Bizz Baits' Sassy Stick

For years on end, we have had an undying aim to publish gear guides that feature all of the soft-plastic finesse baits that Midwest finesse anglers can affix to a jig.

And when we were working on a gear guide about Bizz Baits'Dizzy Diamond, we discovered the four- and 5 1/2-inch Bizz Baits' Sassy Stick.  Some forms of a stickbait has been part of Midwest finesse anglers' repertoire since the late Chuck Woods of Kansas City, Missouri, created his first Beetle in the late 1950s, and his stick possessed a small fork tail.

Bizz Baits is a small company, and it recently moved from Illinois to Huntersville, North Carolina. Brian Souza is the proprietor, and he resides in Huntersville, too.

It manufacturers five soft-plastic baits, and none of them were designed for Midwest finesse applications. Instead these baits were made for traditional black bass anglers, but with some minor customizations, their Sassy Stick can be made into an effective Midwest finesse rig. It was introduced to the angling world in 2013.

In some ways, the Sassy Stick replicates the anatomy of an earthworm.  Its body is divided into three sections.

Its rear section is the longest one. And like an earthworm, the four-inch Sassy Stick is encircled with 44 segments. This long section contains much of the digestive system of a real worm.  The end of this section of the Sassy Stick is pointed similar to that of the point of a pencil, and it is similar to the anus of a real worm.

The middle section is the shortest of the three. It imitates the clitellum of an earthworm. Many anglers call it an egg sack. It is not segmented, and it is often described as being smooth-skinned.

The Sassy Stick's front section is shorter than the rear section and longer than the clitellum. The four-inch model is encompassed with 29 segments similar to those that embellish its rear section. This section of a real worm contains the mouth, brain, hearts, sexual organs, gizzard, and intestine. Unlike a real worm, which has a pointed-shaped mouth similar to its pointed-shaped anus; the Sassy Stick's mouth is flat.  This flat feature facilitates anglers when they are affixing a hook to the Sassy Stick, and when Midwest finesse anglers affix a mushroom-style jig to it, the flat portion of the Sassy Stick's mouth will fit flush to the back of the head of the jig.

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According to Souza, the Sassy Stick is manufactured with the perfect combination of salt and Bizz Baits' signature buoyant soft plastic. He notes that 25 percent of its torso consists of salt. In Souza's eyes, this formula has created a stickbait that exhibits the most alluring side-to-side wiggle and shimmy of a stickbait that has ever been made. He described it as possessing a slender cigar-shape.

It is available in the following colors: Black and Blue, Black and Red, Bubblegum, Cinnamon, Green Pumpkin, Green Pumpkin Blue, Green Pumpkin Candy, Green Pumpkin Magic, Green Pumpkin Orange, Green Pumpkin Red, Icicle, Junebug, Plum, Pumpkinseed, Seedless Watermelon, Watermelon Candy, Watermelon Red, and White.

Besides being impregnated with salt, they are impregnated with a scent that is called Jack'em Juice.

There are two sizes of the Sassy Stick: four inches and 5 1/2 inches. The folks of Bizz Baits say that anglers can rig the Sassy Stick several ways: wacky style with either a wacky jig or a weightless hook; Texas-style on a 4/0 extra-wide-gap hook with a slip-sinker rig or a Carolina rig; and a drop-shot rig.

Of course, Midwest finesse anglers will affix it to a small mushroom-style jig with an exposed hook, and they will customize them by shortening them, creating a three-inch, a 2 1/2-inch, or a two-inch Sassy Shad. And they will affix either end to the head and collar of the jig. But occasionally there will be outings when one rigging format will be more effective than the other; therefore, it is advisable to experiment with different formats.

A package of eight 5 1/2-inchers costs $4.49. A package of 10 four-inchers costs $4.49.

Endnotes

(1)   Here is the link to Bizz Baits' web site: https://www.bizzbaits.com/collections/sassy-stick.

(2) Here is the link to our Midwest Finesse gear guide about Bizz Baits' Dizzy Diamond : http://www.in-fisherman.com/midwest-finesse/bizz-baits-dizzy-diamond/.