Spinnerbaits

[TBone66]

I have been the type of person that has just had a box full of lures and just went through them until I found something that worked. This year I am setting a goal, I want to get a better idea of what works best when and how to get the most out of my tackle. First off, spinnerbaits. When and where do you like to throw spinnerbaits? What about blade styles? Sizes? Skirts and trailers? If you could please just give me a good break down.

[chopsticktown]

well what is the primary forage in your lake or body of water you fish?

try to match the color of skirt to the color of the forage; Shad, bluegill, perch ETC...

you can throw them around cover; laydowns, docks, and the such, and you can fish them in deep water over structure just like you would a crankbait

and i keep hearing that 3/4oz is a really good size for a spinnerbait

[BassinNC]

I agree, but when its sunny I use more translucent color and cloudy days more solid colors. You willow leave blades displace less water that colorado blades.

[Bassboss]

Well, everyone here has probably seen this at least once! But here ya go, something I wrote be for, some I'm copying and pasting it from there!


I love fishing spinnerbaits! They're fast moving, and I catch a lot of bass on them. Out of all the bass over 5 pounds I've caught, most of them have been on spinnerbaits!

Working spinnerbaits

Spinnerbaits are easy to use and effective. There's no right or wrong way to fish them. The way most people fish them is with a straight, fast to medium-fast retrieve. However, I have found that a stop and go retrieve is also effective, as is an erratic one done by shaking the rod tip slightly on the retrieve so as to make the skirt pulsate. I also will make speed changes a lot, I'll be reeling it in, and then will suddenly start reeling fast, than kill it! A lot of my bass on spinnerbaits come by doing this. I think I get a lot of my bass this way for the same reason you wanna knock a crankbait on a piece of wood, or rock. This change in speed triggers a bass to hit! Most of them time you wanna keep the bait relatively high in the water column! Another VERY effective way to fish them is to wake them, this is easiest to do with a big willow leaf blade or Colorado blade, Simply cast out and reel, reeling fast enough to keep a constant wake on the water.

Another good way to fish them is slow-roll them. I also like to do this with a big number 5 willow, or a number 4 Colorado. Cast out let the bait sinks to the bottom and start reeling relatively slowly. This will keep the blade rotating and kicking up silt on the bottom, it's kind of a reveres waking method! Another thing I like to do with spinnerbaits is to bring them over hydrilla, and where there's a hole in it, drop in side there, bass will hit them then too!

There's almost no limit as to where you can fish spinnerbaits. There pretty weedless, you can can pull them through wood, and weeds relatively snag free. Don't afraid to throw them in the thick stuff like hydrilla and and reeds.

Also an other great way to fish them is around stick ups! Trees or big sticks coming out of the water. Get up close to the tree almost like you're gonna pitch to it, in fact you are! So get close and pitch the bait to the tree, as soon as it hits, start stripping line from the reel to let it fall straight the length of the tree. Watch your line all the time, if it stops of moves put a little pressure on the line, not to much, but just enough to tell if it's a fish or the spinnerbait stopping or sliding down or something.

Trailers?


The only time when I don't use a trailer on spinnerbaits is if I don't have one! And I've never not had trailers! Good trailers would be split tail worms, grubs, Hula grubs, and paddle tail worms. Out of all of them, I thing I like the grub, and split tail worm.

split tail worms:



So many colors, so little time

There are so many spinnerbait colors out there it's hard to find the right one that the bass will bite! It can definitely confuse a lot of people just starting to use spinnerbaits!


Clear water



As far as color, and blades sizes, I like chartreuse for most conditions, if the water is super clear I'll use a white skirt with some translucent skirt strands, silver #3, or #4 blades are also better for clear water. It's nice to have flash strands for clear water too. ^^^ There's a good example of one! A smaller 1/4 oz size is best.



Strained water



For colors in stained water with a visibility of 8 feet or less, I like chartreuse and white skirts, with no flash skirts strands, or translucent skirts strands. You need a bigger profile bait so the bass can find it better in the stained water, so a 3/8oz is what I use!



