Best setup for Spinnerbaits???

[Sherlock 60]

I have read conflicting opinions regarding the best rod/reel/line setup for fishing spinnerbaits.

Your thoughts, preferences and opinions, please.

One more thing: when and where are spinnerbaits the best choice?

[Slip Gun]

Most of this is preference. Rod wise I recommend a MH - more sensitive is always better but in all honesty you can do just find using a cheaper rod for spinner baits. For reel a Citica e would be great if your looking baitcasting. Pretty much anything that is a average speed reel would be perfect so you can either slow roll or burn it with a little effort.

Personally I prefer braid for line for spinners *30 lb* just because I have grown awfully fond of braid and at the speed you move the lure the fish won't notice what kind of line your using.

Pretty much in summary you can use about anything for spinner baits.

War eagles are a great spinner bait if your still deciding on that front.

They are a useful bait in about any season or condition. In winter slow roll it and in summer you can burn it.

If you have not watched this its worth your time

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/spinnerbaits-bass-fishing.html

[Chris]

I choose a glass rod for most of my short game spinnerbait fishing and a composite for my long game. I choose a 6'6" MH for my glass rod because I feel I have more control over my bait. My long game casting I choose a 7' rod because I feel I gain some casting distance. For my short game I choose a 5 to 1 gear long game 6 to 1 reel. Line choice I choose 14 lb line you can beef it up if you like but I feel 14 lb is good all around line for this lure. If the cover is heavy or I do beef it up. Unlike a crankbait line size has less effect on depth when it comes to a spinnerbait. Most guys just use the largest pound test that they can get away with. What does effect depth and speed is the blade configuration, blade size, and blade style. Here are some ways to fish this lure

Buzz it

Much like a buzz bait this technique can be killer in the summer around mossy areas and cover in general. Bass Pro came out with a lure designed to do this but I will show you how to make any bait do this. You take a single willow leaf blade and with a pair of pliers bend the end of the blade down  This forms a cup to the blade. You can also bend the middle of the blade to change the vibration pattern of the blade. I do this sometimes if I was fishing clear water and I hit a section of stained water. Instead of changing baits I just bend the willow blade to give it more thump. Sometimes you need to mess with it to get the vibration and action that you like but at times it can make a big difference.

Wake it

At times fish want the bait a little more under the water and this technique can just be the ticket. What you want to do is make your cast and reel it just under the surface making it look like a baitfish pushing water. This technique works great when fishing flats and parallel to cover or shore. If you need to slow it down a tad add a pork frog trailer to it or a twin tail grub. You want to use a bait that has a single large Colorado blade on it for this technique and let the blade break the surface from time to time to change the vibration pattern to draw a following fish to strike.

Burn it

This works well when you are covering water and when your want fish to react to it. With this technique you want to have smaller blades than normal because it will produce less drag on the bait allowing it to be fished faster. Sometimes I up the weight to really get it moving fast or add weight to it. You can do this by taking a rubber core bass casting weight and removing the rubber core and clamping it to the hook. Just make sure you use a spinner bait that has a large enough gap so the weight doesn't interfere with the hook. The smaller blades and heavier bait also works well with deep spinner bait applications. What you want to do is make your cast and burn it in. To make the fish strike or react to the bait you want to either stop the bait from time to time or stop and jerk it to make the blades smack together.

Rip it

When you rip a spinner bait what your doing is changing the speed of the lure. This change in speed can cause fish to strike. This technique works well on many forms of cover and if you incorporate a pause and twitch to flair the skirt out can be deadly. What you want to do is make your cast and point the rod to the bait while reeling. Next you sweep the rod to the side like a Carolina rig drag . What I do is on a steady retrieve I pause the bait for a split second and twitch it to make the skirt flair out and the blades to smack together then sweep the rod to make it took like it is trying to get away.

Steady retrieve

When you make your cast you want to crank the bait just high enough in the water column to be able to see the blades flash. all the way to the boat.  Just remember to pause it from time to time to break up the vibration pattern to draw a strike.

Herky  jerky

What you want to do is make your cast and  while reeling the bait jerk it at a rhythm. It sounds strange but it does work at times when fishing around shad schools.

