Almost forgotten yet effective lures for bass

[islandbass]

I went fishing with my wife's uncle and he outfished me (we weren't competing) 2.5 fish to 1. When I set up my drop shot rig and realized I missed a guide (arrrrgh!!), he had already nailed three decent bass with live earthworms (weightless) in the span it took me to set up the rig. It took me that long because the line slipped through all of the guides as I was watched him in awe!!! He nailed his first 15 bass this way and then when that bite slowed, he switched to a yellow rooster tail. How long has it been (if ever) since any of us tossed a rooster tail with the intent to catch a bass? Well, he proceeded to nail another 15 bass with that inline spinner.

It wasn’t that I was not catching bass. I was just catching them at a slower rate!!! I caught on after that and tied on a homemade inline spinner and started nailing them myself just as quickly and on the first cast to boot. Yee hah!!!!! Practically every cast was a hit and it inspired me to make more inline spinners when I got home.

I guess my point or what I realized is that sometimes we get caught up in the latest and greatest baits and we discount or forget the effectiveness and simplicity of some baits we probably started fishing with like night crawlers and inline spinners.

I will be sending these homemade inlines to a Iraq for our troops who go fishing there. I know it is not much but it is the least I think that I can do.


Inline spinners - Big bass class for sure and they should work on other species too.


This is one of my "Patriot" inline spinners. Red and blue bucktail on top of White feathers. May it find our troops some fish over there!


If I told you the number of bass he caught, no one here would believe me. And he did it all with two ugly sticks, one of which was an ultra-light, and two abu g spinning reels. It was the best fishing day ever in my life.

Thanks!

-ib

[CLENSKH]

Panther Martins are my secret weapon for smallies!

[jooleyen]

Very true islandbass.

[Rebbasser]

IB, that is a good thing you are doing for the troops. I salute you, sir!

[brushhog]

My fishing buddy has been killing them with a lazy ike - I didn't even know what one was!

[bassfisher02]

Thats a good thing to do, i'm sure they will get some good fish with those, they look awesome!!

I use inlines all the time, although I use them for saltwater, and can never seem to make them last. They all begin to rust the day after, even after a dunk in freshwater. I love to use inlines when all else fails, because they are sure to catch you something, whether it be a bass or bluegill, atleast you are catchin fish!!

You should start a company, IslandBass' Inline Spinners, Inc.

Send me a care package to go along with the name. Haha just kidding.

[BigBassin144]

Yesterday I was fishing in my pond and the fish weren't hitting anything. I tried the basics and then the stuff the smallies in m pond flip for, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, hula poppers, floating rapalas. Then it was like someone hit me in the head with a hammer. 'USE A SPINNER' It was my go to bait before all this new fancy crap they got out these days. I threw a small Mepps Black Fury on my ultralight and BAM! after a while the bites were slowing down so i switched to a chartreuse RoosterTail. and again the bass were hitting like crazy. I'll always remember to go back to those good ole lures.

[tango3065]

Could you tell me where to get the supplies to start making my own inlines, also any tips or general instructions?

[islandbass]

Tango,

You can get supplies from a number of places. Many of the components I used to make these inlines are from local companies in my neck of the woods, but I have purchased many supplies from places line Stamina.

www.staminainc.com

This is the only place I have ordered items that weren't local. If there is a Sportman's warehouse in your area, they just might carry those inline spinner components. there are a wide variety of blade shapes and sizes. I suppose the easiest thing to do is to go to Stamina's site and order a free catalog.

You can also visit this site to see a very basic tutorial that can get you started.

http://www.luremaking.com/howto/frenchspinner.htm

There are some guidelines that I learned some things to keep in mind from a book titled, "Spinner Fishing for Steelhead, Salmon and Trout" by Jed Davis. The ISBN number (yeah, call me a geek, I have the ISBN # of every book I've read about fishing worth remembering) is 0-936608-40-4.

If you can salmon or steelhead fish in your area, chances would be very good that your local library will have the book.

The tutorial in the link is a very good start. The only thing I would keep in mind is that as a rule of thumb, the spinner's body length should not (but can) exceed that of the blade. Other than that, be as creative as you can be. Also, unlike other lure making projects, making inline spinners is relatively cheap. All you need is a pair of round nosed pliers and some practice.

Good luck. You probably already know how great it is to catch a fish. Let me tell you it is is even sweeter when you catch one on something you made.

Oh yeah! One thing about that tutorial. I do NOT follow their deal about adding a treble with their open ended loop. I actually close the loop and add the treble with a split ring. It is an added piece, but I put it believing it would take any leverage a bigger fish might have. In addition, I can change the hook from treble to single in a flash. The method in the tutorial is a one time shot. Once made the only way to change the hook is to snap off the treble. I also add a swivel at the top. This leaves you with only one connection that can fail instead of three if you have the swivel above the spinner.

[Rodman_Rob]

beetle spins tend to work when the bass are tight lipped.

[bassfisher02]

IslandBass, I dont know if its just my computer but the Stamina Inc link isnt working for me... I'd like to start maqking my own as well, so just wondering if its my computer or if it doesnt work for everyone? Thanks

[bassfisher02]

Follow up: It seems now the link IS working, must have been my computer.

IB, what wire diameter do you usually use?

[islandbass]

Bassfisher,

It depends on the species. I try to use as light as I can get away with, and that was after seeing companies like mepps going thin themselves.

Trout and Pan Fish: 0.024" or
Bass and Steelies: 0.31. 0.35
Steelies and salmon: 0.31 - 0.41
muskies: 0.51"

I have made spinners for muskys but I have yet to fish for them personally. Others that have used them send they work so that has me stoked.


musky class

[Rebbasser]

02, Stamina is where I get all my spinnerbait components. Keithdog just ordered some stuff from them and I have an order on the way.

[bassfisher02]

Yeah I think I'm going to start making some, as soon as I get some money ofcourse. Haha.

[Nitro911]

Beetle spins. That is funny Rob. I actually placed in the money a couple of years ago in a tournament throwing a beetle spin. The guy that was fishing me said "You have GOT to be kidding" when I tied it on.

[Wishing2BFishing]

IB, that Patriot spinner is a "purty" lure.