I went out today on my buddies pontoon boat for bass since the trout weren't biting.  We were using everything I had in my tackle box cranks, jigs, spoons, plastics, and nothing was working.  The last thing we didn't try was spinnerbait that I bought a long time ago.  Everyone says they are so great and catch so many fish but every time I have used them I caught nothing.  So I tried it again with no confidence and boom first cast a pretty nice fish.  We kept catching them after that.  

I have never had much luck with spinnerbaits either. It may be geographical. Maybe they work in some parts of the country better than other parts. But that is just speculation on my part. Their lack of productivity could also be explained by the fact that I don't use then very much either! Hard to catch a fish on a lure while it's still in your tackle box huh?!

alot has to do in my opinion with confidence if we have had success with a type of lure we fish it longer and with more attention to detail if we have had little success we tend to give up on it faster or fish it half heartedly i no jig and pig or jig and plastic i have had no luck with at all so it rarely if ever leaves my tackle box its a great lure for most but for me its like a fish repellant. other types of jigs like crappie jigs tube jigs etc i have done phenomenel with but give me a jig and pig and ill throw it for a little then switch to something else i just dont have any confidence in it

Spinnerbaits are my #2, right after soft plastics. I don't seem to do as well with crankbaits. I usually go slow in the spring, rip them in the summer. Some lakes I do better with black/blue, some lakes white/chart. I'm with duckman though, I think the more confidence you have in your bait, the more you will fish with it, and the more fish you will catch. I've had days wehre I couldn't buy a bite, but tie on a spinnerbait and the day turns around

I've never had much luck with spinnerbaits either, but I made a few over the winter with a kit I got for Christmas, so that should boost my confidence a bit, I'll be trying them probably in the summer once the bass fishing starts to heat up.

I can usually get some bass or pikes to bite my spinnerbaits. They're a little more versatile then a straight inline spinner. I can fish them over a little bit of weed or wood.

Confidence and the situation your facing on the water should dictate your lure choice. Sounds good doesn't it ? Have the same problem when I get on the water, can't decide which bait or presantation to use. I break down in this order, time of year, weather conditions over last two days , including the day I'm fishing. Water temp and clarity and time of day I'll be fishing. After those things are set I can start working depth of presentation, speed and color.