Spinnerbaits seem to get skipped over in favor of more “glamorous” lures, but they remain tremendously effective and a bass tournament workhorse. Few lures can cover so much water and pick off big bass as well as this wirebait. While many people have their favorites, selecting the right one for the condition can be challenging. Here is some advice from pro anglers to help you become spinnerbait-savvy.
Blades
Variables include shape, color, size and combination. Willowleaf blades provide more flash and less vibration, while Colorado blades are just the opposite – they produce a tremendous “thump” in the water. Indiana blades fall between these two extremes. Bass pro Matt Reed advises the use of willowleaf blades in clear water and Colorado blades for stained water.
Color
Options include nickel, gold, copper or painted. Fishing legend Jimmy Houston says he favors gold blades or a combination of gold and nickel for all of his largemouth fishing. Reed commonly turns to nickel blades if the bass are relating primarily to shad. Painted blades offer a high level of visibility without baitfish flash.
Size
The size impacts the bait’s profile and the size of baitfish it best imitates. Additionally, bigger blades create more flash and vibration. Often retrieve speed is key to getting strikes, and in general, small-bladed spinnerbaits can be worked fast or slow, while one with oversized blades will ride higher in the water column.
Blade Combinations
Combining willowleaf and Colorado blades provides the best of both worlds, but it’s not always the most effective. Cold, early
prespawn bass in murky water may respond well to a big, slow-moving Colorado blade but shy away from the flash of a willowleaf blade. In turn, a summer
smallmouth in a clear-water river may respond better to a spinnerbait with a single willowleaf blade retrieved quickly so it can’t examine the bait too closely before striking.
Reed says he selects a spinnerbait based first on the size of prevalent forage. If bass are feeding on big baitfish he’ll go to a bait as heavy as 1-ounce, but adds a soft-plastic trailer to slow the bait’s descent. If the baitfish are smaller, Reed follows suit with a smaller bait with smaller blades.
Houston is more standardized with bait selection. He normally selects a ½-ounce bait, but will drop to a 3/8-ounce model on occasion. He likes medium-sized baits because he feels he can control them better. He alters blade size instead of weight when he wants to get a bait deeper or ride it extra-high.
Skirt Color
Houston and Reed favor translucent skirts in clear water and turn to more opaque colors, including white and chartreuse, for fishing stained water. Dark colors like red and blue come into play for dirty water or at night.
Houston, however, does like a slash of red in his skirts or on the spinnerbait head. He feels that a touch of red is a trigger to bass.
Houston favors a single-blade spinnerbait most of the time because it sends out a strong, clearly defined vibration. When he does use a second blade, he prefers a small front blade that that doesn’t impede the vibration of the back blade.
Reed likes a double willowleaf configuration for clear water and uses a fast retrieve. He uses a traditional tandem (willowleaf at the end and a smaller Colorado blade on the shaft) for moderate stain, and a pair or Colorado blades for dirty water.
A
soft-plastic trailer adds action and bulk to a spinnerbait and can temper the fall. Houston and Reed both fish spinnerbaits with and without trailers, generally favoring a trailer when they want more action or a bigger profile, but allowing the bass to dictate their preferences.
A final aspect of spinnerbaiting is the trailer hook. Reed adds one any time the cover allows him to get away with it. The only time he doesn’t use one is if he’s fishing through heavy brush or skimming over the top of grabby weeds. Houston always adds one during tournaments.