How to Make Spinnerbait Skirts

Serious anglers, especially those going after bass, have been attaching skirts by hand to their spinnerbait lures for years. The first skirts were made of feathers. Later skirts were made of rubber and vinyl, and today silicon is the most commonly used material. All are designed, like a spinnerbait's blade, to add flash and movement to the lure. Available in a wide range of sizes, colors, metallics and patterns at most tackle shops, the material is a band of several strands of silicon connected at both ends. You can transform these inexpensive skirt lengths into professional-looking skirts at home with household tools and materials.

Things You'll Need

  • Small tabletop vise
  • Single point hollow aluminum knitting needles, size 17
  • Hacksaw
  • Metal rasp or file
  • Petroleum jelly
  • Latex rubber skirt collars
  • Silicone skirt layers
  • Sharp scissors
  • Spinnerbait lure rigs
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Instructions

    • 1

      Clamp a knitting needle horizontally in a tabletop vise and cut off from 3 to 4 inches in from the pointed end with a hacksaw.

    • 2

      Smooth the cut end of the knitting needle with a metal file or rasp and then smooth a little petroleum jelly on and around the tip of the knitting needle.

    • 3

      Roll a rubber skirt collar onto the tip of the knitting needle and work in about halfway down the length.

    • 4

      Cut several strands of whatever color skirt material you desire using sharp scissors, leaving the strands attached to the solid ends. As an alternative, use one whole, solidly colored or patterned strand.

    • 5

      Gather the skirt material evenly at one end, fold that end in half and then fold it in half again. Insert the folded end of skirt material into the cut end of the knitting needle and carefully roll the collar off the end of the knitting needle and onto the skirt material.

    • 6

      Remove the material from the knitting needle and roll or pull the collar along the skirt until reaching the desired location. Trim the solid ends off each side of the skirt with sharp scissors.

    • 7

      Slide the finished skirt onto the hook past the barb and all the way up to the head of the hook. Adjust the length of the skirt using sharp scissors, if desired.