Ever heard of a bait from Reaction Innovations called the Sweet Beaver? If not, you either don't fish, or live in a cave.
Without question, Reaction Innovations owner Andre Moore is one of the hottest minds in bait design right now. He flat knows how to design baits that catch bass. He also knows how to catch them – he's won over $500,000 in the last 3 years.
And the big news now is his new bait, the Skinny Dipper 4.45 "swimbait." We say swimbait because it can be fished countless different ways throughout the water column, but it's at its best when it's pulled in some fashion.
Observations
Through extensive tests, including tournament competition, we fished the Skinny Dipper weighted, and weightless. We jerked it, twitched it – even waked it. And we found that when it's fished just below the surface, it has few peers.
Another thing our tests showed was a unique wobbling action (sort of like the Senko-shimmy) when we twitched it, and it even walked the dog. We were also able to fish it with different rod attitudes – from the 2:00 position all the way down to the surface (in the traditional jerkbait position).
For hooks, we combined the Skinny Dipper with the standard Reaction Innovations straight-shank BMF 4/0 or 5/0, and the BMF Barb hook, as well a Screwed-Up Bullet head.
Because of the design of the Skinny Dipper, it can be buzzed over vegetation and wood without worrying about hangups. And note that if you pin it on a Screwed-Up Bullet, the Bullet head's clear, but it can be dyed to match the bait.
On The Water
We fished the Skinny Dipper during both pre-spawn and spawning conditions, with outstanding results. And we can't wait to use it on a Carolina-rig when bass move to their summer areas. This bait can also be used as a trailer on your favorite swimming jig.
The Skinny Dipper casts easily – it seems to have a unique plastic formulation and heavy salt content.
The belly's slotted for easier hook penetration, and the hook acts like a keel to influence movement of the bait. We hooked it through the center for buzzing, and off-center when we wanted an erratic wobble. We noticed no difference in hook penetration with either method.
Our favorite colors were Dirty Sanchez, lime ice, bubblegum, and Houdini.
A package of 7 costs $4.49, but they're darn hard to find right now. Once place that has them is the BassFan Store (click here for the order page).
Notable
> Reaction Innovations also has a line of hardbaits that includes the Method crank and the Vixen topwater. For more info, visit ReactionInnovations.com.
