Andrea “Andi” Sanders of Milam, who has owned one of the nation’s leading artificial lure manufacturers since the mid-1990s, is proud of one of the company’s newest products, a skirt with a metal bead and two built-in rattles giving extra ooomph to a soft plastic, particularly a Texas-rigged plastic worm, plastic lizard or creature bait. Talon Custom Lures has introduced the Rattlin’ FlipSkirts to eagerly awaiting bass anglers around the country, people who punch soft plastics through grass beds or prefer fishing Texas-rigged plastic worms to jig-n-pigs for whatever reason. The special hand-tied and wire-wrapped skirt has a unique, patent-pending sleeve that clicks against a brass or copper weight, a sleeve that holds up to heavy use under trying conditions and can’t be cut by braided line.
Sanders, 49, is excited about the product that adds a new dimension to bass fishing.
“Basically, when you put it on your Texas rig, it has a new profile,” she said. “It has a little flair and action with the skirt. If you’re fishing a plain-old plastic worm, you can have more flair and action with the skirt.”
Ah, there it is, the selling point for bass fishermen like me. I’ve never gotten proficient with a jig-n-pig combination that gets written so much about because of the way it consistently puts bass in the boat. However, I love fishing with plastic worms, plastic lizards and, of course, creature baits.
This gives me hope that more bass may be coming my way when one of these skirts is added. That’s the idea behind it, said Sanders, who has been bass fishing most of her life after being introduced to the sport by her father.
“Some people don’t like jigs,” she said, a statement that applies to yours truly despite that artificial lure’s weighty reputation. “We’ve also found people who don’t fish jigs can have a jiglike profile without having a jig. They’re good with a Texas rig and confident. Now they can have a little bit of a different presentation.”
The company recommends fishing it without pegging a toothpick. Rather, Sanders suggests, use one of those stoppers loved by crappie fishermen.
Many bassers agree it’s most effective when they punch grass with a soft plastic adorned with a Rattlin’ FlipSkirt. They started that technique quite a few years ago on the West Coast with less-durable skirts that didn’t hold up to continued pounding from big bass, which led to the call to Talon Lures.
Sanders said those “hawgs” out there on the left coast are “really hard on the equipment.”
“Another company came out with something. They had a lot of complaints. We said ‘We can make this better,’” she said. “We said ‘Yeah, we can make it more durable, and added sound to it.”
And they did, she said, starting in November 2008.
“We did quite a bit of research into metals and durabilities,” she said. “Really, it was pretty easy once we figured out what we wanted to do. I guess it was kind of a group effort. It probably was one of the easier things that we’ve done.”
For example, she said, there was no tuning necessary as for a spinnerbait.
“We just had to make sure the center bead was correct,” she said.
The metal part of it was manufactured in Michigan. They put the rest of it together in one of the two wood-frame buildings on their property.
The rest is history. No one knows that better than Ben Matsubu of Hemphill, Texas. The 46-year-old outdoorsman who used to fish the BASS Elite Series circuit now concentrates on the BASS Opens.
“It’s one of the newest tools in bass fishing,” he said. “We’re all accustomed to creature baits — Sweat Beavers, Mini-Crickets, Baby Brush Hogs. Guys are now adding skirts to add bulk.”
Matsubu knows the target-rich environment that awaits a fresh idea like this, he said, singling out the matted grass beds and lily-pad rafts found in Louisiana.
“I’ll tell you, when it comes to grass like you guys have, it’s going to add a whole new ballgame,” he said.
“Oh, man, we can hardly keep them in stock. It’s crazy,” Sanders said. “It’s amazing how many we’ve sold.”
The skirts are available in more than 70 colors, she said. The company can match just about any color or color combination someone might request, she said.
“What’s really cool is you can get it in any color,” Matsubu said.
The skirts come two to a pack with a retail value of $6.69.
Matsubu, 46, who qualified for the Bassmaster Classic in 2004, said, “It’s taking off like wildfire. It’s an all-around new look for bass.”
Like wildfire? The Texas pro bass angler has been fielding calls from people on both coasts inquiring about the new Rattlin’ FlipSkirt.
“The word spread,” he said. “All my friends were calling, these guys from Florida and California. They were getting word of it. To the weekend angler, it’s probably not well known. For the pro angler, everybody’s pretty much using it. I don’t think there’s a pro that’s fishing grass that doesn’t have a skirt right now.”
The big keys to its success are the rattles, he said.
“Certainly, when the water is dirty, you’ve got to use the rattle. If you can’t see it, you can hear it. When the water’s clear, like a West Coast lake, you don’t need it,” he said.
For more information, call 409-625-1261 or e-mail sales@talonlures.com.
