Spinnerbait favorites

[IowaBasser]

I got a Plano Spinnerbait box and love it! It's the size of a standard 3700 box that fits in my new soft-sided tackle bag and holds 39 spinner baits. I was skeptical that the spinnerbaits would be tightly packed together and I would only be able to use every other slot, but they fit nicely.

Now I can easily see my spinnerbaits and I have room for more! I realized I am short on double willow blade and willow/colorado combination spinner baits.

What are your favorites: size, brands and colors?

[carolina-rig-01]

I have a few brands that I really like. I pitch and flip a spinnerbait probably 70% of the time I fish a spinnerbait. When I am doing this I really like this spinnerbait http://stansloanzorrobaitco.com/view...color=dtndmwil . The head design on this spinnerbait comes through thick brush a lot better than any other spinnerbait I have fished. The rattle on them also is an added bonus in the muddy water of Grand Lake where I fish most of my tournaments. A few years back when Stan Sloan passed away they ceased production. Being uncertain what would happen to the company I bought a ton of these spinnerbaits. Since then they have started making them again and so they are not nearly as difficult to find as they were a few years ago.

For just chunking and winding I prefer War Eagle spinnerbaits. They have always ran very true out of the package and have skirts that are tied on rather than using skirt bands. I have heard some people say that they have had problems with the arms breaking on these spinnerbaits but I have been fishing them for several years and have yet to have one break (knock on wood).

Booyah also makes a good spinnerbait that is usually easy to find.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the above.

[keithdog]

My favorite commercially available spinnerbaits are the Strike King KVD spinnerbaits, but I really want to pick up a couple War Eagle spinnerbaits as I know they have a huge following. I've never tried the War Eagle spinnerbaits myself, but I do like the KVD models. Actually, I make my own now and use those probably 80% of the time. My favorite is the 3/8 oz willow/colorado combo, with colors depending on water and light conditions. If left with one spinnerbait though, it would be a white magic skirt with a gold willow and silver colorado combo..

[IowaBasser]

Originally Posted by keithdog

My favorite commercially available spinnerbaits are the Strike King KVD spinnerbaits, but I really want to pick up a couple War Eagle spinnerbaits as I know they have a huge following. I've never tried the War Eagle spinnerbaits myself, but I do like the KVD models. Actually, I make my own now and use those probably 80% of the time. My favorite is the 3/8 oz willow/colorado combo, with colors depending on water and light conditions. If left with one spinnerbait though, it would be a white magic skirt with a gold willow and silver colorado combo..

Is the "magic skirt" the KVD Spinnerbait with the trailer built in?

[kiddelicious]

Fishing sections at dicks, gander, bps etc have a 2 pack of skirts made ny strike king called "the perfect skirt" or " perfect magic skirt". Never bought into them but they look like a sexy shad.

[Dave63]

I'm not a big brand guy. Many are Strike King, but as many are "house brands" from GM and Wal-Mart. I purchase mainly based on blade configurations and skirts. If I don't like the color, I can always change that. I have probably 90% double blades. Of that 90% probably 75% are double willows. I have caught more big fish on willow leaf blades, so that is why. My current favorite blade combo is one silver and one gold. I often replace skirts to suit conditions and my mood, as well as when they start getting threadbare. I personally don't use anything over 3/8 oz since I find it easier to maneuver in and around weed beds.

[lilmule]

I liked the stan sloan bend so well,incorporated it into the DBBB(double barrel bass buster)
Yea am aware they look like buzzbaits,I use them however the same a a spinnerbait.
I am unique in some respects

[keithdog]

Originally Posted by IowaBasser

Is the "magic skirt" the KVD Spinnerbait with the trailer built in?

Sorry about the late reply. Been gone most of the day. But yes, it's actually called the Perfect skirt with magic tails. Longer strands extending from the center of the skirt to provide a built in trailer. It seems to work pretty well from my experience. But if I'm not using that particular skirt, I still get plenty of strikes on spinnerbaits. I often will slip on a 4 inch twist tail grub for a trailer. One little trick that seems to work very well is a chartruese or bight yellow grub trailer on a white spinnerbait. That contrast of color gets a lot of attention.

