Vinny Chase Posted December 2, 2011 Posted December 2, 2011 I do A LOT of swimbait fishing during the dog days of summer here in MN, and my favorite bait being the RI skinny dipper. The problem I have had is finding a color that "matches the hatch". Up here our bass mostly feed on perch and bludgill; does anyone know of a smaller lure manufacturer I may not have found yet that offers a good swimbait with a more defined perch/bluegill color? Thanks, Nick Quote
Super User slonezp Posted December 2, 2011 Super User Posted December 2, 2011 How about Mattlures? 1 Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted December 3, 2011 Global Moderator Posted December 3, 2011 How about Mattlures? Won't find a better imitation than a U2 bluegill. You can even pick different colors for different times of year or for different species of sunfish. Quote
SDoolittle Posted December 3, 2011 Posted December 3, 2011 Mattlures does make some awesome swimbaits, but I think he's looking for something similar to the Skinny Dipper. Vinny, you might be able to find someone in the Tacklemaking Forum to pour you something. Morelures makes some awesome baits in all kinds of cool colors, but I don't know if he makes a swimbait like you're looking for. Quote
Vinny Chase Posted December 3, 2011 Author Posted December 3, 2011 Thanks Bird Dog, Yeah I am looking for a similar bait to the skinny dipper. I will definitely look in the morelures products and see whats going on in the tackle making forum! I do have a few of the mattlures swimbaits, but they don't get hit hard in this part of the country. Quote
zip pow Posted December 3, 2011 Posted December 3, 2011 I do A LOT of swimbait fishing during the dog days of summer here in MN, and my favorite bait being the RI skinny dipper. The problem I have had is finding a color that "matches the hatch". Up here our bass mostly feed on perch and bludgill; does anyone know of a smaller lure manufacturer I may not have found yet that offers a good swimbait with a more defined perch/bluegill color? Thanks, Nick Have tried just using a paddle tail fluke lots of color options there I use them on scrounger jig heads just like I do skinny dippers Quote
RyneB Posted December 3, 2011 Posted December 3, 2011 I do A LOT of swimbait fishing during the dog days of summer here in MN, and my favorite bait being the RI skinny dipper. The problem I have had is finding a color that "matches the hatch". Up here our bass mostly feed on perch and bludgill; does anyone know of a smaller lure manufacturer I may not have found yet that offers a good swimbait with a more defined perch/bluegill color? Thanks, Nick Im in the same boat as you being in Illinois. I prefer the blue shad Strike King shadalicious. I even catch bass on rainbow trout colored swimbaits in my lake, and i know for a fact there are no rainbows swimming around. If you cant find any bluegill patterns, your next best option could be a baby bass color. Most paddle tails come in that pattern, and i feel a big bass will eat a small bass just as much as he would a bluegill. I fish northern wisconsin every year and a baby bass pattern always outfishes my perch and bluegill patterns. Quote
Randall Posted December 3, 2011 Posted December 3, 2011 The 3:16 minnow is weedless and has a bluegill color. I like the color because it has an orange throat but a greyish bluish color body that matches bluegill better when they aren't spawning. Don't know if it's more defined but I catch fish feeding on bluegill in weedbeds with it. Roboworm e-z shad has a perch type color without the black bars. I also know some guys who say the Big Bite Baits Super Shad is a great swimbait. I haven't tried it yet but the colors are more defined on them and I have seen video of guys fishing them deep on jigheads catching fish on them. Quote
SDoolittle Posted December 3, 2011 Posted December 3, 2011 I will definitely look in the morelures products and see whats going on in the tackle making forum! Look him up on Facebook (Paul Krew). He has some awesome pictures posted. I bought a bunch of his Crazy Craws this past spring. He makes some great baits, and he made sure that I got exactly what I was looking for. Quote
Super User deaknh03 Posted December 3, 2011 Super User Posted December 3, 2011 Check out morelures, Paul has and can make any color, and his baits are sweet. Quote
Super User deaknh03 Posted December 3, 2011 Super User Posted December 3, 2011 http://www.ghostbaits.com/ He makes a real good bait and does custom colors. Smaller compnies like this that handpour are your best bet. Intricate patterns are usually hand airbrushed on. I make a nice 4.5" swimbait, but dont airbrush ....Bill I agree, ghostbaits makes some great stuff as well. Quote
Packard Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 You can get the Keitech Swing Impact Fat in Perch and Bluegill. Quote
Super User deep Posted December 4, 2011 Super User Posted December 4, 2011 I think I saw some hand-poured skinny dipper knockoffs on ebay sometime back. Came in all sorts of colors, including a sunfish pattern. Quote
Super User CWB Posted December 9, 2011 Super User Posted December 9, 2011 These 2 might work for you. Big Bite Baits cane thumper and Bass Assissin Die Dapper. The Cane Thumper is an awesome bait but doesn't last very long. Go to T.W. and check them out. Both have some good colors. Couldn't paste link. My home lake has the identical forage. Gills and Perch. Bought some of the Dappers but haven't had a chance to try them yet. The Grass pig by Berkley Havoc is a good bait but needs more colors. Gamblers EZ series has a ton of colors but you might have to pick one that's close. All of the above are pretty reasonably priced also. Quote
North Ga Hillbilly Posted December 12, 2011 Posted December 12, 2011 If you get too hard up for a suitable replacement, you can get on TU and see about getting some custom painted for you Quote
Super User J Francho Posted December 12, 2011 Super User Posted December 12, 2011 Junebug and Dirty Sanchez work for those two patterns just fine. Quote
Skeet22 Posted December 13, 2011 Posted December 13, 2011 Same mold as the skinny dipper and plenty colors to choose from including blue gill. https://www.bittersbaitandtackle.com/naked-swimmer.html Quote
Primus Posted December 13, 2011 Posted December 13, 2011 I've done business with Dichoso baits, he'll pour any color and has that same skinny dipper mold. Quote
Vinny Chase Posted December 13, 2011 Author Posted December 13, 2011 Thanks for all the replies...Right now I use the cane thumper, skinny dippers, and EZ Shads, but really wanted a more defined bluegill/perch pattern... Skeet22, out of everything I have seen so far, Bitters has the best baits (say that 10 x) and I will be giving them an order for sure. Thanks, VC Quote
piscicidal Posted December 14, 2011 Posted December 14, 2011 Vinny, I'm with you, in that I love the skinny dipper. We are lucky to have Jim Bitter's baits located down here and they have a very good knockoff the of the skinny dipper (naked swimmer...lol) in just a ridiculous amount of colors. The naked swimmer is not exactly the same mold as the dipper. It looks identical but it's scaled down slightly....about 1/2" shorter in length. I would think if you took a "spanish fly" colored dipper and put a blotch of orange dye under the gills, you'd have a fair bluegill replica. Actually, I think I'm going to try that. Spanish Fly has been one of my most successful colors in clear water. Quote
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