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Lure Review

 


A Finesse Walker : ima's Skimmer

 

Date: 10/25/17
Tackle Type: Lure
Manufacturer: ima
Reviewer: Cal






Total Score: 8.08 - GREAT

Introduction:
When we think of topwater walking baits, the prototype that comes to mind is Heddon's Zara Spook, a four and a half inch (4.5") bait shaped like a cigar. Bait manufacturing company, ima's interpretation of this genre is much more slender and in many respects the Skimmer is literally a stick bait.

 

ima Skimmer Specifications

Type Topwater Walking Bait
Length 4 1/2"
Weight 3/8 oz
Material Hard Plastic
Colors 9
Hooks 2x #4 Owner ST-36
MSRP $9.99

 


Introducing ima's Skimmer topwater walking bait.

 

Impressions: Take a small stick or twig you might find on the shoreline, sand it down roughly to the shape of say, Lucky Craft's Sammy, attach a couple of hooks, and you might have ima's Skimmer bait. The Skimmer is rated at 4.5" but if you just measure the body (excluding the front line tie and rear hook loop) it's really more like four and a quarter inches (4 1/4"). Its width is easily half that of other baits in its class and because of that, this bait is very light in weight coming in at about three eighths of an ounce (3/8oz). It has realistic eyes and comes tock with Owner hooks.


The Skimmer is surprisingly slender.

Real World Test: I tied ima's Skimmer to the end of my 10lb Sunline Super Natural monofilament spooled onto a Chronarch MGL matched with my G.Loomis MBR842C GLX for the majority of our recent tests.


The curve of the bait's belly looks familiar.

Castability : Given the Skimmer's overall size and weight (only three eighths of an ounce), I had some concerns over its castability but surprisingly, this bait is very easy to cast especially when paired with the Chronarch MGL and MBR842C GLX. But the bait itself does feature some internal bearings that shift, ever so slightly front to back depending on the bait's position and momentum.


Indeed the bait's overall shape is reminiscent of Lucky Craft's Sammy albeit at have the width and height.

Ease of Actuation : Once the bait splashes down, it doesn't take very much to get it moving from side to side and in fact, the Skimmer can be made to skip and jump as it dances side to side quite easily as well. All it takes is a little extra hard twitch of the rod tip coupled with the right turn of the reel's handle to get the bait to dance and jump at the same time.


Compared to an actual Heddon Zara Spook.

Quality of Movement : For such a tiny bait, the Skimmer can leave quite a wide wake as it kicks side to side on each twitch of your rod tip. The Skimmer also takes its time moving forward as it swims so it can be made to stay in the strike zone a little longer than average.


Work it hard enough and the Skimmer can be made to jump out of the water as it dances side to side.

Position at Rest : When resting on the surface of the water, the Skimmer has a very distinct nose up position. This no doubt contributes to the bait's ability to launch out of the water with a hard enough tug of your rod tip and line and can also make it easier for a fish to engulf the bait when you pause.


Shorter, less forceful pulls results in a distinct wake for fish to track.

Design/Ergonomics: I already touched upon the bait's slender build and curved, Sammy-like belly. Another interesting design feature of this bait is that it comes with only two treble hooks as opposed to most baits like this that come with three. Because it's so skinny, the Skimmer doesn't really need three treble hooks and this in turn just makes it easier to land and unhook a fish once you have it caught.


The Skimmer comes with Owner ST-36 hooks.

Price & Application: The Skimmer topwater bait by ima retails for only $9.99 and can be used for any number of different species. Additionally, there is now a new, Grande sized version of this bait that would be great for larger species like Striped Bass.

Ratings:

ima Skimmer Ratings (?/10)

Construction/Quality Such a thin, slender bait, there really isn't much to it but what's there is made well 8.5
Performance Easier to cast than it looks and really good action in the water 9
Price Very affordable by today's standards 7.5
Features Owner hooks 8
Design (Ergonomics) A more finesse option - if there is such a thing - for topwater applications 7.5
Application A good choice for any number of fish species 8

Total Score

8.08
Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable!
For More Details of the updated rating system visit our explanation here

 

Pluses and Minuses:

Plus

Minus
+ Super easy to cast and work - Some may not like this bait only has two hooks
+ Nice, slender size and shape  
+ Owner Hooks  
+ Can be made to swim quite erratically  


Thanks to its slender profile and ease of casting and working, ima's Skimmer is a great choice for an introductory walking bait.

Conclusion: Another bait that's been sitting in my tackle box neglected and almost forgotten, ima's Skimmer is not a bait to be overlooked. I'm still surprised how easy this bait is to cast even on a medium heavy rated rod like Megabass of America's Destroyer Javelin stick. I tied it onto that rod both to test the bait but also the rod's ability to cast it and was surprised by both when I was able to fish the bait as easily as if I was fishing it on the MBR842C GLX.

 

This little bait fishes bigger than its actual size and weight and makes for a great introductory option for those uninitiated into the fun of fishing walking baits.

 

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