[kennethdaysale]

I like Strike King Titanium and prefer tandem Colorado and usually trim my skirts down to only 10-20 short strands...sans trailer.

[IowaBasser]

Originally Posted by Dave63

...many are "house brands" from GM and Wal-Mart...

Many of my spinnerbaits are also "house-brand" - The main problem with the house-brands in my tackle box are the twisted-wire eye instead of S-bend open-eye. (I hope that made sense?) The twisted eye seems to pick up a few more weeds and also tends not to run as straight - especially if it ever gets bent.

I looked at a lot of Spinnerbaits yesterday and I'm leaning towards these 2 brands:

$5.99 Strike King Premeir Plus

$7.99 Terminator T1 Colorado Willow

The Strike King has the magic-tail skirt and the terminator has similar skirt. The available colors played a roll in my choice; I have plenty of white, chartreuse, mixed white & chartreuse, and black spinnerbaits... I was looking for something that imitated a bluegill or had a blue/yellow combination.

I did take into account kiethdog's endorsement for the Strike King KVD spinnerbait - I'm hoping the Premier Plus Strike King is similar quality to the KVD brand which is sold exclusivly at Bass Pro Shops. (I've had issues with BPS and vowed not to shop there for awhile.)

I have a friend who loves the terminator spinnerbaits - his endorsement tipped the scales to give them a try.

I'm leaning towards mostly 3/8 oz. spinnerbaits; however I may make a trip to a store to look at sizes in person before I make my final decision on size.

Thanks for your help.

[Dave63]

Those premiers have hooks that are sharp as hell! Very good out of the box. It's getting harder to find the "twist eye" tie on points, at least around here. It must be cheaper to make the S bend. I never minded the extra hassle when they were all you could get.

[keithdog]

You can buy replacement Strike King skirts and they do sell a bluegill color that has been a great producer for me.

[Dave63]

I don't care for the Terminator's personally, it used to be if the titanium wire was wrong out of the box, you were screwed because you couldn't bend it to get the blades to work properly. I stripped and tossed a couple of them right out of the box because if that. Don't know if that's still an issue.

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by Dave63

I don't care for the Terminator's personally, it used to be if the titanium wire was wrong out of the box, you were screwed because you couldn't bend it to get the blades to work properly. I stripped and tossed a couple of them right out of the box because if that. Don't know if that's still an issue.

I am not a big fan of Terminator spinnerbaits either. They seem to be solid enough spinnerbaits for a guy who doesn't like to tinker with his spinnerbaits, but I like to spread the arm apart at times to keep the bait higher in the water column with a slower retrieve or close it together to keep if from breaking the surface while burning it. With the Terminators you can't do this.

[Bubba_Bruiser]

I'm not an Auburn fan, but I like my War Eagles. I noticed Lucky Craft has ones for only 15.99 ?( anyone ever tried or balls'd up enough to buy one?

[T7HeadTurner]

Dandy Baits, out of Reno, NV
1/2 oz and really like the Mr Boops had my best luck w/ it. Some may say the SLK is a killer

[DaveW731]

I am not picky on brands, as long as the bait has an R bend vs. twisted eye for line location, ball-bearing swivels for the top spinnerblade and quality hook. I have accumulated Strike King, Booyah, BPS, GM, Terminators and garage sale baits of unknown origin.

I have a total of 12 configurations, one each in chartreuse/white, chartreuse/blue, firetiger or black. 8 are 3/8 oz, 4 of which are single Colorado (for thumping in dirty water) 4 are double-willow (for all other applications).
4 are 1/4 oz, double-willow.

