I 've caught plenty of cudas on broken back minnows when everyone else were using the standard blue and white iron. The only drawback is that you have to play them out. No bouncing. There 're something about the action that the cudas really like. Sometimes I even do a dropper loop setup with a 3 once weight and catch them deeper.
Something else that I 've tried is the good old plastic worm. A six to nine incher rigged with 2 exposed hooks ( light wire leader threaded inside the worm ). This 've worked well when the cudas are "touchy" and would only bump the irons.