Mr. Twister Sassy Shad

[Mobasser]

Going through a big tub of soft plastics I've had for years, I found two large bags of Mr. Twister Sassy Shads. I've probably had these for 25 yrs.                                          When these were introduced in the early 1980s, they were very popular around my area.                                                        As I remember, I had the best results rigging them on a 1/8 ball head jig, casting and counting down to depth.                           When we fished bigger lakes years ago, we'd rig them with a 1/4 ounce ball head jig, and make long cast to any surface busting fish, feeding on shad.                                                             Finding these brought back memories.Once in the mid 1980s, my brother and I slayed the white bass on Missouri's Bull Schoals lake, and caught some nice LM bass on that trip also.                                             Whenever I find something like these, I always wonder why I stopped using them? Fisherman , by nature, are always looking for something better. We tend to want to try the hot new thing, and, it's always fun to try new stuff.                                                              My grandson Aiden is making a trip down to Bull Schoals soon, with a friend and his dad. I gave him a sack of Sassy Shads, and , some good ball head jigs to take along.                       He calls it the " grandpa bait". If he fishes them like I've told him to, he'll do well on this oldie. I plan on throwing them again also.                                                  When Aiden heads down to Bull Schoals on his fishing trip, I'm expecting a call. " Granpa, you were right, these Sassy Shads are a killer bait".  " They catch everything".Do any BR members still use this lure?.Tell me about your experience with the Mr. Twister Sassy Shad.

[Tatsu Dave]

Started fishing them when they appeared on shelves and they were quite the bass and striper lures. Guess they were early paddletail swimbaits that seemed to slay stripers and smallmouth when hooked on a dropline hanging below surface poppers. Curly tails and sassy shads were the start of my plastic lure obsession. They used to hand paint them with pearl bellies and various color backs to match different shad where we fished in Md.

[scaleface]

I used them a lot on a 1/8th ounce jig head . They catch pretty much everything . I remember one day I was struggling to catch fish but I saw some fish arches  suspended at the mouth of a creek . I trolled a Sassy Shad back and forth and caught a crappie or small bass on every pass .

[TnRiver46]

It’s in my top 3. Plastic worm, tube jig, and sassy shad make up most of all my fishing. Throw in the occasional topwaters and jerkbait an that’s about it!!

 

Wal mart carries these, I always like 2” over 3”

[T-Billy]

Those things have caught a pile of smallmouth and saugeye for me from my local river.

[Fishes in trees]

I seem to recall when they first came out -  late 70's -  early 80's  - more or less?  Anyway, I recall I had a few decent days with that bait - throwing them in ponds, small reservoirs in the Central Mo area.   I was throwing them on 1/8 oz jig heads with 6 lb line.  It was around that time that I realized that a 1/8 ox crappie jig (red head/chartruese body/ white feathers) with a 4" Uncle Josh Split tail eel worked ALOT! better.   Mostly I fished this bait just like I fished Brewer Slider worms.     A few years later when I got a bait caster and started getting into spinnerbaits - the Sassy Shads were what I tipped my spinnerbaits with.    It has been a while since I've noticed the Mr. Twister brand in tackle shops that I frequent.

[Yakalong]

I remember throwing those in ponds a lot. Caught a lot of fish off the sassy shad. Do they still sell those?

[Mobasser]

6 minutes ago, Yakalong said:

I remember throwing those in ponds a lot. Caught a lot of fish off the sassy shad. Do they still sell those?

Yes. Look at Mr. Twisters website.

[Bluebasser86]

I just bought 2 50pks of Mister Twister plastics, but not the Sassy Shad. I used the Sassy Shad a lot as a kid, the 2" on a jighead with a jig spinner to catch about anything that swam in the lake or pond I was fishing. 

[GreenPig]

Haven't fished them in years but I used catch vast numbers of Hybrids fishing docks at night. 

[Kyle S]

15 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

It’s in my top 3. Plastic worm, tube jig, and sassy shad make up most of all my fishing. Throw in the occasional topwaters and jerkbait an that’s about it!!

 

Wal mart carries these, I always like 2” over 3”

Gonna have to snag a few packs of those jokers at Walmart. 

[Yakalong]

23 hours ago, Mobasser said:

Yes. Look at Mr. Twisters website.

Thanks 

[Darth-Baiter]

The old school ones that were realistically colored to look like Shad?   
 

I have taken so many white bass with those. The new ones seem just like Shad profile paddle tails. 

[Tatsu Dave]

Great post from the past, I'd forgot the jig spinners but they were neat as well. I used to call em' budget spinnerbaits. After posting the other day on here about sassy shad I dug out a box of steel hooked jigheads with the big eyes and set up a light rod with 8# hybrid line and threw a bunch of shads and curly tails in a box. Be first time fishing w/them since about 1992. I bet most fish where I go have never seen one..........