While stringing pieces of silicone skirt through soft plastics seems to be a new trend, it is hardly that. I’ve read several articles over the last four years touting the fad that seemingly started with Japanese baits. And while I have had success with baits like the Imo Kemushi from Geecrack, it is far from the first I’ve seen with silicone inclusions/enhancements. The buzz of innovation after this summer’s ICAST event makes me ever so certain that none of these reporters were seasoned smallmouth anglers.
Gapen Ugly Bug (1969)
I met the late Dan Gapen in the 1980’s. Dan, a Minnesota native, was born into the world of a family-run fishing lodge in Ontario.
Some may recognize the Gapen name; Dan’s father Don was the originator of the Muddler Minnow, a popular fly designed to mimic a sculpin. Still used today, the Muddler Minnow is nearly 90 years old.
One could say that lure-making and guiding for Dan was unavoidable. Unlike the fishermen who came to their lodge for brook trout, lake trout, pike and sturgeon, Dan’s passion was river-run smallmouth bass and walleye. His books and videos further fed my passion as well. Dan’s Ugly Bug Jig, was designed to come through river rock without getting stuck.
The jig was first manufactured in 1969, and virtually unchanged is still sold today. The Gapen Ugly Bug was the first soft bait I had ever seen with strips of silicone strung through the body of the lure.
In the late 1990s, a group of passionate smallmouth anglers used an online river smallmouth forum to discuss custom lures for fishing extreme cold water. Open water fishing during the winter months becomes far less common as water temps dropped into the mid 30-degree range. Discussions on how cold Many started pouring plastisol into a one-piece mold to create two to three-inch micro baits. Strands of silicone skirts were strung through these baits using large needles to create legs, tails and claws. Other anglers on the forum were folding five to six strands of silicone skirts and tying them directly to the jig hook. This is not to be confused with full skirted bass jigs; these jigs had a few sparse strands so not to increase the profile of baits that needed to remain micro or smaller sizes.
Dozens of conversations with guys like Jeff Little, Joe Hepp, Al Winco and myself (among others) would passionately debate, ok… argue their positions. The theory, which was well tested, was that the sparse silicone strands would add subtle, life-like movement even when the jig rested otherwise motionless on the bottom. The angler could drag the lures an inch at a time and these silicone appendages would do all the work. These small two to three-inch bodies were worms, flat paddle tails, curl tails or a craw body with silicone strands for a tail. This is how the Chillee Willie from Fitt Lures was born. Only back then, it was called a CW Delight. The CW was for Cold Water, years later someone called it a Chillee Willee and it stuck.
So, does adding six to eight strands of silicone add any advantage in cold water? My personal experience confirms this belief: there are days when these subtle appendages make all the difference in prompting strikes when other baits are ignored. Most of those truly cold-water days, when the water temp is below 35 degrees, getting a bite can be difficult enough. I had an old timer once explain winter jig fishing like this, “Move the lure as slowly as you can, and then slow it down some more.” Why not take every advantage available on these extreme cold-water days?
When adding silicone enhancements to my soft plastics, I use one of two different needles. If adding legs or appendages that will lay back towards the tail of the bait, a curved needle works best. Thread about an inch of a silicone strand through the eye of the needle and entering left to right, try to exit in roughly the same spot on the opposite side of the lure. The curve of the needle will allow the legs to fall backwards naturally. The straight needle is great for doing tails, claws or random areas of the bait, such as Zman’s Fuzzy TRD or Fuzzy BugZ. Same basic threading technique, run about 1” of the silicone strand through the eye and run the needle straight through. Pull the short end of the strand to make them equal lengths on both sides. Needles with larger eyes can handle multiple strands if anglers want to make larger legs, tails or claws.
As mentioned, over the last couple of years, manufacturers have made it easier for those anglers who would rather not be bothered adding silicone to their soft baits. Bait companies like ZMan, Strike King, Geecrack and others are now offering a number of such baits in their lineups. Other bait companies like Fitt Lures are offering DIY Kits for anglers who want to add silicone legs. Solutions that make it easier than ever to get exactly the look desired. I do realize that many of these fuzzy dice style lures were made to float for top water applications on the surface. But add a light-weight Ned jig or a small bullet weight on a Carolina Rig when using the Fuzzy TRD or Fuzzy BugZ and you will open a whole new presentation for cold-water bass fishing.
As we head into the month of February, weather forecasters are using phrases like “polar vortex” and “record low temperatures”. This kind of talk has most of the open water anglers hoping it is more hype than bone chilling reality. But if we are truly heading into a winter with below average temperatures, consider giving your favorite soft plastics a silicone enhancement. The result might just be a lure that is too sexy for the bass to ignore.
