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Having a bass smash a diving crankbait so hard it almost
jerks the rod out of your hand is a feeling that is hard
to describe. The only thing that could make it better would
be if you could “See” the bass hit, which you don't most
of the time unless you are fishing clear water. But on the
other hand, there is a versatile bait that can be used not
only in deep water, but in mid range and shallow water presentations
that will allow you many times to “See” the strike. This,
of course would be the safety pin type “spinnerbait”. Over
the next several paragraphs I want to share (1) how I choose
a spinner bait; (2) the rod and reel combinations that I
use; (3) where and how I fish the bait.
How To Choose A Good Spinnerbait
Let’s get this out of the way up front. The “Price Tag”
on the spinnerbaits isn’t always an indication of how well
the bait is made or how well it will perform under heavy
usage. “Cheaper” seldom is “better”. But, the most expensive”
isn’t always the answer either. To me there are seven tests
that spinnerbaits must pass to make it a good tool. Some
of these elements can be determined with the bait still
in the package; unfortunately others can only be determined
by using the bait. That is why I would suggest not purchasing
more than one until you know it is worth an additional purchase.
Now for a little Q&A.
- What kind wire is the bait made of and what is the wire
gauge? I’m sure there are those that are saying right
now, why is this important? It is very simple. I have
found that spinner baits made with wire that is less Than
.045 gauge just won’t hold up under rigorous usage. The
price on the bait might look attractive when you pay for
it at the store, but how good does it look to you when
it bends beyond repair after you have used it a time or
two and you have to throw it away? The wire in my opinion
that holds up the best is stainless steel. I have used
spinnerbaits made of everything from small gauge wire
cable to titanium. Wire cable was so flexible that it
created too much shaft movement it negated the blade action
and Titanium spinnerbaits have a tendency to snap because
the compound is very brittle when heated as they are at
the head and bends. For my $$$$$ stainless is the best
choice.
- Where is the hook point in relationship to the line
tie? This is another test you can do while the bait is
still in the package. Again why is this important? Back
in the mid 70’s I was burning the roads up between home
and the famed Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Louisiana-Texas
border when I made friends with a great fisherman from
Monroe Louisiana. He introduced me to Louisiana lakes
with names such as “Black Bayou,” Lake Bruin,” “Lake Providence,”
and more. All these lakes are full of cypress tress and
custom made for spinner baits. I watched him “open” the
hook up on his spinnerbaits explaining that this was done
to get better hook up’s. What he was saying was the absolute
truth. But the reason for having to do this was that the
line tie was higher than the hook point which meant when
my friend set the hook he would actually be jerking the
hook downward and out of the bass mouth. This is why it
is so important….and believe me, it will make a difference
at the lake. The next time you are in a fishing tackle
section just take a few minutes to look at the various
spinner baits and you will see what I’m talking about.
- What brand of hook is used on the bait? Why is this
important? Simple! There is nothing worse than having
a bait with a hook that won’t penetrate butter. As I said
earlier many baits look good at the store. But they loose
their looks at the lake when you see a big fish jump and
throw the bait because of bad hooks. I would just suggest
this rule of thumb. If a spinner bait manufacturer doesn’t
list on the package the type of hook used (such as Laser
Hooks-Mustad Needle Point and others) I would pass on
by. Believe me if they used a premium hook on their bait
they would sure want you to know about it! No hook information
on the packaging might even indicate cutting corners in
other parts of the manufacturing process. Just food for
thought.
- Is the spinner bait equipped with a good premium silicone
skirt? How many times in the past have you bought a spinner
bait and put it in you boat storage or tackle box to use
on your next trip? Trip day is here... you reach down
to get this new bait only to find that the skirt had melted
together and is unusable? Now not only do you have an
additional expense replacing the skirt-but more annoying
is the sticky mess the skirt has made in your tacklebox.
I do believe however that there is a slight difference
in the way a 100% rubber skirt will perform in cold water
verses a silicone skirt. When that time rolls around and
it is necessary, I change the shirts out. But it is very
rare that I leave a 100% rubber skirt in my boat during
hot weather. It may sound like a small thing,but it isn’t
when you have to clean up the mess.
- What about blades? A test for the lake! Do you buy a
spinnerbait with willowleaf Blades, or Colorado Blades,
or Indiana Blades? Should the blades be painted, or hammered
nickel, or hammered copper, or mirror finished, or metallic
finished? Do I need tandem blades or single blades? And
the answer is yes! You may need a combination of all of
these to effectively fish different water conditions.
