The Rip Teezers Story

Adapted from Capt. John King's article "Rip Teazers Part 1," written December 1, 2020 on MichiganSportsman.com. Rip Teezers were first called "Strip Teazers" and "Rip Teazers." Read the original.

Why John made them

Every year, John took calls from anglers who couldn't find bait. By 2020, frozen whole Green Label herring was impossible to find in Manistee, and he was fishing bait close to 10 years old. Taking a cue from soft plastics in bass fishing, he set out to make a plastic herring strip, and to "go with the glow," using the colorant experience he'd built since 2003 making spoons, meat heads and flashers.

The project took several hundred hours over 6 months. John credited Wayne J., a Manistee regular since 1967, for help with design, advice, testing and production.

The test: August 12–13, 2020, Frankfort

  • John chose Frankfort, where he started chartering in 1983, to keep his head in the test instead of on shipping orders.
  • Spread: 2 riggers and 2 divers, split equally between hand-cut prototype strips in Magnum heads and whole Green Label herring in Super Mag heads.
  • Flashers: 10" BTI X-Glow Frog combos and 10" BTI FireDot combos with Sparkler 2-fly meat rigs. No color changes during the test.
  • Conditions: the thermocline swung from 90' down to 65' by evening, then to about 35' the next morning, far from ideal for attractors.
  • The two riggers did all the damage. Copper and lead core "did nothing but ride."

The results

  • 3 Kings in under 11 hours of trolling: 2 on X-Glow Green prototypes and 1 on meat. Plus 3 Coho on both.
  • The first prototype King came on August 12, 2020, around 9pm, on a hand-cut X-Glow green strip.
  • Low light: the glow strips, charged with a UV light, out-fished meat. "This was the reel-shocker for me!"
  • Bright sun: the biggest Rip Teezer King hit around 9:45am in full sun on a FireDot BTI with a Sparkler 2-fly rig. That convinced John to put them into production for 2021.

Design goals

  • Zero tuning in Magnum meat heads: "add water, splash and go."
  • Same spin as real bait. Watch John's spin comparison video.
  • Tough enough to last seasons, not one or two fish, and infused with herring scent.

Next: Rip Teezers Use and Care

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