SKIRTS

[Pop]

Curious as to how many strands most people have in their skirts for jigs, spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits. I am just getting back to using skirts and came across a bag of skirts in the garage that is about 6 years old. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500-2000 skirts. They are all 40 strands. I would think skirts should be 60 strands. Would like to know opinions as to what most people use. Also what do you think of the durability of skirts that old? Pop

[Gr8flyz]

Pop, I think the number of strands in a skirt are part personal choice & part dependant on water clarity. If I'm fishing clear waters, or small baits I like them with less strands, and in off color waters, or where I want a big bait, I like them to be very full so they push more water. Of course there's always times when the opposites work better. I guess most of the time I use skirts in the 30-40 strand range for jigs, spinnerbaits & buzzbaits.

If those skirts are silicone they should be fine, but if they're rubber they might have some deterioration. Also check the collars, even if the skirts are fine the collars may not be good, especially if they're latex. If the skirts happen to be Lumiflex, those things will last nearly forever. Really will depend on what materials you have, and how they were stored. I have a few rubber skirts that are over 10 years old, but are fine. They were kept in sealed bags, in a cool, dark, storage box. I've been told that heat & UV light really hurts some skirt materials.

[Pop]

The vast majority are silicone, but you are right about the collars, I will need to change them. They have been stored in a plastic bag on a top shelf in the garage in an area that doesn't get much light. I guess they should be ok. Have been looking at some skirt assembly tools and would be happy for some suggestions as to which is the best. Thanks, Pop

[siebler_custom_baits]

if they are for personal use just use them the way they are. carry a few extras incase one snapps.

[Markell]

I use 60 strands for my jigs and 40 for my spinnerbaits and buzzbaits(plus 5-10 strands of some accent material). I have not tried any of the high priced skirt tools but my preference is the hollow tube thingy for silicone and the hand held skirt factory for the rubber. I don't make enough of them to justify spending the extra money but this is the part of luremaking that I like the least.

[Pop]

I thought the "hollow tube thingy" (love those technical terms) was for the skirt AND the rubber? Pop

[Markell]

Pop, It can be used for both. My jig skirts are a combination of rubber and silicone. I have a hard time getting 60 strands into this thing. I find it easier to use the skirt factory tool for my jig skirts. But the tube thingy does very well with skirt layers.

[TwoBits]

I carry four inch cable ties to repair those worn out collars. I really think they would work for making new skirts. They can be found in different colors.... red , green, yellow. Or they are either white or black. I use two pair of needle nose to cinch them down tight. There is that small " node " left where they're snipped off, but its generally mostly hidden by the skirt. And even if it shows, I like to use the red ties to put some red in my baits. I've saved a bunch of skirts using those cable ties.

As for the number of strands, I think 40 is the optimum number. Jigs can be effective with less than 40, I don't know that I would want to bulk my jigs up with 60 ... let the trailer provide the bulk.

The Eakins Jig ( or knock offs ) made by Jewel Bait company is a hot seller right now and the way the skirt is cut on that jig it makes a slender bait profile. Used with a small Zoom Critter craw it makes a jig that has a profile more similar to a tube. If you haven't seen the skirt on that bait, Jewel has a website.

http://www.jewelbait.com/

That jig does catch fish. The pros on the Central Pro Am trail in Missouri have been using that cut of a skirt for the past 5 years, very effective in clear water.

[Pop]

Markell-If you don't mind sharing, how are you combining the silicone and rubber. Besides having so many silicone skirts, I also have yards and yards and yards of rubber. The kind you stretch and cut and it explodes into strands. Also if I just make some skirts with the rubber, can I use the rubber collars or am I better off using wire.

Twobits- The jig looks very similar to the new weedless round jig that do-it has except the barb is on top and is not as pointed. The skirt looks like it is just cut short leaving a collar of silicone. Also their price of 5.32, is that for the package of 3 shown next to the jig picture, or is it for just one jig?

Thanks, Pop

[TwoBits]

Yep, thats where Do-It got the basic idea, from Jim Eakins. Eakins has an entire system for fishing that jig on those Missouri lakes, Table Rock, Truman, Lake of the Ozarks, Bull Shoals. He's even developed a rod to compliment his jigs.

That price is for three. There's other knockoffs of that jig. A company here in Oklahoma, Red River Tackle, is making a finesse jig copied from Eakins .

http://www.redrivertackle.com/

And a North Texas company makes a knock-off Eakins.

http://www.strikeworkstackle.com/

A few of those Missouri fisherman were cutting their skirts like that back in the late 90's. Then Eakins modified that round head jig with the double collars to go with the skirt. And he uses the small Zoom Lil Critter craw as a trailer. I think thats integral to the effectiveness of the bait. It has a profile more similar to a swimming craw, with the pinchers brought in together.

Did anyone else see this past months In-Fisherman article on the crawdad study done by Berkely? Very interesting. There was also a little blurb in this months Bassmaster in the crawdad story. Berkely tested different shapes of craw baits to see which one drew the most bites from, I believe, 500 bass. They used a real crawdad and plastic craws, one with no claws, one with no legs, etc. etc. But the winner was one with no appendages at all, more of a tube look.

