simulate bottom half of a minnor

Hi All,

I was at a 90+ year old customer's house
helping him archive pictures from when he was
a kid. The ones that got me were the tarps filled
with 20 to 30 3+ lb trout. Wow. So I asked
him what he used. He said the caught a little 2
to 3 inch minnow with a tiny worm, then cut the
minnow in half and floated the bottom (tail)
section down in the current. He also said that
the head section did not work so well, just
the tail section.

Now two days ago another 70+ guy told me the
same thing for spring browns. He also said he
noticed that the plastic swim baits did not work
at all, which I had also noticed. And that the
head section did not work.

Anyone know of a way to simulate the bottom
half of a minnow? Fly? Rubber? Cut the
bottom off a swim bait?

Many thanks,
-T