I use a silver/gold combo on the willow leaf and gold on the single Colorado

[IowaBasser]

The monkey got the best of me this week:
I might have went over-board on the soft plastics, do you think 18 bags is excessive???
(20 bags if you count spinnerbait trailers, plus 7 more bags of replacement skirts)
Here is my purchase list:

Utility Boxes:
6 Plano 3500 Utility Boxes

Soft Plastics:
2 bags Zoom Dead Ringer worms: color Junebug
2 bags Zoom Dead Ringer worms: color Pumpkin Chartreuse
1 bag Chompers Skirted Grub: color Orange Marmalade
1 bag 5" Kalin's Lunker Grubs - 415 Smoke
1 bag 4" Kalin's Lunker Grubs - 410 Bluegill
1 bag 4" Kalin's Lunker Grubs - 441 Smoke/Red Flake/ Pepper
1 bag 3" Kalin's Lunker Grubs - 415 Smoke
1 bag 3" Kalin's Lunker Grubs - 633 Apple Juice
2 bags Stanley Ribbit Frogs 3.5" White
1 bag Smallie Beaver 3.50 Fried Watermelon
1 bag Sweet Beaver 4.20 Fried Watermelon
1 bag Sweet Beaver 4.20 Penetration
1 bag Yum F2 Wooly Hawgcraw Crawfish Green Flake
1 bag Yum F2 Wooly Hawgcraw Dark Grasshopper
1 bag Yum F2 Wooly Hawgcraw Red Shad

Lipless crankbaits:
Strike King Red Eye Shad Bleeding Gizzard
Strike King Red Eye Shad Red Blk Back Gold
XCalibur Xr50 Rattle Bait Chrome Black
XCalibur Xr50 Rattle Bait Rayburn Red

Spinnerbaits:
Strike King Premier Plus Bluegill Col/Wil Slv/Gld 3/8oz
Strike King Premier Plus Sexy Shad Col/Wil Gld/Sil 3/8oz
Terminator T1 Crappie Col/Wil Gld/Sil 3/8oz
Terminator T1 Sunfish Col/Wil Gld/Gld 3/8oz
Revenge Bluegill Wil/Wil Gold/Gold 3/8oz
Long Arm Aggravator Bluegill DBL Wil Gld/Sl 3/8oz

Spinnerbait/Jig Replacement Skirts:
package of 2: Perfect Skirt Magic Tails Bluegill
package of 2: Perfect Skirt Magic Tails Chartreuse Sexy S
package of 2: Perfect Skirt Magic Tails Sexy Shad
package of 2: BOSS Creature Skirt Bluegill
package of 2: BOSS Creature Skirt Clear Water Craw
package of 2: BOSS Creature Skirt Old Faithful
package of 2: BOSS Creature Skirt PB&J

Spinnerbait trailers:
1 bag Zoom Split Tail Trailer Chartreuse Glitter
1 bag Zoom Split Tail Trailer White

I ordered everything Monday or Tuesday from either Tacklewarehouse or LandBigFish.com. It should be here by the weekend. Only $5 for 2-day air shipping from Tacklewarehouse with a purchase over $50!

[keithdog]

Originally Posted by IowaBasser

The monkey got the best of me this week:
I might have went over-board on the soft plastics, do you think 18 bags is excessive???
(20 bags if you count spinnerbait trailers, plus 7 more bags of replacement skirts)
Here is my purchase list:

Utility Boxes:
6 Plano 3500 Utility Boxes

Soft Plastics:
2 bags Zoom Dead Ringer worms: color Junebug
2 bags Zoom Dead Ringer worms: color Pumpkin Chartreuse
1 bag Chompers Skirted Grub: color Orange Marmalade
1 bag 5" Kalin's Lunker Grubs - 415 Smoke
1 bag 4" Kalin's Lunker Grubs - 410 Bluegill
1 bag 4" Kalin's Lunker Grubs - 441 Smoke/Red Flake/ Pepper
1 bag 3" Kalin's Lunker Grubs - 415 Smoke
1 bag 3" Kalin's Lunker Grubs - 633 Apple Juice
2 bags Stanley Ribbit Frogs 3.5" White
1 bag Smallie Beaver 3.50 Fried Watermelon
1 bag Sweet Beaver 4.20 Fried Watermelon
1 bag Sweet Beaver 4.20 Penetration
1 bag Yum F2 Wooly Hawgcraw Crawfish Green Flake
1 bag Yum F2 Wooly Hawgcraw Dark Grasshopper
1 bag Yum F2 Wooly Hawgcraw Red Shad

