Spinnerbait. Need some advice

[hotsky]

I have a few in a tackle box, seems like everyone is using them but I'm still yet to catch anything on them, not even a bite! I've tried using them enough that I think it might be my technique. I usually retrieve them as I would a spinner, keeping the blade spinning but this way they don't stay too low. I've tried changing speeds as well but still nothing.

 

I was hoping to get some tips on effective presentation/retrieval of spinner baits that work for pike and bass esp this time of the year.

[davey buoy]

I have a few in a tackle box, seems like everyone is using them but I'm still yet to catch anything on them, not even a bite! I've tried using them enough that I think it might be my technique. I usually retrieve them as I would a spinner, keeping the blade spinning but this way they don't stay too low. I've tried changing speeds as well but still nothing.

 

I was hoping to get some tips on effective presentation/retrieval of spinner baits that work for pike and bass esp this time of the year.

 

IMO white in the 3/8oz or 1/2oz produce the most overall of all the colors. Reds, blacks chartreuse,yellow all produce under different conditions.

Most times I find the fish hits just after the splash in the water or after a slight pause in your retrieve. Varying speeds as you are should be getting some hits as well.

Try pauses in your retrieve for a second or two and see if that helps.Good luck!

[lew]

Spinnerbaits are one of the easiest baits to use and are normally a fish magnet.

 

As mentioned by davey buoy, you need to experiment with different colours and weights, but you can also change blade styles to get different depths. A Colorado blade will keep a bait up high, while a Willowleaf will allow it to run at a deeper depth.

 

If fish are hitting your bait but not getting hooked, you can add a stinger hook to the back of the main hook.

 

I always run 1 or 2 rubber worms on my baits, but that's just me, but is something you could try also.

 

If straight retrieves aren't working, try banging and bouncing your bait off rocks and other structures, or get it down deep into the weeds and work it through them at different speeds.

 

Most importantly though, you need to be fishing where the fish are.

 

It's tough to work a spinner bait wrong, so if your not catching, just keep changing your tactics until you figure out a pattern and then you'll do just fine.

Edited October 11, 2012 by lew

[mercman]

Chuck them into pencil reeds, lilypads,rock piles,wood, anywhere you think fish may be. I find them effective in the morning and in early evening for bass.Kinda wakes em up

Pike will hit them all day long. I like to run a stinger hook(a second hook attached to the main hook) because sometimes fish like to punch it, rather than try to eat it.

Colors.....white, white/chart, white/green for bass. red, red/black, red/white, white ,pink for pike.

Willow leaf need to be retrieved faster than colorado blades, to get them to turn, so slow retrieve for Coloradoa, fast retrieve for willow.Also Colorado blades provide more lift than willowleaf blades, so for deeper fish, willowleaf blades are generally a better choice.

Blade color use the same formula you would use for a spoon or lure, depending on light and water clarity.

 

Good luck...............I have become a spinnerbait junkie this year Absolutely wont go fishing without a few in my tackle bag.

[lew]

Hey Paul, didn't you just say EXACTLY what I said, only turned a few of the words around ??

[mercman]

Hey Paul, didn't you just say EXACTLY what I said, only turned a few of the words around ??

 

 

Kinda LOL.......just wanted to see if what i knew about them matched your expertise

[OhioFisherman]

What Lew said, they are a good search bait for actively feeding fish because you can cover a lot of water quickly with them, but that isn`t the only way to fish them. Some times slow rolling a heavier one thru deeper weeds is they way to go.

 

I have never used a plastic worm on one as a trailer, I use a 3-4 inch grub or plastic frog attached to a trailer hook.

 

If you`re fishing from a boat casting to shore keep them running faster to avoid junk and slow down the retrieve as they get into deeper water, reverse if you are fishing from shore casting to deeper water.

[Ainsley]

Great tips so far, so I'll add a small one. I tend to give them a slight twitch as soon as they hit the water to get the blades spinning. I throw mine on a baitcaster so when I thumb the spool at the end of the cast I do the twitch then turn the handle to engage the gearing.

