Mister Twister Sassy Swimmer

Swimbait is a great jig, spinnerbait trailer, but it works great when rigged by itself

Pro angler Clent Davis picked just the right soft-plastic bait for his 4-year-old daughter to use on a half-day bass-fishing trip in late April on Lay Lake in east-central Alabama.

Davis, a Bassmaster Elite Series pro from Montevallo, Ala., had Kayt, who caught the first bass of her life March 16, casting and catching fish on Mister Twister’s new 4-inch Tri-Com Sassy Swimmer, which is scheduled to hit the market in June.

Davis, his daughter and his cousin, Matt Davis, all fished the Sassy Swimmer on handmade, ¼-ounce ball-head jigs, landing 15 to 20 spotted bass in about four  hours. It was one of his best outings with the new soft plastic from Mister Twister.

“We had a blast catching spotted bass just off points. They were feeding up, just eating any shad that swims by … or the swimbait,” Davis said.

It was one of those cases where bass resisted anything but Sassy Swimmers — and Davis believes he knows why. The Sassy Swimmer’s tail design is ideal for bass that don’t want a big, thumping tail. And there are many times when the bass are in that mode.

Davis has fished it successfully many other ways to put bass big and small in his boat. They are effective on a shaky head jig when the bite’s tough and Carolina-rigged, he said.

“It’s got a lot of uses, definitely,” he said, noting it shines as a soft-plastic trailer on swim jigs, bladed jigs and spinnerbaits.

Magic on a swim jig

Greg Yates of Oak Point, Texas, agrees. A veteran pro angler and angler relations manager for the Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Big Bass Tour, said the Sassy Swimmer can’t be beat as a soft plastic trailer.

Mostly, Yates said, it doesn’t overpower the swim jig or bladed jig. In other words, while it has its own action, the Sassy Swimmer lets those jigs do what they’re designed to do.

“It’s absolutely magic on a swim jig. I see this bait being a superior trailer than others on the market,” Yates said, citing its soft, thin, ribbed body as the major reason.

What the new soft plastic really, really has going for it, Davis and Yates said, is one of the reasons it was created: the sharp, enticing triple-color look. The Sassy Swimmer is the first artificial lure in the TRI-COM series, according to a spokesman for Mister Twister, the lure manufacturer based in Minden.

Davis and Yates began using them consistently in January. All 16 TRI-COM colors impress them tremendously.

“They look great; really they do. They definitely did a great job with the colors,” said Davis, who said his favorites are pro blue chartreuse and AYU.

Yates, who fishes the oft-stained waters of Lake Fork and Lake Ray Roberts, said the lemon-melon shad can’t be beat in those waters and in Louisiana waters.

“Every time. I really, really like that the best. It’s got white and chartreuse to it and a little green pumpkin down the center. I love whites and chartreuses,” he said.

Florida

Yates said the new soft plastic triggered plenty of bites when he fished in Florida.

“I’ve had it actually since the first part of the year. I got to try it out in Florida in January. I was lucky to be in Florida … bass are in all three stages then — prespawn, spawn and post-spawn. You get a good read on a bait. It’s a great time to try one out, for sure. It did good. It performed beyond expectations,” he said.

Davis said it can be thrown on a spinning combo as well as a baitcasting rod and reel.

“They’re not too big for a spinning rod and not too small for a baitcaster,” he said.

“It’s not too small. I think it’s (4-inch) a great size for it,” he said.