The Sidewinder Skerries Pro. If you’ve been bass fishing for any length of time, chances are you’ve heard of the Sidewinder Skerries Eel. For years, it has been one of the go-to soft plastic lures for UK bass anglers and has caught thousands of fish from beaches, rocky shorelines, estuaries and harbour walls. But for me personally, I had never caught bugger all on the original one. I thought they cast pretty rubbish compared to a Savage Gear Sandeel. But when I checked what everyone’s favourite lure was on a popular forum, there were a good few people in favour of the Skerries eel.
Then Sidewinder released the Skerries Pro. Whenever a manufacturer brings out a new version of a popular lure, the same question gets asked. “Is it actually any better, or is it just clever marketing?” After fishing the Skerries Pro, I’d say the improvements are genuine. The original Skerries Eel still catches plenty of bass (for some people), but the Pro feels like the lure the original always wanted to be.
Let’s take a closer look.
What Is the Sidewinder Skerries Pro?
The Sidewinder Skerries Pro is a premium hard lure designed specifically for saltwater predators, particularly bass. It has a slim baitfish profile that perfectly imitates sandeels, small mullet and other baitfish that bass feed on around the UK coastline.
Like the original, it’s designed to be easy to fish. You don’t need complicated retrieves or fancy rod work. Simply cast it out, keep a steady retrieve and let the lure do the work. If you do find yourself coming aground or getting snagged, then just raise the rod tip and retrieve slightly faster. Using a bit of savvy: don’t go casting it into shallow water over rock; use a bit of common sense. Sandy ground fill ya boots it is ideal.
A Quick Look at the Original Sidewinder Skerries Eel
Before I start giving the Pro all the credit, it’s only fair to talk about the original Skerries Eel.
Because despite the fact that I never caught bugger all on mine, other people clearly did.
That’s why I was interested when I started looking at what bass anglers were actually recommending. On one popular forum, the Skerries Eel kept coming up, and there were quite a few people who absolutely rated it. So clearly I wasn’t getting something right with the original.
It certainly wasn’t because the lure had a bad reputation. Quite the opposite. It had been catching bass for years from beaches, rocks, estuaries and harbour walls.
The big attraction was its simplicity. You didn’t need to learn some complicated retrieve or spend half an hour trying to make it do something unnatural. Cast it out and retrieve it.
And when the conditions were right, it obviously worked. That’s why I was interested when the Skerries Pro came along.
If people already loved the original, was the new one actually going to make a difference?
Sidewinder Skerries Pro vs Skerries Eel – What’s Changed?
Put the two next to each other and you can see that they’re related, but once you actually fish them, I think the differences become more noticeable.
For me, the biggest difference is the casting.
The original Skerries Eel always felt a bit disappointing when I tried to launch it. Compared with something like the Savage Gear Sandeel, I just didn’t think it cast particularly well.
The Pro is a different story.
It feels much more controlled when you cast it, and it doesn’t have that horrible feeling of a lure tumbling about in the air.
That might not sound like a massive thing, but when you’re standing on a beach with a decent wind blowing in your face, and you’re trying to reach fish that are holding further out, it makes a difference.
Then there’s the action.
The Pro has a really nice movement in the water without looking completely over the top. It has that sort of subtle rolling action that makes it look like a baitfish rather than a piece of plastic being dragged through the water.
And that’s exactly what I want from a lure like this.
I don’t want to have to constantly work it.
I want to be able to cast it out, retrieve it properly and concentrate on where I’m fishing.
Casting Distance – Does the Sidewinder Skerries Pro Cast Further?
This is probably the biggest selling point for me.
If you’ve fished the coast for bass, you’ll know that sometimes those extra few yards can make all the difference.
You can stand on a beach and fish your nuts off for an hour without a touch, then somebody casts another 20 yards further and starts catching.
Obviously casting distance isn’t everything. There are plenty of times when the bass are practically under your feet.
But having the ability to get a lure out there when you need to is bloody useful.
The Skerries Pro feels much better in the air than the original. It flies nicely and, importantly, it doesn’t seem to want to tumble all over the place.
I’ve always liked a lure that gives me confidence when I let one go.
You know that feeling when you make a good cast and think, “Yep, that’s gone exactly where I wanted it.”
The Pro gives me that.
Skerries Pro Action – What Does It Actually Do in the Water?
This is where things get interesting.
You don’t need to give the Skerries Pro loads of rod work. In fact, I think you’d probably be better off leaving it alone most of the time.
Get it swimming and keep it moving.
The action is fairly subtle, which I really like. It doesn’t look as though it’s having a complete nervous breakdown underwater. It has a natural-looking movement that works particularly well when you slow things down.
And I’m a big believer in slowing down your lure. It’s very easy when you’re bass fishing to think you’ve got to get the lure back as quickly as possible so you can cast again. I’ve done it myself plenty of times.
But some people prefer a faster retrieve: I don’t. But if you are getting snagged, then obviously you can speed things up a bit. You don’t want to lose another lure.
But some of my best fish have come when I’ve been retrieving much slower than I thought I should.
That’s another thing I like about the Pro. You can slow it right down and it still looks like a baitfish rather than just sinking lifelessly through the water.
If the bass are feeding aggressively, you can obviously speed things up. But when they’re being awkward, I’d much rather slow everything down and give them an easy meal.
Build Quality and Durability
Bass fishing isn’t a cheap hobby these days. By the time you’ve bought quality rods, reels, braid and lures, you soon realise every purchase needs to earn its place.
The Skerries Pro certainly feels like a quality lure. Let’s be honest, none of us likes buying an expensive lure and then losing it on the first cast.
And bass fishing is hard enough on tackle as it is. Rocks, weed, snags and bass themselves all have a habit of putting a bit of a beating on your gear. The Skerries Pro feels like a quality bit of kit straight out of the packet.
The finish is good, the components look right and generally the whole lure gives you the impression that some thought has gone into it. Of course, no lure is indestructible.
If you catch enough bass, it’s going to get marked up. Hooks get battered, finishes get scratched and eventually your favourite lure starts looking like it’s been dragged behind a tractor. Personally, I don’t mind that at all.
I’d rather see a few battle scars on a lure that’s caught fish than have a box full of pristine lures that have never seen the water.
Is the Sidewinder Skerries Pro Better Than the Original?
So, after all that, is the Skerries Pro actually better than the original? For me, yes.
And I’m probably a reasonably good person to ask because I wasn’t exactly a massive fan of the original. It never worked for me.
I didn’t like the way it cast and, despite its reputation, I couldn’t catch bugger all on it. The Pro has changed my opinion.
The casting is better.
The lure feels more controlled.
The action is good, particularly when you slow it down.
And overall it just feels like a more refined version of the original idea.
That doesn’t mean the original Skerries Eel suddenly became a bad lure. Clearly it didn’t. Plenty of bass have been caught on them and people are still using them.
But if you gave me the choice of the two before I headed down to the beach, I’d take the Pro.
And that’s probably the simplest way I can put it.
The original might work brilliantly for you.
It just never worked brilliantly for me.
The Skerries Pro, on the other hand, has given me a completely different impression.
And when you’re standing on a beach with a bass lure tied on the end of your rod, confidence counts for a lot.
If I have confidence in the lure, I’m going to fish it properly. And that’s probably the biggest improvement of all.