Fading it

This works well with logs that come out from the shore and angle to the bottom.  Meaning the end of the log is deeper than the trunk side and not all floating. What you want to do is make your cast to the shore side close to the bank and the log. You parallel the log letting the blade tick the trunk until it reaches the end. When you bait reaches towards the end you let the lure fade out and slowly run deeper. This looks like a shad that ran down the edge of the log and fade out into the deeper water. Sometimes bass will hang on the end of the log to intercept the bait.   

Skim the bottom

Sometimes when your fishing heavy stained water the fish need a little more racket to find the bait or react to it. This technique works well with hard cover but can work equally well in vegetation at times. What you want to do is make your cast and slowly fade the bait down and let it barely skim and tick the cover. Each time the bait makes contact it changes the vibration pattern and flares the skirt. You don't want it to dig the bottom just tick it.   

Slow roll it

This technique works well in stained to muddy conditions and works well in late fall or early spring. With this technique I like to use a short arm single Colorado bladed spinner bait but it can be used with any blade combination. What you want to do is make your cast and reel the lure so that the blades spin just fast enough  to keep it on the bottom or at a maintained depth. Sometimes you might need to change to a larger blade to give it the lift you want. 

Hop it

This works well in early winter or in deeper structure fishing. What you want to so is make your cast and let the lure fall to the bottom. You then hop it off the bottom like you where fishing a worm or Carolina rig making sure that the lure pauses to come back in contact with the bottom.  This is an excellent way to fish around deep brush piles or other deep cover. I tend to like a single blade Colorado short arm spinner bait for this technique because it tends to have a better fall.

Drop it

When your fishing deep ledges like a bluff or creek channel at times a drop technique can be very effective. One technique that works well is to make your cast to the edge of the drop and let it helicopter down. Sometimes there might be a small shelf that will stick out that your bait will hit. You next raise your rod tip to let the lure work its way to the edge and let it drop again. You let the bait slowly climb down the drop like if you where worm fishing. You want to make sure the lure hugs the bottom and always stay in contact with the lure to feel the strike.

Bump it

A very productive technique is to bump the cover with your bait. I use this technique around flooded timber but it can be incorporated on any cover. What your trying to do is make contact to change the vibration pattern of the lure to draw a strike. What you want to do is make your cast beyond the object and while your reeling it in aim it at the target. When the bait smacks the target you change your rod position from pointing at the lure to bring it to the side. What you doing is changing the direction of the bait after the contact. This change of direction with cause a reaction strike. Sometimes you can incorporate a dying shad look by  letting the bait drop after the contact.

Flip it

There are times when you are fishing stained to muddy water where you need to put the bait right on its nose to make them bite it. You are using the spinner bait much like a flipping jig but the difference is your adding more vibration to your offering than a jig would. This technique works well also in areas that are hard to reach and you need pin point accuracy to produce a fish. What you doing is making your pitch or flip into a tight area and letting it fall to the bottom or through a piece of brush. I tend to use a flipping spin with a single Colorado blade for this technique because it has a strong fiber weed guard because I loose less lures but you can use other lures.

Roll cast it

This is the alternative to flipping it which requires you to make a roll cast to reach a tight or cover.  I use this technique if I am wanting to force fish to react to the bait. What your doing is making a roll cast so that the lure is close to the waters surface when it reaches the target. This helps cut down the splash when it reaches the target to prevent the fish from spooking. When the bait reaches the fish the bass isn't given time to get a good look at the bait and strikes out of impulse. You reel it back as you would normally.  You want to get the bait as close to the target as possible on the cast.

Yo-Yo it

This technique can be effective with suspending fish where you are bringing the bait in and out of the thermal cline. In early spring  it works kind of like the hop technique but higher up in the water column and can be deadly.  What your doing is lifting the bait up and letting it fall on semi slack line. Your making the lure go in a zigzag pattern. This technique also works well on drop offs to help figure out what depth the fish are holding.

[BassBandit35]

I have read conflicting opinions regarding the best rod/reel/line setup for fishing spinnerbaits.

