I would use this weld rod
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f1...g/143_4383.jpg
and minnows rigged on a long rod with a bait caster spooled with 30 lb plus braid. Hold the weld rod directly over the brush and with your thumb let it go straight into the heavyest part of the brush. Thumb it down a bit hold a bit then let a little more off and hold a bit until you reach the bottom then slowly reel it back up holding it stationary at various intervals. The hook is smaller that what I would normally use but it was the first I could find for this picture. At times I will have a second hook rigged on the top part of the rod but realizing the other minnow will be shook off the hook as you bring a fish out of the water.
Once you get the feel of the rig you can tell if you no longer have a minnow on your rig.
“There is no difference between communism and socialism, except in the means of achieving the same ultimate end: communism proposes to enslave men by force, socialism—by vote. It is merely the difference between murder and suicide.” Ayn Rand