[Celticav]

I am like Markell in strand count...never had any complaints. Those old skirts you have are probably the industry standard for spinners or jigs for the most part...some of the high-end skirts have 65 strands but the market is dominated by the 40 strand "replacement" skirt, but we all have our individual preferrences. They should be fine unless they have started dry-rotting, pull the strands and test the elasticity to be sure...they should stretch and return to normal very easily without breaking or looking stretched. IMO I think the three way skirt pliers are your best tool for swapping those collars out, I like the "hollow tube thingy" the best too, but it is all but useless for anything except assembling layers with the tabs still on them. I had a bunch like that a couple of years ago and I just tied them on the bait and cut the collar off. I own alot of skirting tools but hardly ever use anything anymore besides my "hollow tube thingy" or the three-way pliers, both have thier own pros and cons, but for the versatiltity of mixing various materials my vote is on the pliers.

I have my own Eakin's experiments cooking probably just like the rest of you, we should all join forces and dominate the market with the enormous product line we would end with!!! Boy... Do-it has to be doing good with the sales on the THREE molds for these little jewels...I for one didn't appreciate buying three molds to cover the sizes......seems like they have been doing that with every new mold they come out with lately, but I really like the skirt groove on the barb and the hook options for these baits seem never ending. Surprisingly the E.C. standard is my favorite and I have never been an eagle claw fan! A buddy sent me some with an outstanding Gamie wide-gap hook that really set my spider-sense to tingling. but the jury is still out on it. I have played with the skirts for them using everything from silicone to various synthetics like fishair and such...overall I like a 20-25 strand (depending on accents which I include in that count) lumaflex skirt or a traditional sparse skirt of fine cut living rubber. The tapered strand silicone like Kamo-Craw are incredible on these and I can take one Kamo-Craw skirt and do 3 of these baits with it which I really love. I even tied some rabbit hair ones with a zonker trailer in a Hammerin' Hare style that have done well for me too. I have long been a fan of the Alabama rig and have fished similiar weedless rigs like the Eakins for a few years now and found them effective on about every body of water. Try a floating craw for a real slow erratic fall that is deadly on those sows lurking around the bedding areas. JIM

[Pop]

Celticav- What hollow tool thingy are you using. I see the 3 way pliers in the Netcraft catalog, 21.95. You defenitely like that better than the skirt making tool?

I have only seen two hook options for the eakins type jig mold. Mustad 32798BLN and Gamakatsu 614. What other options are you talking about?

While we are on the subject, just curious why the weedless football jig isn't used the same way. Pop

[Celticav]

My skirting pencil or "hollow metal tube" is from skirtsplus and came in a kit for Nature's Edge...it works really great for making simple 2-2 1/2 layer skirts using the uncut skirting pad layers, quick, simple, and easily replaced when it breaks, but the hook pulls the material by the layer's end pad which is then trimmed, the pliers should last forever and expand the collar to allow the material to just slip thru the collar. With your skirts not having the end pads I would think this would be best for you...plus you can add different accents, other layers, etc to tweak and fiddle with the skirts that you have all very easily. There is a similiar table mounted high-end model of the skirting pencil that may work differently...but I think the pliers will be the best bet for ya now and in the long run. Just my opinion, I might be biased because the pliers also allow for much more material than the tube, I use both and have found my uses for each though, if your going to be fixing up those older ones as well as making new ones I say go ahead and get both! I was being a smart-a$$ about the hook selection and 3 different molds...sorry guys but I am only human, there are a couple you may not be aware of besides those, I have used some eagle claw turned eye ones similiar to the 574 hook and a Matzuo one will fit too I believe. Interesting that you brought the football head up, I use those as my finesse jig of choice most of the time...Be a neat benchmarking experiment to field test but like most everything else in this sport it will probably come down to the old 90/10 conclusion...90% personal preference and 10% actual difference on the water... LOL, JIM

[Nitrolures]

I have about 30,000 silicone skirts ranging from solid colors , crystal flash , silichrome and scale patterns. These are good quality but not as consistant as say skirt plus . I use these regularly on everything from economy to high dollar baits but am limiting my colors down to more of the standard and less of the high end silichrome options. I will blow out top quality 1000 skirt mixes for $180US with shipping included . That is for finished skirts not just tabs. I can not offer pick and choose colors at that price but will ensure there is an amazing selection for spinnerbaits and jigs. Some of the colors included would be perch, sunburst, glow in the dark white, chartreuse, natural shad, watermelon, blue crystal flash, and many more 2-3 color top end ones . I will try and offer pics shortly.

I will be bringing in alot of new skirts with double rattles way below any Can/US wholesale prices so feel free to email if interested.

[topher]

Hi guys, I wanted to put a couple of cents in here. I like the tube thingy, not for re-banding, but for the tape and tabs. I got the tube thingy from barlows, and it works great for both rubber and tabs with 60 strands or less, but I itnk that if you take a drill to it, you should be able to get 80 to 90 thru the hole. What I do for rubber is fold the tape over about 3/4", then pull thru, but I leave the tape right on the roll, I don't precut lengths. I band the whole spool, or as many as I want to make at one time, I just put a tapemeasure behind the thingy so I have the right measurement between bands every time. You can get about 15 bands on the fixture at once, so you will have to pull out and start over, but once you have the first band on, you can push the tape thru again. In tabe, I do 60 strand all of the time.

PM me if you have questions.... chris