Post by fish2win on Dec 21, 2021 1:03:12 GMT -5
As some of you know I have been a spinner bait fisherman for the last 25 years. Over the years I have learned some things from experience. I have also let Norris teach me some hard learned lessons. Clear water is with out a doubt the toughest situation there is to fish a spinner bait.If you follow some rules you can catch them even in winter clear water,
Most fisherman when they decide to fish a spinner bait select a white or chartreuse white bait with double willow leaf blades usually gold. They just start down a bank throwing it along almost like they would a crank bait. While they can catch a few fish like this it is not the optimumr way to fish it in every situation.
Lets dissect the bait starting with the blades. Not all blades are created equally. weight size color and thickness all make a difference. There are several blade types to choose from. Willow, Colorado, Turtle and Indianan. Generally the bigger the blade surface the more flash that they create. Flash is a triggering factor but not the only factor, A willow in general will produce the most flash while the Colorado will produce the most vibration. On Norris I will usually select either a double willow or a double Indiana. The exception is at night when I always use a single Colorado. Fish that live in clear water tend to rely on sight to find prey while fish that live in stained water feed more from sound. They use both but depend on one or the other all the time.
Spinner bait size is usually misunderstood, Most fisherman select a 3/8 ounce bait, Probably because the is what is most commonly found on the shelves of your bait store. Always remember the objective of the store is to sale baits while the objective of the fisherman is to catch as many fish as is possible .My bait selection is almost always a 3/4 ounce and on occasion it is a 1/2. Rarely do I use a 3/8 or 1/4 ounce bait. Heavier baits allow a stronger platform to support a bigger heavier harder vibrating bait and it is easier to get the bait down to deeper depth. They will also support heavier blade which enables them to be fished and deeper depth or at higher speeds. Heavier baits will also carry bigger blades and create more vibration.If you want to change blades it is better to downsize a heavier bait than to up size a smaller bait, We have all herd the term match the hatch, well in this case its match the bait size to the blade size. If you down size the blades on a 3/4 oz bait it allows you to fish the bait deeper. The rotation of the blades makes the bait rise in the water column.
Stanly produced a willow blade several years ago that was tapered and the blade was thicker on the outer edge than the inside edge. They also paired that with a tapered blade arm that they called the vibra shaft. This was very effective with a willow blade.
Skirt color is another factor. Bass love lures that are two or more colors. I have used several different skirl colors of the year. One thing that is always true is proper placement of the skirt on the bait.
Consider this, Everything that swims in the lake is darker on its back than on its belly. So when placing a skirt of two or more colors onto a spinner bait make sure the lighter colors are down and the darker are up./ The biggest largemouth I have caught at Norris was with a spinnerbait December 16 2011. It is the fish in my avatar and weighed a little over 8 lbs. The fish hit a double willow with a red white and blue skirt is winter clear water on a deep water access point. Primarily the skirt was white with red specks. It did have a few blue strand and a few rde strands. I arranged the skirt so that the skirt was blue on the back red on its belly to represent blood and white in-between . Color selection is wild. In clear water often the smallmouth will blast a chartreuse skirt with chartreuse blades.
Your retrieve speed is important. On sloping rocky points I will generally slow roll blade bait. Simply cast close to the bank start turning the reel slow and steady pointing your rod tip down close to the water. This allows the bait to follow the conture of the bottom In windy weather a faster retrieve with greater vibration may be better, In a weed flat a fast retrieve allowing a blade to make a bulge on the water can draw explosive bites. Lay down trees or brush piles are a natural for a spinnerbait, retrieve the bait through the limbs and try to make your bait glance off the limbes, Remember when you are fishing a blow down there is usually more tree under the water than what you see. .
These are some basics of fishing s spinner bait, I never go fishing with out one tied on. The best way to get comfortable with a bait is to fish it. Give these tips a try and maybe you will catch a personal record fish on a spinner bait. F2w
Most fisherman when they decide to fish a spinner bait select a white or chartreuse white bait with double willow leaf blades usually gold. They just start down a bank throwing it along almost like they would a crank bait. While they can catch a few fish like this it is not the optimumr way to fish it in every situation.
Lets dissect the bait starting with the blades. Not all blades are created equally. weight size color and thickness all make a difference. There are several blade types to choose from. Willow, Colorado, Turtle and Indianan. Generally the bigger the blade surface the more flash that they create. Flash is a triggering factor but not the only factor, A willow in general will produce the most flash while the Colorado will produce the most vibration. On Norris I will usually select either a double willow or a double Indiana. The exception is at night when I always use a single Colorado. Fish that live in clear water tend to rely on sight to find prey while fish that live in stained water feed more from sound. They use both but depend on one or the other all the time.
Spinner bait size is usually misunderstood, Most fisherman select a 3/8 ounce bait, Probably because the is what is most commonly found on the shelves of your bait store. Always remember the objective of the store is to sale baits while the objective of the fisherman is to catch as many fish as is possible .My bait selection is almost always a 3/4 ounce and on occasion it is a 1/2. Rarely do I use a 3/8 or 1/4 ounce bait. Heavier baits allow a stronger platform to support a bigger heavier harder vibrating bait and it is easier to get the bait down to deeper depth. They will also support heavier blade which enables them to be fished and deeper depth or at higher speeds. Heavier baits will also carry bigger blades and create more vibration.If you want to change blades it is better to downsize a heavier bait than to up size a smaller bait, We have all herd the term match the hatch, well in this case its match the bait size to the blade size. If you down size the blades on a 3/4 oz bait it allows you to fish the bait deeper. The rotation of the blades makes the bait rise in the water column.
Stanly produced a willow blade several years ago that was tapered and the blade was thicker on the outer edge than the inside edge. They also paired that with a tapered blade arm that they called the vibra shaft. This was very effective with a willow blade.
Skirt color is another factor. Bass love lures that are two or more colors. I have used several different skirl colors of the year. One thing that is always true is proper placement of the skirt on the bait.
Consider this, Everything that swims in the lake is darker on its back than on its belly. So when placing a skirt of two or more colors onto a spinner bait make sure the lighter colors are down and the darker are up./ The biggest largemouth I have caught at Norris was with a spinnerbait December 16 2011. It is the fish in my avatar and weighed a little over 8 lbs. The fish hit a double willow with a red white and blue skirt is winter clear water on a deep water access point. Primarily the skirt was white with red specks. It did have a few blue strand and a few rde strands. I arranged the skirt so that the skirt was blue on the back red on its belly to represent blood and white in-between . Color selection is wild. In clear water often the smallmouth will blast a chartreuse skirt with chartreuse blades.
Your retrieve speed is important. On sloping rocky points I will generally slow roll blade bait. Simply cast close to the bank start turning the reel slow and steady pointing your rod tip down close to the water. This allows the bait to follow the conture of the bottom In windy weather a faster retrieve with greater vibration may be better, In a weed flat a fast retrieve allowing a blade to make a bulge on the water can draw explosive bites. Lay down trees or brush piles are a natural for a spinnerbait, retrieve the bait through the limbs and try to make your bait glance off the limbes, Remember when you are fishing a blow down there is usually more tree under the water than what you see. .
These are some basics of fishing s spinner bait, I never go fishing with out one tied on. The best way to get comfortable with a bait is to fish it. Give these tips a try and maybe you will catch a personal record fish on a spinner bait. F2w