[hotsky]

Thanks guys. I have 4 right now white strike king with mith a silver willow and a small round one, small green one that i found and a couple from dollarstore... Ill get a few more next time im at sail or lebarons.

Edited October 11, 2012 by Gray_Wolf

[manitoubass2]

Always tie direct (I'll assume your doing that)

 

Never be afraid to let a spinnerbait sink to bottom before giving it a good jerk, then retrieve (slow to keep it deep). You can also pause it and let it hit bottom before repeating. I'll often do this for walleye in 15-25FOW (but pike and bass will hit it as well. I'll even jig retrieve a spinnerbait, and walleye will usually hit it on the fall, bass and pike will hit it on the retrieve.

 

I never use a trailer or a stinger hook, never seem to get short strikes or need a trailer. Although I did try it once this fall when advice was being handed out to Mercman in a thread, and I still caught just as many fish with a 4" minnow bait as a trailer (so I'm sure it doesn't hurt).

 

Black and silver with willow blades is my favorite, works well no matter what the water clarity is. My fallow up is chart with willows.

 

I like to tie direct with braid, and that allows my to feel the blades thumping, but I can also feel the strikes right away, and can also feel the structures I'm bumping off or weeds I'm ripping though.

 

You'd be amazed how many strikes come right after the bait hits a rock, tickles a weed or thumps a log.

 

Fish them without fear, they are pretty weedless and snag proof. You'll lose a few along the way for sure, but not that many in comparison to jigging or the like.

[spinnerbaitking]

Variety can be a big deal this is a few I used to carry when I was fishing, not quite as bad now a days but some times, I'll have at least that many with me lol, wonder were my handle came from lol, it was nothing to hand out 1 or 10 to the kids that were canoeing with us when my kids were young, it looks like a lot but with 3 of my kids & who knows how many others, when we were at the fishing or sportsmen show we always bought Black Fly Spinnerbaits or another company that was made local but I can't remember the name, it would be nothing to bring home 50 each spring, I bought what I needed & so did my kids, White always worked & there was days that Purple & Orange out fished everything, one of our B.A.S.S. Junior even won a Tourney on Purple & Orange that's all he threw, lol.

Tight Lines SBK

[davey buoy]

Gray, some great advise for sure. To add the terminator 1/2oz is my favorite in white. Usually will get a hit in the first 5 mins. Again if your in a area with no fish than,really doesn't matter what your doing. Fish magnet for sure,my first go to lure for the first hour or so if it's not working after that,than I change it up. Lot's of great replies.

[hotsky]

Thanks for the tips guys!

[bubbles]

All the advice you need above, but I will reitterate pauses and jerks go a long way.

[craigdritchie]

Good advice in this thread .... allow me to add a couple of additional thoughts.

 

1. Spinnerbaits are the go-to lure when you need to cover a lot of ground in a hurry, or when you're fishing a huge area and aren't sure exactly where the fish are hanging out. They're not so good when fish are sitting very tight to cover, or are in a negative mood from fishing pressure or inclement weather.

 

2. As a general rule, they tend to work better in warm water than in really cold water.

 

3. Spinnerbaits made from titanium wire will stand up much better to pike & muskie than those made from standard stainless steel wire. If you fish in places that have a lot of pike, or are targeting pike and muskie, titanium is worth the extra cost.

 

4. Spinnerbaits with a large, single Colorado-style blade (fairly round blade) are best for stop-and-go fishing, such as when you buzz along the tops of submerged weeds, then stop and let the bait helicopter down into the open spots (works great for largemouth, by the way). When you fish this way, single Colorado blades are less prone to tangle the line than tandem blades or willowleaf styles.

 

5. Others have already mentioned that a single Colorado blade will run shallower than an identical bait with a willowleaf blade. What you also need to know is that the Colorado can also be fished more slowly. The willowleaf, on the other hand, is best when you want a really fast retrieve.

