model	Size	Weight	Type	Level	Line Test
Bonga Minnow 72	3" / 72mm	3/8 oz / 10g	Floating	Topwater	4 to 12 lb
Bonga Minnow 95	3-3/4" / 95mm	3/4 oz / 21g	Floating	Topwater	8 to 30 lb
Bonga Minnow 125 FW+	5" / 125mm	2 oz / 55g	Floating	Topwater	12 to 40 lb

FW+: Full Wire Reinforced. Also available in Foam-Filled Salt & Sun series.

Bonga Minnow 72: This a topwater morsel that has a short, fat profile. Fish can't help but smash such a compact, chunky topwater bait walking across the surface. The 72 is best fished and the most fun with relatively light tackle.
Bonga Minnow 95: For medium or average size gamefish, the Bonga Minnow 95 is a great length (about 3.7 inches) and just so chunky. If there is some wind, the bulky body of the Bonga Minnow 95 helps you keep slack out of your line as you work it.It really makes a tempting mouthful on medium to medium-heavy topwater tackle. Just walk the dog with it. It moves a lot of water to make it very noticeable from afar. Its wake and disturbance makes it seem to be a bigger prey.
Bonga Minnow 125: To give a little secret away, the Full Wire Reinforced Bonga Minnow 125 is one of Patrick Sebile's favorite topwaters with which to target trophy fish. So if you know where a behemoth fish is hanging out, it may be time to tempt it with a big Bonga Minnow 125! It may look large and hard to work, but truth is that only the smallest of rod movements are needed to activate it's side to side walking action. It really doesn’t tire you like some others big topwaters, is easy to cast and its shape is easily engulfed by big fish. Although the head of a Bonga Minnow is very wide, the tail is very thin so fish get hooked securely, and few fish are lost.

Another Extra Little Tip: Patrick Sebiles says, "Bonga Minnows of all sizes are deadly for stop-and-go retrieves with pauses!"

The Bonga Minnow 95 (top 2) and Bonga Minnow 72 (bottom) are some of Sebile's most successful models in saltwater.

Size comparison of Bonga Minnow 95 and 72.

Bonga Minnow 125 (top), 95 (center) and 72 (bottom).

Sebile Bonga Minnow 72 ~ Topwater ~ Natural Shiner

Sebile Bonga Minnow 72 ~ Topwater ~ Blue Chrome

Note that the Bonga Minnow 95 comes with saltwater hooks that are also perfect for freshwater bass, especially a little bigger size of bass on a little heavier that usual topwater tackle. If you are fishing in an area or with tackle more suited to average size bass, you may replace the saltwater hooks with same size freshwater hooks. For example, in the photo below, the stock tin-colored hooks (bottom) have been switched out for Mustad #36102 BLN #2 trebles. The Mustad 36102 is still a very strong #2 hook, yet a little easier to set on average size bass with average strength topwater tackle.

Stock tin hooks (bottom) may optionally be replaced with freshwater #2 hooks. In this case, Mustad #36102BLNs (not included).