|
|
|
Don't Cover Your Eyes! It's the Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper
(continued)
 Durability: The area this bait really experiences the most wear is in the head. Just as with any soft plastic, hook into a few fish with one bait and the head really starts to get torn up. One way to mitigate against this event is to take advantage of another Reaction Innovations product, the Screwed Up Bullet. This virtually weightless, clear plastic, bullet shaped device is designed to screw into the head of soft plastics protecting them from premature wear and keeping them rigged properly even in the thickest of cover.
|
|
|
A closeup look at the Skinny Dipper rigged with the RI Screwed Up Bullet
|
|
|
|
The Skinny Dipper is also effective fished on a jighead
|
Application: Depending upon your rigging of preference, the Skinny Dipper can really be fished anywhere in the water column. As previously mentioned, to take full advantage of the swimming tail, you need to keep the bait moving at a good pace. Topwater fanatics will be glad to know the Skinny Dipper can also be buzzed across the surface just like the soft plastic toads now so pervasive in the market. You need to burn your retrieve a couple of turns to get it up, but once there, you can slow down a bit and it will gurgle on the surface with the best of them.
|
|
|
They're subtle, but you can see the eyes on this soft plastic bait.
|
|
|
|
Recognize those ribs? They've become a signature Reaction Innovations feature
|
Availability: The Skinny Dipper was released during the Spring of 2007 and is just now showing up in good numbers in stores across the nation including all the popular e-tail tackle sites. There should not be any difficulties locating this product by the time you're reading this article.
|
|
|
Speaking of signatures, the Skinny Dipper is labelled along its belly so there's no mistaking its origins.
|
Ratings:
|
Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper Ratings (?/10)
|
|
Construction/Quality |
Packaging and quality of Reaction Innovations baits is always top notch |
9 |
|
Performance |
Would have liked some kind of tail action at slower retrieve speeds |
8 |
|
Price |
At roughly $0.65 each, among the pricier soft plastics on the market |
7.5 |
|
Features |
Swimbait tail, Sweet Beaver-esque ribs, a slit down the middle to conceal the hook, and a subtle groove in the top to help conceal the hook |
9 |
|
Design (Ergonomics) |
A nice, slender, aerodynamic, baitfish-like shape and profile |
8 |
|
Application |
Best fished on a medium to fast retrieve. |
8 |
|
Total Score
|
8.25 |
Pluses and Minuses:
|
Plus Minus
|
| J Some big bait features in a 5" bait |
L Just a little expensive |
| J Easy to cast |
L Weedless rigging can prove problematic on hookset if you're not using stout enough gear |
| J Really good color selection |
|
| J Versatile rigging options |
|
|
|
|
Tie one on, toss it out, and hang on!
|
Conclusion: Reaction Innovations manages to produce yet another intriguing and promising bait with the Skinny Dipper. It's a very carefully thought out and fairly intricate given its composition of soft plastic. I had some initial rigging difficulties finding just the right hook mainly because I was trying to keep things all in the same family, but once those details were worked out, I was able to enjoy a lot of what this bait has to offer. Whether you fish it on top, or count it down before you begin your retrieve, make sure you do so at a medium to fast pace and hang on, because despite its soft plastic composition, the Skinny Dipper is a power fishing bait and the bass hit it accordingly. My one hope is we'll see it in some larger sizes in the near future!
|
|
|