Chocolate, and murky water









When I fish murky, or Chocolate milk colored water, it's good to have spinnerbaits with florescent colors, such as red, yellow, chartreuse, and orange; the brighter the better! It really helps the bass see it a little better. You need a bigger profile bait so the bass can find it better in the muddy water -- even more so than in stained water, so a 1/2 oz with a big bulky skirt is what I use! Fish it slower so the fish can hone in on it better!

So many blades so little time; The tree main blades

There are so many blades styles out now that it's hard to you which blade to use, for what conditions! As a general rule, the bigger the blade, the more flash, and vibration it emits.


Willow leaf blades!



Willow blades are the narrow blades, these ones give off much more flash than the bigger rounder, bulkier Colorado blade, and are much better for clear water or stained, and around thick grass. It's thinner blade design helps it glide through grass much more efficiently than any other blade I've used. The willow blades also give the bait a lager profile than a Colorado blade. Most of them time I use a number 4 - 4 1/2 size willow.


Colorado Blades!



The Colorado blade is a rounded, oval blade, it's short, yet wide. Because of these characteristics of a Colorado blade, it gives off much more vibration than a willow blade, but does not give nearly as much flash as one. The Colorado blade does not go through grass as well as a willow, it tends to get wrapped up better in the grass. Yet goes through wood and rock just fine! It's also a great blade for waking! It displaces much, much more water than a willow, thus, giving off a bigger wake! Since it gives off less flash, and more vibration, it’s much more effective in murky water than willow blade.


Turtle shell/Indian blades



The Indian blade, aka the turtle shell blade, is like a willow blade, and a Colorado blade combined. However, I would say it's has the characteristics of a Colorado, more than it does a willow. It has a little more flash than a Colorado blade, and little less vibration than a Colorado blade. It works best in stained to murky water. Works well in thin grass, and goes through rock and wood fine.



Short strikes?

I know allot of people will say that if you getting "hits", but missing fish, that you should put on a trailer hook. Most people think that they're setting the hook to soon, or not getting a good hook set, I for one don't think it's either of them! I've tried trailer hooks, and it helps some, but I get allot of fish hooked on the out side of the mouth, and also, it get snagged easier. When I miss fish, this tells me that the bass are coming up and smacking the spinnerbait with there mouth shut. Now most of the time, I use a number 4 - 4 1/2 size willow blade, this give the bait a big profile, so what I'll do rather than putting on a trailer hook, is add a smaller blade, or change the blades entirely! I'll most of the time but on a small Colorado, or Indian blade, this gives the bait a much smaller profile. And the bass will eat the bait, much more than they did before with the bigger profile willow leaf blade!


Rain or shine, the spinnerbait can do it all!

If it's cloudy, over cast or rainy, the sun will no be much of a factor, so flash is not needed, so using a willow blade will not give you much flash, if any, and this is what the willow has a lot of, thus, a willow blade would not be as good of a choice as a Colorado blade, or Indiana blade. I'll use these two blades when it over cast, regardless of water clarity! The only thing I will change about the blades if it's over cast and in clear water, is the size of them. A number 7 Colorado or Indiana blade will give off more vibration than a number 3 or 4. If the water stained, I'll use a number 5-6, and if it's murky, the bigger ones the better!


What kind of gear do I need?

There's a lot of fish gear out there, it's hard to know what kind of gear to use for any kind of lure, here's what I use for spinnerbaits!

What kind of rod do I need?

A more sensitive rod is not needed, but can help, so you don't need to spend 200 or 300 dollars on rod for spinnerbait. My preferd spinnerbait rod is 6 1/2, to 7 feet in length, with a fast tip, MH action. The longer 6 1/2 or 7 foot rod will let you cast a lot further than you would with a 6 foot rod. The fast tip and MH action rod will let the bass tack the spinnerbait before you set the hook, if you had a stouter rod, than you would actually take the spinnerbait away from the bass before the bass can get a hold on it.

What reel?

I much prefer bait casting reels over spinning reels, it gives me more control and and power over the spinnerbait than a spinning reel would offer. Gear rations? The gear ration of a reel controls how much power, and the speed you can move the bait. A high gear ration like a 7.1:1 reel has a lot of speed, but not much power, a 6.3:1 reel offers plenty of speed, and a good amount of power. A 5.2:1 reel offers little speed, and a lot of power. Out of all, the best gear ration to use for spinnerbaits in my opinion is a 6.3:1 reel. It give me a good balance of speed and power!