But no mater what the combination, the blades need to
be made of high quality material where they will hold
up under heavy usage. The finish on the blades need to
last and not discolor or flake off after you have bang
it into various structure a few times. And each blade
style needs to provide you with maximum vibration and
water displacement for their size. At the lake, blade
performance can be determined rather quickly. The durability
test may take a little longer. To help you understand
the difference in blade types look at the attached picture
to the left. (1) This is a Colorado blade. This blade
will put off more vibration and is the blade that I turn
to in heavily stained to muddy water and at night in deep
water. I also like to use it in areas where I’m fishing
more wood than grass. (2) This blade is called a “Willow
Leaf. “ For the water that I fish the most here in Tennessee
it is probably the best over all style. It is good in
clear and stained water and will put off a fair amount
of flash based on it’s finish. I fish a lot of weeds on
Old Hickory and the willow leaf tends to come through
them much better that other styles. (3) This is a Indiana
Blade. It is a mixture of the willow leaf and Colorado
blade/ It also will put off a “good vibration” (little
Beach Boys there) and a lot of flash based on the blades
finish. Size of blade is normally dependent upon how fast
I intend to retrieve the bait. The smaller the bade the
faster the retrieve. The larger the blade the slower the
retrieve.
- This test you unfortunately won’t know until you get
to the lake. When you “Burn” the spinnerbait just under
the surface (I’ll explain this technique later) does the
bait come back straight to you or does it roll on one
side or the other? So what if it rolls? If it rolls the
blades won’t displace the maximum amount of water possible
and your percentages of provoking a reaction strike diminishes.
Even with .045 gauge stainless steel wire after you have
beat and banged the bait into structure over and over
again it will sometimes bend to the point where the bait
will roll. When this happens, gently straighten the wire
with a pair of pliers the problem can normally be corrected.
Other reasons that spinner baits roll is that the blade
or blades are too large for that size spinnerbait or the
wire gauge is to flimsy. In the last two cases you have
just bought a bad spinner bait which more than likely
will be added to your “I wish I hadn’t bought that bait
pile”
- Another test you can only perform at the lake. The opposite
of “Burning” a spinner bait just under the surface would
be “Slow Rolling” (Another technique we will discuss later)
the bait in deeper water. It seems that most smallmouth
fishermen here in the south love to slow roll big bladed
spinner baits in deep water. Most of the time they literally
“drag” or “crawl” the bait. But that’s hard to do when
you continually have to increase your speed just to get
the blades to turn. To me a good spinner bait is one where
the blades begin to turn immediately upon retrieve, and
you can feel the thump of the blades when you slow it
down to a crawl.
Choosing Size And Colors Of Spinnerbaits
I’m going to try my best to keep this fairly simple. One
of the most important considerations that needs to be addressed
in any lake is the size of the predominate bait fish that
the bass are feeding on. If I can I try to match the size
as closely as possible. But (and there is always a but)
there are other factors that need to be addressed as well.
Such as water color, cloud cover density and are you fishing
daylight or darkness. If your fishing at night is it the
light or the dark of the moon?
Let’s start with size. Do I use a 1/4 ounce, 3/8 ounce,
1/2 ounce, 3/4 ounce or 1 ounce bait? This explanation is
going to be very basic. If I’m fishing water that is stained
to muddy or if I’m fishing slowly in deeper water at night
I will use larger spinnerbaits. 1/2 ounce and up. The reason
for this is that larger spinner baits are bulkier and the
larger blades will create more vibration which will help
a bass locate the bait. If the water is real muddy or if
it is pitch black dark, I might even add a big trailer of
some sort to add to increase the bulk. If I’m fishing daytime
clear water (or) shallower clear water at night with a moon
I prefer smaller baits, 3/8 ounce and down because the bass
can see them much easier and most of the time without a
trailer.
Now what about color? Once again I will try to keep this
simple. In clearer water I like to use white-chartreuse
& white-off white sliver pepper and a see through silver
flaked skirts. If I’m fishing moderately stained water I
will almost always opt for chartreuse and white or chartreuse
and blue. If it is muddy I like pure bright chartreuse.
At night I like combinations of solid black, solid purple,
black & blue, black & purple, -lack & red. And at night
if the water is clear with a moon and I’m fishing in shallow
to moderate depths I even like pure white or pink.
There is no doubt in my mind that other solid colors or
color combination work for other fishermen. But these are
the sizes and colors that produce for me most consistently.
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