One more thing: when and where are spinnerbaits the best choice?

Not that conflicting for me. When there's storm or front approaching is when I have my spinnerbait tied on and wind in real fast. They slam em hard. Not always the case but most of the time.

My eyes hurts after reading above post but good post Chris.

[Fishes in trees]

this is a great question.   I'm in way over a grand in the quest for a

perfect spinnerbait rod.   I bought lots of different rods and wasn't

satisfied with any of them.  I didn't really know what a perfect spinner-

bait rod was supposed to do.  Six or seven years ago I was at Rogers

Lures in Liberty, MO and ran into an All Star rods rep.  He showed me the 6'8" Zell Rowland Spinnerbait rod. Bought one, liked it, now I have 6

just alike.  Lifetime warranty - life was good.  I have to be careful with them now because Shakespeare bought out All Star a couple of years ago and they are really pissy about warranty stuff.

On another note, I was at Cabelas KCK last week and the clerk told me that they were in the process of closing out alot of their higher end rods.

I scored a Kistler 7' Magnesium TS Small Swimbait special for $90.

I would have bought several, but they only had 1.  It will see some spinnerbait duty next season.

As far a line goes, use whatever heavy, abrasion resistant line you like.

I got some 17 lb Stren superknot line on Wal-Mart close out last January

that worked pretty well for me. 17 lb Spiderwire mono worked ok too.

For reels, I don't like to be limited casting distance wise, so I've gone to using  the 11 ball bearing Calcutta's.

This is a summary of what I'm using now, of course it might change

in the future.    Hope this helps.

[roadwarrior]

I have two dedicated rigs:

St. Croix Avid AVC70MF/ Metanium/ Yo-Zuri Hybrid #12

St. Croix Legend Elite EC70MHF/ Calais/ Hybrid #12

The choice is just a matter of lure weight. Mostly,

I fish 3/4 oz Ledgebuster Single Willow Blades on the

EC70MHF.

[Catt]

The best rod/reel/line setup for fishing spinnerbaits is in my rod box & no you can't use it

One more thing: when and where are spinnerbaits the best choice?

When: Anytime I'm near enough to cast & reach water

Where: Anywhere I can reach with a cast

[angler1]

I use a baitcaster for everything. A revo-s with 20lb berkley crystal braid. St. Croix make a great rod in their Mojo Bass series rod specifically for spinnerbaits. I belive it is a 7' Mh., fast action rod. I just bought 1 b4 it got really cold, I like it.

[Sherlock 60]

How about using a 7' MH crankbait rod??

[roadwarrior]

How about using a 7' MH crankbait rod??

No.

All single hook techniques require a firm tip.

Treble hook lures require a soft tip.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I like a shorter rod for spinnerbaits because I like to cast them at cover and underhand for a soft entry. Generally speaking longer for distance shorter for accuracy. Mine is a one I built on a MH/Fast graphite blank. It is matched to a 6.3:1 reel spooled with 14lb XL.

[aarogb]

6'6" MH Quantum casting rod. 

6.3:1 Quantum casting reel.

[Stasher1]

For open water or from the shore, I use a 6'10" MH/MF Quantum Tour PT (PTC6106FKV) with a Curado 200e7 spooled with 12# Sufix Elite.

For tighter quarters, I use a 6'6" MH/F Avid with a Pflueger Patriarch 64WLP spooled with 12# Sufix Elite.

[basser89]

Great write up Chris!

My Spinnerbait setup is a 7' MH BPS rod paired with a Quantum Energy PT baitcaster (5.1:1) spooled up with 17lb Sufix Siege.

[Sherlock 60]

Thanks for the great information and all the details! Keep it coming.

[detroit1]

No such thing. Unless you only throw one size lure, making the same distance cast every time, no 1 set-up is best. If you are fishing a narrow, tree-lined canal, with a 1/4 oz. s/b8, a 6'm spin rod with 8# test would be easier, more accurate, and more efficient than a 7' baitcaster with 14# test. Of course this spin set up would be lousy for slow-rolling a 1 oz. in 20' of water.....