What line should I use?

Spinnerbaits are is a fast moving lure, so the bass never get a really good look at it so you don't need to got with a light line. Since it's a fast moving lure, and you mostly fish it cover, you should use at least 15lb test mono filament. Most of the time I use 17 or 20 lb mono though. Since mono has stretch, it lets the bass get a good grip on the spinnerbait before you set the hook. I'll sometimes use braided lines, but prefer mono because it has stretch. Braid has no stretch, so the you're gonna have to delay the hook set one or seconds, otherwise you'll pull the bait away from the bass. I will use braid though, it's just slightly more of a specialized line than mono. I stay away from fluorocarbon almost entirely! It sinks! And as I said above, spinnerbaits are more effective in the higher parts of the water column. And if you use flouro, than it will be harder to keep that spinnerbait up high. I do use it if I'm slow rolling spinnerbaits on the bottom though.

~ Good luck and good fishin!

[MallenManson]

Bassboss, even though I've read it before, I'm always compelled to read it again!
I throw 3/8 oz spinnerbaits, ALWAYS with a 2/0 trailer hook and a 4" Swirl Tail Grub.
Any time possible, I try to match the local bass munchies, throwin' a Bluegill patterned skirt at least 75% of the time.
If that pattern's not workin', I'll switch to a Firetiger or White/Chartreuse, as long as it's sunny out and the water is clear.
I also have some Ozark Craw skirts I'll be tryin' in the spring.
So far, I've been hooked on #4 Colorado blades, mostly silver, but I will switch to gold occasionally.
I prefer to throw at pads, structure or reed beds but I've caught them in as much as 15' of water.
Just started using spinnerbaits and i just can't seem to put them down. Missed out on spring spinnerbait fishing last season, but I can't wait to hit Platte Lake early this year for smallies.
There really is no wrong time to spinnerbait fish.

[Rebbasser]

Great info, BB!

Where and when? A windblown bank is hard to beat for throwing a spinnerbait. Parallel the bank the wind is blowing into. In these conditions I usually throw a shad colored bait with double willow blades and fish it fast.

The nice thing about spinnerbaits is they are so versatile. You can fish them fast, slow, shallow, deep-just experiment and let the fish tell you what they want.

[MallenManson]

Originally Posted by Rebbasser

Great info, BB!

Where and when? A windblown bank is hard to beat for throwing a spinnerbait. Parallel the bank the wind is blowing into. In these conditions I usually throw a shad colored bait with double willow blades and fish it fast.

The nice thing about spinnerbaits is they are so versatile. You can fish them fast, slow, shallow, deep-just experiment and let the fish tell you what they want.

That is 100% true. For the most part I like pulling it out of shallows, or away from structure, with a fairly fast retrieve, treating it like a buzzbait clone in the shallows.
But if they're layin down a little deeper, a drop, followed by a slow retrieve, will usually work.
If all else fails, or you don't know what depth they're hangin at, treat it like a yo-yo.
They really are an all-purpose, all depth lure.
For anyone that really needs to understand how awesome it is, fishing with spinnerbaits, take me for example.
Started using em last summer. I now make my own and just today, received a full time spinnerbait rod in the mail. It's my most expensive rod currently. No matter the depths or conditions, it's my go to bait now.

[Bassboss]

Thanks a lot guys!

Originally Posted by MallenManson

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That is 100% true. For the most part I like pulling it out of shallows, or away from structure, with a fairly fast retrieve, treating it like a buzzbait clone in the shallows.
But if they're layin down a little deeper, a drop, followed by a slow retrieve, will usually work.
If all else fails, or you don't know what depth they're hangin at, treat it like a yo-yo.
They really are an all-purpose, all depth lure.
For anyone that really needs to understand how awesome it is, fishing with spinnerbaits, take me for example.
Started using em last summer. I now make my own and just today, received a full time spinnerbait rod in the mail. It's my most expensive rod currently. No matter the depths or conditions, it's my go to bait now.

