To spin...or not to spin.

[DadofJolly]

Gentlemen,
Question for you guys that fish really CLEAR water lakes a lot: Do you fish spinnerbaits much? There are a lot of big fish caught every spring on my home lake on white spinnerbaits. Seems like every year there are a couple 10lb plus fish taken on them – usually a single colorado blade. Our lake is CRYSTAL CLEAR. All the pros will say that this is not the best choice for clear water situations. I'm not sure if it is just because two out of three boats have a guy fishing one or because they are such a reaction bait – and the fish don't care about the water clarity. Every spring I consider spending more time fishing one. But when I get on the water, it is so clear I can see the darn thing 40 yds away and I tend to lose my confidence in it and return to my confidence baits. Do you guys think the fish don't care or is there just a high "spinnerbait – to – bass ratio?" Thanks.

[JB]

I always wait for a really windy day to throw spinnerbaits on clear water lakes...like 15 mph winds, and my choice of blade is a tandem willow spinnerbait with hammered willowleaves.

[DadofJolly]

JB
We certainly have our share of the wind here in the spring. (Wait for the wind). I'll remember that, thanks Man.
DadofJolly

[HOG Ranger]

My main fishing lake is crystal clear also and I have my best luck fishing a dark blue or black spinnerbait which goes against all the fishing philosophy.

[BassMoJo]

I would fish a spinner my self but then again id fish a spinner almost anywere ...but ive had the most success with my spinner right when its starts raining i almost grantee a fish every cast !!

[Rebbasser]

DoJ, I make my own spinnerbaits, and have NEVER caught one on a spinnerbait in crystal clear water. Give me a little stain, though...

[ToPwAt'R GuY]

I use a 3/4 ounce bait with small willow leafs. You dont want the fish to get a really good look at the bait so fish it fast.

[Bassinkid]

Giving the fish somthing they haven't seen before is good, but with spinnerbaits you should always keep it in your possiblities. If you do use a spinnerbait though use a very plane color like solid brown, green, blue or something that will stand out in the bright waters. If the sun is too bright the bass wil retreat deaper or go to very heavey cover so maybe a worm in deep weeds or vegitation will do the trick. Always look for shaded areas were the bass can excape the light because bass are very light sensitive.

[KSbassfishinkid34]

i would say for really clear water add maybe a small trailer and make sure you have a fast reel because you will need to zip it back pretty fast.

[zooker]

clear dead calm water and i will put on a school in spinnerbaiting..this is my absolute favorite water condition for the blade. add a trailer hook. the trick here is #1 blade choice and #2 high speed retrivel..

if the bass are coming at it but stop short -1-2 feet -speed up..if they follow it but don't strike it rip it with the rod tip with cranking you arm off..

if they stop short this means they are getting to good of a look at it. a rip at high speed looks like a bait fish kicking it and a pursuing bass will normally go even harder to grab it.

blade choice basicly if you burn a blade you get lift meaning the bait nears the surface. choose a double blade that is all silver /chrome or my favorite black nickel.. blade tuning is essential in getting a bait like a hawg caller to run straight. hint*the arm and the hook are not in a straight line.. i always add a bulky curley tailed 4" grub. you get a flashy, bulky bait going flat out thru the water. bass will not get a good look at it they just will hammer the bait and hope for the best..

zooker

[carolina-rig-01]

zooker, if i may add to what you said...i agree whole heartedly with what you said about the fish getting too good of a look at the spinnerbait. on a sunny day the surface of the water to a fish looking up will appear silver in color, on a cloudy day it will look white. so try to think of what the fish will see looking up and throw a spinnerbait that matches the color of the surface. you aren't really wanting the fish to see the spinnerbait all that well, they just need to see enough of it to know it's there, and they can gather enough information off of other senses to accomplish this. i hope that i didn't put words in zookers mouth but i agreed with what he said and wanted to add my two cents worth to it. perhaps if you could find out what the weather was like on the days these 10 lb. bass were caught on white spinnerbaits, you may find they were cloudy conditions.

[zooker]

my best bass 9.3 was caught on a dead calm blue bird day in july from a gin clear pond..

zooker

[dampeoples]

Spinnerbaits resemble a little fish, big fish eat little fish! If the white bothers you, go for something a little more natural, say in a shad or bass pattern, and fish a small spinnerbait!

[DadofJolly]

I understand the clear water - run it fast so they don't get a good look theory. But, most of these fish I hear about are in Feb & Mar. and the are supposedly "slow rolling" them. Shoot I don't know. Maybe I should just try and stick with it this year. When I started trying to learn to fish a jig I would take a day and ONLY bring my jig box with me. I got a lot of confidence in it that way. Thanks for the input Men.

[Rebbasser]

Zooker, that black nickle blade is a good idea-I'll give that one a shot.

You know what? Thinking back I have to amend my statement-I HAVE caught them in real clear water on a spinnerbait. It was sunny, windy, and I was throwing a white bait with silver blades.