10,000 Fish's Shimmer Swimmer

For decades, reaching back to the 1970s when Mister Twister created the Curly Tail Grub and the 1980s when it created the Sassy Shad, a grub and a swimbait have played a role in the repertoires of scores of Midwest finesse anglers.

Nowadays, new and fancier generations of the Sassy Shad are born with astonishing regularity. And 10,000 Fish’s Shimmer Swimmer is one of them.

Eli Rosenberg, who is the Director of Media Partnerships for Catch Co. of Chicago, told us that 10,000 Fish was recently created by Catch Co. And one of 10,000 Fish’s focuses is to emulate the brilliance of the Japanese tackle creators, which he called the Japanese Domestic Market.

Rosenberg introduced us to three of 10,000 Fish’s first creations. One of those is the Shimmer Swimmer. And he sent us four of the Ghost-hue Shimmer Swimmers to use and methodically examine.

Here is what we discovered about the Shimmer Shad.

It was designed to emulate several types of baitfish.

It is described as being 3 1/2 inches long, but according to our measurements, it is 3 3/8 inches long.

The length of its head and predorsal area is a half of an inch. The length of its snout, which is the anterior part of the head, is about one-eighth of an inch long. Its head is embellished with two black and opaque eyes, which are large, exhibiting a diameter of three-sixteenths of an inch. The top of its head and nape are flat with a width of five-sixteenths of an inch at its widest spot, and the width diminishes as it approaches its junction with its snout, and at this junction, it has a width of about one-quarter of an inch. The circumference of the largest portion of its head and predorsal area is about 1 1/2 inches. The epidermis of this area is etched with a few lines that somewhat represent the mandible, preopercle, and gill membranes. The epidermis of other portions of this area is smooth. The lower half of the head is transparent, and the upper half is opaque.

Its isthmus, breast, and belly are curved, exhibiting the contours of a red shiner and a bluegill. Unlike its flat dorsal area, this area is somewhat convex. It is about five-sixteenths of an inch wide at its widest spot.

From the end of the head and predorsal area to the anus and the beginning of the caudal peduncle area, its torso is 1 3/8 inches long. The upper half of this portion of its torso is opaque. Its lower half is transparent. The lower half is also hollow, and it contains what 10,000 Fish calls a foil Strobe Strip that reflects light. This Strobe Strip is 1 1/4 inches long and a quarter of an inch wide. The upper half of the torso is solid soft plastic. The epidermis of its belly is smooth, but the rest of the torso's epidermis is etched with scales and a two pectoral fins. At the torso largest spot, it has a circumference of about 1 11/16 inches and a width of five-sixteenths of an inch.

Its anus is where the Strobe Strip is inserted. The size of the torso diminishes as it approaches the anus. At the anus, the width of its dorsal area decreases to three-sixteenths of an inch with a circumference of about 1 1/4 inches.

The caudal peduncle area stretches from the anus to the tail. It is 1 3/8 inches long. About an inch from the anus, the caudal peduncle has a circumference of about eleven-sixteenths of an inch, and its dorsal area, which is flat, has a width of one-eighth of an inch. Its ventral is thin and sickle-shaped. At its junction with the tail, the width of the flat dorsal area increases to three-eighths of an inch. Likewise, its ventral area increases in size, and it possesses a flange. The epidermis of the sides of the first nine-sixteenths of an inch of the caudal peduncle is embossed with scales, and the epidermis of the next three-quarters of an inch is smooth. The epidermis of its entire dorsal and ventral areas is smooth. Most of the caudal peduncle is opaque, but a small portion of its ventral is somewhat transparent. The entire caudal peduncle is solid soft-plastic.

It is endowed with a paddle tail, which some anglers call a boot tail. It is three-quarters of an inch long and nine-sixteenths of an inch wide at its widest spot. Portions of the tail are opaque, and other areas are transparent. Its epidermis is smooth.

It is manufactured in the following hues: Blue, Chartreuse, Ghost, Glass, Natural, and Violet.

It is buoyant.

A package of four costs $5.29.

Endnotes

1. Here are two links to the websites for Catch Co.’s and Karl’s Club; https://catchco.com/project/10k-fish/. https://shopkarls.com/10-000-fish-shimmer-swimmer.
2. Midwest finesse anglers will affix the Shimmer Swimmer on a mushroom-style jig, and they will present it to their black bass quarries the same way they have been retrieving a Curly Tail Grub and a Sassy Shad. Most to the time, they will employ a swimming presentation. But there will be spells when they will use the swim-glide-and-shake presentation. Here is the link to the Midwest finesse column that provides detailed descriptions about the six retrieves that can be employed with the Shimmer Swimmer: https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/six-midwest-finesse-retrieves/153946.
3. Biospawn is part of Catch Co. Here are two links to Midwest Finesse gear guides about Biospawn’s PlasmaTail and ExoStick:  https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/biospawn-4-inch-plasmatail/359795. https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/biospawn-lure-companys-exostick/329692.
4. Here is the link to our gear guide about 10,000 Fish’s Sukoshi Bug: https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/10-000-fish-s-sukoshi-bug/365592.
5. Here is our gear guide about 10,000 Fish's Shimmer Shad: https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/10000-fishs-shimmer-shad/369968.

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