What rod might I ask? Casting or spinning?

[MallenManson]

Originally Posted by Bassboss

Thanks a lot guys!



What rod might I ask? Casting or spinning?

Casting. Fenwick Elite Tech ECT/SB610MH-MF

[Bob Smith]

Personally, my spinnerbait approach is pretty simple and pretty straightforward. Almost always I throw 3/8oz during the daytime and 3/4oz at night.
During the daytime I normally go to a combination blade set up with nickel on one blade and gold on the other. I like a # 3 Willow leaf and a #2 colorado for clear water and #4 Willow and #3 Colorado for stained water. I seldom fish muddy water unless I am forced to, if I get in that predicament I throw a 1/2 oz with a single #4 Colorado blade. The skirt color is almost always white or chartreuse or white/chartreuse, occasionally with a little orange and/or blue strands thrown when the blue gill are on the bed or the bass are on the bed. 99% of the time I have a 4" curl tail grub in white as a trailer
Night time is always during the warmer months. 3/4 oz Black and Red with a #4 single colorado blade tipped with #11A black/red Uncle Josh pork frog. I fish it slow and maintain bottom contact as much as possible. This has worked from Tennessee to Texas and back to Georgia for years, around rocks and around grass (hydrilla/milfoil).
I always use a 6'6" medium action bait casting rod and never spend a tremendous amount of $$$ for the rod or the reel. I find the bottom bouncing presentation (mainly at night) works better with a low gear ratio. While the medium depth to "waking" retrieves are done easier with a faster gear ratio.
At night I use 30# Power Pro Braid because it transmits the colorado blade thump like a boom box! Any other time a 14 lb quality mono is more than sufficient on most bodies of water that I fish.

[danielbasspro]

For me if its very clear I throw a silver or white spinnerbait with double willow leaf blades and usually burn it. If its muddy I use a chartruese spinnerbait with a big colorado blade in gold and reel slow. But I think bassboss got it covered

[Bubba_Bruiser]

I just thought of something. A while back, I was fishing a lake and the bass literally had the shad flopping on the bank from pushing and running them. I tried a spook, but couldn't buy a bite. Next time I fish this place, I am going to throw a willow double spinner and burn it so the blades flop the surface and see if I can get a reaction strike from it.

[Rebbasser]

Originally Posted by Bubba_Bruiser

I just thought of something. A while back, I was fishing a lake and the bass literally had the shad flopping on the bank from pushing and running them. I tried a spook, but couldn't buy a bite. Next time I fish this place, I am going to throw a willow double spinner and burn it so the blades flop the surface and see if I can get a reaction strike from it.

Great call! That would be one of the first things I tried.

[BigBassin144]

Originally Posted by Bubba_Bruiser

I just thought of something. A while back, I was fishing a lake and the bass literally had the shad flopping on the bank from pushing and running them. I tried a spook, but couldn't buy a bite. Next time I fish this place, I am going to throw a willow double spinner and burn it so the blades flop the surface and see if I can get a reaction strike from it.

Either that, or you could try a buzzbait.

BB

[TN_Bassin]

Originally Posted by Bubba_Bruiser

I just thought of something. A while back, I was fishing a lake and the bass literally had the shad flopping on the bank from pushing and running them. I tried a spook, but couldn't buy a bite. Next time I fish this place, I am going to throw a willow double spinner and burn it so the blades flop the surface and see if I can get a reaction strike from it.

A weightless fluke would have probably whacked them there too. I love it when the bass go into a frenzy like that. I've probably caught 70-80 fish in one spot when the fish go crazy like that. Be sure when they do this though, don't stick with the same bait too long because the fish tend to zone in on what's going on. Burning a spinnerbait would work, but also try slow rolling it. The action going on on top of the water is usually just the tip of the iceburg in a situation like that. Another thing to try would be a prop bait, that is one of my go to baits when nothing else works in a situation like that.

As far as my main type of spinnerbait goes, I throw a 3/8oz War Eagle with a chartruse/white skirt with double willow blades on it. Spinnerbaits are probably the most versatile of all baits out there. You can throw it in just about any situation. Slow rolling a blade down a big sunken tree probably produces the most fish for me.