With summer in full swing, most of us will find ourselves fishing vegetation of one form or another. We want to get to those fish that are hiding out beneath the matted vegetation and wandering in between stalks of various grasses.
If you’re like us, you don’t hesitate to throw your bait right in there and often find yourself cleaning your bait when you get back to you because it has been fouled with gunk. There is a solution that is simple and works very effectively.
The Paycheck Baits Punch Skirt.
Punch Skirt Design
The Punch Skirt is a simple design that can be threaded onto your line ahead of the hook and after your weight.
The original intent of this product was, as you may have guessed from the name, to be used for punching through mats, into thick grass or other slimy stuff, and allow your bait to come out clean. This skirt accomplishes this very well.
You simply work your bait as you would without a skirt, whether it be a craw, creature or whatever you like using for punching, and the skirt helps your rig slide through the muck without picking it up.
There are a ton of colors available that can be matched up to your favorite lure or use them in a contrasting pattern if you’re so inclined. There are even a couple that employ round rubber for the skirting material. If you happen to be a firm believer in rubber over silicon, these may be the way to go for you.
Fishing The Punch Skirt
Although the Punch Skirts were originally designed for punching, we have found that they work well for other applications too.
For instance, if you’re looking to bulk up the appearance of a Texas-rigged soft plastic, add a punch skirt. Depending on the bait, you can use them as they are out of the package or go to work on them with a pair of scissors to your heart’s content.
The point being, there is more than enough material here to allow the angler to trim it to accommodate their individual needs.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you don’t have to be using a weight to throw one of these on your line. If you are found of fishing creature baits, salamanders, craws or other soft plastics weightless, you can still use the Punch Skirt with them.
In our testing using it this way will decrease the rate of fall. This can be a positive for highly pressured or sluggish fish, so don’t be afraid to try them thinking this is a negative.
The Paycheck Baits Punch Skirts retail for about $7 for a pack of two. While this isn’t astronomical, it isn’t cheap either. In our experience with the skirts, some have broken, but never due to what could be considered a manufacturers defect.
We have had strikes that are vicious followed by having to extract fish from heavy cover that have resulted in the plastic ring being broken or portions of the skirting material being ripped out. However, we’re talking about extreme conditions, that stress a lot of gear.
As a whole, we have found the Punch Skirts to be fairly durable considering the punishment that they have taken.
The Paycheck Baits Punch Skirts are another useful, versatile tool that can have a positive effect on anyone’s fishing no matter their level of experience. When the weeds are up, throw on a Punch Skirt and see if it doesn’t become easier to present your bait to the fish.
| Paycheck Baits Punch Skirt | |
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |    |
| Versatile and effective | |
See ya’ on the water …