Of all the lures that bass fishermen use, the spinnerbait has to be the weirdest.
But maybe the most effective.
When I tied on my first spinner-bait, a long time ago now, this river fly fisherman who was used to tiny hooks and selective trout, was more than a bit skeptical that a huge contraption like a spinnerbait could catch any fish, let alone a bass.
And it just goes to show, how we change and learn and once again the outdoor sports are a good template for other things that we just can’t fathom in life.
Just the other day, I tied one on with all the confidence in the world, caught the first bass on the first cast, and an hour later, had released six more bass.
All, each and every single fish, had fallen for the same spinnerbait.
My initial skepticism was based on the looks of the weird thing. A friend said, marveling, “Looks like an octopus.”
Fly rods that we ply the streams for trout are way too light and thin to even think of tossing these heavy metal contraptions, let alone fish with them!
The spinnerbait looks like a doll-sized wire coat hanger, dressed with a mop of white or colored rubber tendrils hanging off one end, draped over a huge hook. A thumb-sized silver, copper, or gold spinner blade dangles above, clanking off the other end of the heavy, bent wire extension having its terminal point as the hook.
My first cast with a spinnerbait was almost 40 years ago on a Canadian lake. And now, as a testimonial for the effectiveness of the lure, a tackle box full of spinnerbaits rides in the truck because – they work.
Spinnerbaits are especially effective in water that gets pounded by other lures.
And not just in the daytime.
The spinnerbait is lethal under the moon too.
It is truly a “24-7” lure.
Spinnerbaits come in different sizes but even the smallest dwarfs most trout flies. The hook gap alone on the smallest spinner-bait is wider than your thumb.
And while the spinner-bait is most often considered as a bass lure, as both largemouths and smallies will go for them, Northern pike sucker for them too.
One of the key aspects of successfully fishing with a spinnerbait is in its presentation.
One of the key secrets to a good spinnerbait is that it must run through the water, straight, not tipping over to one side or the other when being retrieved.
Spinner-baits which list, or tip to the side or worse yet – roll, will not get the number of strikes that an upright, true running spinner-bait produces.
Check your spinner-bait and make sure it runs “North and South.” “Tune it,” bend the wire to make it run right.
Other factors that can influence the effectiveness of a spinner-bait are speed of retrieve, trailer, size, blade design, and of course – fishing area.
The Retrieve: When fishing with a partner, it’s a good idea to have each angler retrieve at a different speed, until one finds out what the fish want.
Sometimes bass like it slow, sometimes they like it burned through the water column, deep and with long sweeping jerks. But most of the time, I start out with running it just a few inches under the water at a slow, steady speed.
Color: As in all colors whether its art or fashion, colors go in and out of style. But it seems that white spinner-baits work best in clear water for largemouth during the day, chartreuse works best for smallmouth bass and stained water. But it’s “back in black” at night. When topwater fishing seems slow at 2 a.m. in the morning, tie on a black spinnerbait. It’s sure to knock the sleep out of your eyes when a lunker smacks it!
Trailer: Usually spinner-bait fishermen match the color of the trailer to the color of the skirt on the spinner-bait. Most often the trailer or “pig” is a plastic grub, allowing the tail of the grub to wiggle as the bait is pulled through the water. It’s a two-fold attractant, one being visual and the other pushing water and therefore pulsing underwater vibrations.
Size: Quarter ounce, three-eighths-ounce, and half-ounce spinner-baits seem to be the most popular. Sometimes the fish like them tiny and don’t seem to even look at a big bait. And other times, I’ve seen it the opposite. So it is good to have all three weights in white and white/chartreuse, black and multicolors.
*Blades: Colorado and Willow-leafed blades are the most popular and two extremes in underwater vibration.
The Colorado blades give a lot of hum and thump, pushing against the water column more. But sometimes bass prefer the flashy, skinny willow-leaf patterns. Amazing as it seems, sometimes bass will hit copper or brass colored blades better than they will silver. Change at certain times seems to make a difference.
But as in the case of most lures, the location where it is fished is also important. Tossing a spinnerbait across a weedbed, or near the edge of deep water, running about six inches under the surface, or next to cattails has worked the best for me, especially if the water is no more than a few feet deep.
Spinnerbaits don’t seem as effective in open, deep water, but are best when fished around cover, structure and weeds. And if you have pike in your bass water, don’t be surprised if one of the toothy critters beats the bass to the business end of your line.
I can’t blame you if you take a look at a spinnerbait, shrug your shoulders and say, “That weird thing is not for me.”
I confess that I thought exactly along those lines, a long time ago after having bought a few and left them hang in my tackle box, untouched by man or fish.
More “junk lures,” a waste of money on another fad.
Boy was I wrong.
I can still see my younger son, back then about eight years old, walking up the path with one of the biggest bass I’d ever seen, with that old white spinnerbait in its mouth.
He’d found the unused spinnerbait hanging in my tacklebox.
His mouth had a grin from ear to ear, “Spinnerbaits, Dad!”
Oak Duke writes a weekly column appearing on the Outdoors page.
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