Lets talk spinnerbait skirt materials...

[Hunt'nFish]

I mainly fish for river smallies, but this applies to all bassing.

Question 1: Skirts, what is the best material to use?

Most store bought skirts are rubber. Are there better materials to use? Like crystal flash, feathers, mylar, floss?

I have some little compact Strike King spinner baits (black of course) which need new skirts.
What would you relace them with and WHY?
What material do you think bass would hit more readily?
And which material do you think they'd HOLD onto longer?
Do any of you use scent on your rubber skirts? What scent?

Question 2: Rubber bands to hold the skirts on, what is the best brand/material for replacements bands?

Many of mine use latex rubber bands and they are cracking from age & breaking, loosing the skirt.
Is there a reason they use latex? Wouldn't another (non-organic) material last longer?

Thanks in advance for your opinions.
Hunt'nFish

[1bigfish]

The only question I can answer is Yes I do use scent.

I use YUM shad scent on my spinnerbaits.

[flippinbaits]

i agree, i use procure on my spinnerbaits...dab them on the skirt not on the blades

not much help on the skirts, sorry

[veilside180sx]

I change up the scent on mine from shad/herring to craw/anise

[nitrobass]

Take some spiderwire and tie on the skirts. Latex gets old with time and you'll have to keep messing with it down the road. Tying them on with spiderwire is a one time deal.

Worrying about scent on a spinnerbait seems useless since its a reaction strike you are going for. Spend more time getting the right weight/blade for the conditions and you'll catch more blade fish.

[arkansasbasser]

I like the flash of the mylar and it also seems to be tougher than than rubber. My second choice would be chartruse and white rubber. I usually wear out the skirt before the band wears out. But then, I fish spinnerbaits a lot so I lose a lot of them too. Never have used scent on these.

[RazorbackfaninWA]

I really wouldn't worry about scent are which material the skirts are made of. A spinner bait main draw is the flash from the blades. You can buy the silicone rubber skirt material and use a thin wire to hand tie the skirt to the bait. If you ever get a chance to buy any War Eagle Spinner baits, buy them. I think the have the best skirt on the market. It is hand tied and the bottom of skirt hangs down below the hook and work like a split tail trailer.

[flippinbaits]

Originally Posted by nitrobass

Worrying about scent on a spinnerbait seems useless since its a reaction strike you are going for. Spend more time getting the right weight/blade for the conditions and you'll catch more blade fish.

imo i feel that it helps reduce sort strikes. plus i vertically fish a blade or jig it off rock strutures as well. but ur right, lots are reactoin strikes.

[Pelhament]

Check out living rubber. It is a local company that sells spinner bait skirts for a really good price. If you ask for a catalog they send you a couple samples. Just put a www. before the name and a .com after. I bought a ton of skirts from them to use for legs in fly tying.