By Joe Cermele

I read a ton of different blogs and websites about fishing, but one of my favorites has to be Wired2Fish. They are, in my opinion, one of the most provocative bass-related sites on the interwebs. Today, writer Jason Sealock posted an article over on Wired than poses an interesting question: How often to you ditch rubber skirts on spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and buzzbaits in favor of soft-plastics? I'm sure, like me, you slap all kinds of soft-plastic trailers on these lures, but Sealock makes some very good arguments for losing the skirts all together.

First and foremost, Sealock argues that when you take a run-of-the-mill lure like a spinnerbait and alter its profile just a little bit, it can make all the difference in the world and catch a bunch more fish. But he also says that losing the skirt and adding a more streamlined soft-plastic is going to make lures with gangly wire arms skip under docks and cover more easily. Ditch the skirt on a buzzbait and switch in a soft-plastic, and Sealock says it will glide over grass, pads, and weeds a lot smoother.

So how many of you have already been losing the skirts? If you haven't, do you think some of Sealock's points are valid? I do. Check out the full article here. 

Comments (10)

from -Bob wrote 30 weeks 4 days ago

I've been doing this for years, but from a reverse angle -- that is, adding gangly wire arms to soft plastics. A white Mr. Twister is a beautiful thing, but adding a bit of flash is sometimes all it takes.

This technique works particularly well for on spooked PA stockies that have been pelted with all manner of weirdness for a couple of hours on Opening Day...

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from tourneyking734 wrote 30 weeks 4 days ago

I think that beetle spins are pretty close to what this is here, and those have always worked very well for me.

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from Koldkut wrote 30 weeks 4 days ago

I like non-skirted baits for certain species of fish.

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from blevenson wrote 30 weeks 3 days ago

This rig is absolutely dynamite for eater pike. I don't think I have fished a rig that has caught more pike for me than this one. You get bitten off sometimes but it happens to the best of us. I have had more success fishing this for smallmouths up north than largemouths where I do most of my fishing in central MN.

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from deanlikes2fish wrote 30 weeks 3 days ago

Redrum fishermen have been doing that for years, there is even a company that makes those spinnerbaits under the moniker "Redfish Magic", anyway they work great on MI smallis as well as Coastal NC trout, redfish and flounder.

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from Tom-Tom wrote 30 weeks 3 days ago

I've used 7-9 inch black plastic worms on large buzzbaits for years, but found them best when matched to a larger buzzbait such as the old original Lunker Lure. On the 1/8th oz buzzbaits I use 4in black worms. They can be worked slower than the skirted models, and there are times when s-l-o-w is the key.

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from 357 wrote 30 weeks 3 days ago

I've done this a couple of times, the first was a total accident I grabbed my rod and headed for the pond third of fourth cast the skirt came off my spinner bait i had a double tail mister twister in my pocket put it on and the bass HAMMERED it. i always make sure to keep some sort of soft plastic to change up if the skirts aren't working.

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from wisc14 wrote 30 weeks 2 days ago

good idea on for the buzzbaits.
a lot of the areas i fish are so lightly pressured though that i really don't need to change up the look of manufactured lures to catch fish however

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from Josh's Flys JZ wrote 30 weeks 1 day ago

i use buck tail of 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 different colors

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from tourneyking734 wrote 30 weeks 4 days ago

I think that beetle spins are pretty close to what this is here, and those have always worked very well for me.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from -Bob wrote 30 weeks 4 days ago

I've been doing this for years, but from a reverse angle -- that is, adding gangly wire arms to soft plastics. A white Mr. Twister is a beautiful thing, but adding a bit of flash is sometimes all it takes.

This technique works particularly well for on spooked PA stockies that have been pelted with all manner of weirdness for a couple of hours on Opening Day...

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Koldkut wrote 30 weeks 4 days ago

I like non-skirted baits for certain species of fish.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from blevenson wrote 30 weeks 3 days ago

This rig is absolutely dynamite for eater pike. I don't think I have fished a rig that has caught more pike for me than this one. You get bitten off sometimes but it happens to the best of us. I have had more success fishing this for smallmouths up north than largemouths where I do most of my fishing in central MN.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from deanlikes2fish wrote 30 weeks 3 days ago

Redrum fishermen have been doing that for years, there is even a company that makes those spinnerbaits under the moniker "Redfish Magic", anyway they work great on MI smallis as well as Coastal NC trout, redfish and flounder.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Tom-Tom wrote 30 weeks 3 days ago

I've used 7-9 inch black plastic worms on large buzzbaits for years, but found them best when matched to a larger buzzbait such as the old original Lunker Lure. On the 1/8th oz buzzbaits I use 4in black worms. They can be worked slower than the skirted models, and there are times when s-l-o-w is the key.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from 357 wrote 30 weeks 3 days ago

I've done this a couple of times, the first was a total accident I grabbed my rod and headed for the pond third of fourth cast the skirt came off my spinner bait i had a double tail mister twister in my pocket put it on and the bass HAMMERED it. i always make sure to keep some sort of soft plastic to change up if the skirts aren't working.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from wisc14 wrote 30 weeks 2 days ago

good idea on for the buzzbaits.
a lot of the areas i fish are so lightly pressured though that i really don't need to change up the look of manufactured lures to catch fish however

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Josh's Flys JZ wrote 30 weeks 1 day ago

i use buck tail of 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 different colors

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.