 

6. Personally speaking, I find that a white, 3/8-ounce or 1/2-ounce spinnerbait with a silver Colorado blade will handle 75% of my spinnerbait needs. But I also carry somet high visibility ones (chartreuse or orange/red) with bright, fluorescent painted blades for use in murky water. And I always have a few larger ones (5/8-ounce to 3/4-ounce) with one or two willowleaf blades .... usually a grey or silver skirt with silver or gold blades. That's my undisputed top bait ever for summer smallmouth on warm, windy days. I'll add a stinger hook more often than not.

[NAW]

http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=62597&st=0&p=694063&hl=spinner&fromsearch=1entry694063

 

A similar question was posts earlier this year.

 

I'm not sure if you have ever used the search function on OFC before. It's a gold mine of info

[Snidley]

I went off spinnerbaits for a long while. I felt that where I was fishing for Bass, ie Montsberg, Valens, Cooks Bay, Oakville Creek etc, there were too many other anglers targeting Bass and Pike with spinnerbaits so as to condition them. Then I went back to throwing them and I found most spinnerbaits, especially titanium spinnerbaits don't work for me BUT Hildebandt spinnerbaits ALWAYS work provided you stick with them for a good amount of time. Just my observation and I know lots of anglers won't pay the price for a Hildebrandt but for me they work. On the cheap side I've also don'e well with Matzuo Kamkazi spinnerbaits but they are such a light wire be prepared to have many just break apart at some point during the day.

[Christopheraaron]

I just don't see them as being that great, I've caught a few pike on them and a couple small bass but if I throw out a crankbait I'll usually get bit within a few casts but almost never get a bass on a spinnerbait.

[davey buoy]

I just don't see them as being that great, I've caught a few pike on them and a couple small bass but if I throw out a crankbait I'll usually get bit within a few casts but almost never get a bass on a spinnerbait.

 

Don't say that!

[BillM]

I just don't see them as being that great, I've caught a few pike on them and a couple small bass but if I throw out a crankbait I'll usually get bit within a few casts but almost never get a bass on a spinnerbait.

 

Sounds like you aren't fishing spots that are conducive to spinnerbait fishing.

[Christopheraaron]

Sounds like you aren't fishing spots that are conducive to spinnerbait fishing.

 

I ONLY use them as a search bait over weed beds, sounds like spinnerbait territory to me?

[davey buoy]

 

 

Don't be stuck on weeds only,I use them in rock drop offs,rocky bottoms,and usually in about 13' or under personally.

Edited October 11, 2012 by davey buoy

[BillM]

I ONLY use them as a search bait over weed beds, sounds like spinnerbait territory to me?

 

I think that might be your problem, lol.

 

Use them everywhere.. Rock points, shoals, dropoffs, open water etc... I can't count the number of big smallies I've got on spinnerbaits in the late summer fishing deeper humps in 20-30ft of water.

[Jigger]

^^This. Youre probably more comfortable throwing a crank because its proven to be successful for you. Im the opposite. Ill sub the spinnerbait for a crank and if i dont get bit will tie the sb back on. Because i KNOW it works. Spinnerbaits are only second to the jig in versatility IMO AND 99% of the time ive got a rod ready to throw one out. 14lb mono, 7:1 ratio and always a trailer and single trailer hook. 1/4oz-3/8oz early in the season. Once mid summer sets in, its hard to beat the bulk of a 1/2oz sbait, whether its burning it just under the surface, swimming through weeds or open water like BillM said. Cant beat it!

[lew]

When casting for muskies, LARGE spinnerbaits are excellent and I start EVERY day with one, and I'm often still tossing the same bait at the end of the day.

 

Over weeds, thru weeds, over and around rocks and stumps and everywhere in between they'll get you good fish.

 

And if you get tired of chucking them, their also a fantastic bait for trolling too.

 

One of the most versatile baits on the market.