Lipless crankbaits:
Strike King Red Eye Shad Bleeding Gizzard
Strike King Red Eye Shad Red Blk Back Gold
XCalibur Xr50 Rattle Bait Chrome Black
XCalibur Xr50 Rattle Bait Rayburn Red

Spinnerbaits:
Strike King Premier Plus Bluegill Col/Wil Slv/Gld 3/8oz
Strike King Premier Plus Sexy Shad Col/Wil Gld/Sil 3/8oz
Terminator T1 Crappie Col/Wil Gld/Sil 3/8oz
Terminator T1 Sunfish Col/Wil Gld/Gld 3/8oz
Revenge Bluegill Wil/Wil Gold/Gold 3/8oz
Long Arm Aggravator Bluegill DBL Wil Gld/Sl 3/8oz

Spinnerbait/Jig Replacement Skirts:
package of 2: Perfect Skirt Magic Tails Bluegill
package of 2: Perfect Skirt Magic Tails Chartreuse Sexy S
package of 2: Perfect Skirt Magic Tails Sexy Shad
package of 2: BOSS Creature Skirt Bluegill
package of 2: BOSS Creature Skirt Clear Water Craw
package of 2: BOSS Creature Skirt Old Faithful
package of 2: BOSS Creature Skirt PB&J

Spinnerbait trailers:
1 bag Zoom Split Tail Trailer Chartreuse Glitter
1 bag Zoom Split Tail Trailer White

I ordered everything Monday or Tuesday from either Tacklewarehouse or LandBigFish.com. It should be here by the weekend. Only $5 for 2-day air shipping from Tacklewarehouse with a purchase over $50!

Hmmmmmm.....wasn't there a lottery winner recently out the in Iowa? Great haul buddy.

[carolina-rig-01]

Looks like you did great IowaBasser. Good luck with all the new tools.

[TN_Bassin]

I fish war eagle spinnerbaits almost exclusively... I've had some break on me, but that's after catching 20-30 fish on it, or several big fish. A war eagle will catch fish that other spinnerbaits won't where I use it so I can deal with them breaking, just get a new one if I feel it's getting weak. If I'm in a situation where I need a heavy spinnerbait (1/2 up to 1oz) I throw the Strike King Bottom Dweller for 3/4 and 1oz and the Burner for 1/2's.

I'm not a fan of the newer Terminator's but the older one's designed by skeet reese are awesome (if a little hard to find, and pricey)... they had a tungsten head with a titanium wire and they were and still are killer. They offered a smaller profile that could still go as deep as a heavier blade. A 1/2oz one of these would run just as deep as a 1oz. Making them extremely versitile.

[bigjim]

I usually stick with the Strike King brand on my spinner baits, although 1 day i happen to be at walmart and they had some bargain bin of $1 spinner baits (few yrs ago now) all of which just have a single colorado blade, i just assumed they were garbage, but for a buck i said what the hell ill buy 5 in different colors, ive caught plenty of bass on those things

[slounch_slayer]

I like the War eagle spinnerbaits. Skirt doesn't get hung in the blades. Runs true and gets bit.

[ZHerman330]

I have used the war eagles as well as the strike king tour grade. They both have awesome skirts and are definitely built to withstand some punishment. Can't go wrong with either one. I will say the strike kings seem to come through thicker cover better in my experience.

[shawn]

I typically throw strike king or booyah spinner baits. A buddy of mine swears by the quad blade spinner baits by throw n thunder. Thrownthunder.com