Spinnerbaits

[Redtail]

I'm going to give spinnerbaits another shot this year as they seem to work so good.  I fish mostly clear water and I want to get chartreuse and white double willow (that's seems to be the universal color) 3/8 or 1/2.

Any suggestions on a brand name - there are sooooo many out there.

Thanks in Advance!

[Shakes]

For really clear water, you want to use white, or something a little more transparent. Maybe a white with little red in the skirt, maybe even a red hook. My best advice for using spinnerbaits is to always have a 1/0 RED stinger trailer hook on at ALL TIMES. I catch at least 20% of my fish on the trailer hook. Strike-King is by far my favorite spinnerbait company. Try the bleeding bait series 1/2 ounce double willow (both silver blades) with a white skirt.

Best rule of thumb... is blades.

To determine water clarity... drop you lure down. If you can still see it after 2 feet or more, its clear. About 18 inches, its stained. A foot or less, its dirty.

In clear water, I'll throw a white or translucient skirt, and ONLY silver blades (double willow) b/c I want the bait to go a lot faster in the water b/c the bass can see it from a lot further away.

In stained water, I'll throw a white/chart skirt, and a silver/gold blade combination to attract a little more flash. The I'll switch from double willow to a colorado/willow combo to slow the bait down and keep it in the strike zone a little bit longer and add to the vibration (fish can't see it from too far away.)

In dirty water, I'll throw all chart. or a perch pattern (green, chart, orange) which are the most visible colors to bass in dirty water, with double gold blades for max. flash. I'll probably put on a colorado/indiana combo for max vibration also, allowing the bass to find the bait alot easier.

Hope this helps. Good luck and God Bless.

[=Matt 5.0=]

I've had alot of success with the Strike Kings. I just bought a bag of Zoom split tail trailers in chartreuse to add. We fish mostly clear water here as well. My primary colors are chart. w/red and white. I think all my blades are double willow.

[Munkin]

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1173231523

Senko77 has some for sale over in the classifieds see what he has in 3/8 and 1/2oz.

For spinnerbaits the clearer the water the more translucent the skirt I use. If you are just starting out try whiteish with twin nickel willows, chart/white and solid chartruese #3 colorado over #4 or 4.5 gold willow, and solid black with #5 colorado (for muddy water and night fishing). I make my own spinnerbaits so I am not sure about specific brands but Terminator has some nice looking clear water skirts.

Allen

[Wayne P.]

For your part of the country, a chartreuse skirt with a white and a chartreuse willow will get those smallmouths. Booyah and Terminator has that combination as a stock color. If you can find any with both blades in chartreuse it would be even better.

[.ghoti.]

You asked for brands, so I'll say Terminator. I like these because they almost never get out of shape. They run true. They cost a bit more, but they last longer, so it's wash. I also have a bunch of Strike King spinnerbaits. I probably catch equal numbers of fish on each. I tend to throw the Strike King's when I'm working the bait through heavy wood cover. It's less painful to lose a 2 dollar bait than a 7 dollar one. I got a bunch of Stanley Wedge spinnerbaits last year from BPS for a buck apiece. Had good success with those.

Almost all of my spinnerbaits are either white or white/charteuse. I have a handful of black ones for night fishing, and a handful of "other" colors for just because. In really clear water, a translucent skirt works for me. Both Terminator and Stanley have good translucent skirt colors. Also a single willow blade has less lift, so you can work it faster. I think that's crucial in clear water. A slow retrieve with a big colorado blade works best in dirtier water.

I never use a trailer hook, but I know a lot of people do. Try it first with out. If you get a few short strikes, or just can't hook up, put one on. I do always use a trailer. I proved, at least to myself, that a plastic trailer is essential. I save torn up Power worms to use for trailers. I also use 3" and 4" grubs, depending on the size of the spinnerbait. My favorite trailer is a standard size Fluke for smaller spinnerbaits and a Super Fluke for the larger baits. A buddy of mine has been using torn up Senko pieces as spinnerbait trailers, with good success. I'll be adding that to my bag of tricks for this year.

Cheers,

GK

[Garnet]

Nichols Spinnerbaits are the best and Strikeking 2nd. I was watching KVD on his early 90's spinnerbait dvd and he had Nichols and Strikeking.

Garnet

[Brad_Coovert]

Booyah makes a good, inexpensive spinnerbait.

Another brand I would suggest is Secret Weapon Lures.  They have one of the best, if not the best, blade systems that will allow you to make endless blade combinations with one bait.  They offer several kits and have colors that are just a bit different than most brands.  I know the guys that designed these and they are good baits with a ton of on the water time put into their design.

Brad

[Bionicman]

I use strictly Terminator and Booyah Spinnerbaits.  In clear water I use a white and in dark or dingy water I use chart.  right now i'm trying to figure out the blade things, what works where colorado/indiana/willowleaf but I use a trailer always I like Zoom splittail trailers and also use 3" grubs.  I use trailer hooks on some and not on others, I have found no difference in my opinion on catching a fish tho i have caught some on the trailer hook.

[Curado]

I mainly throw a Hart spinnerbait, but I do throw some Strike King and I got a couple my neighbor made.

[The_Natural]

In clear water on clear days, you definitely want a translucent skirt of some sort, and you want to be working your bait fairly fast, in the top of the water column.  I took second in a club tournament last year fishing gin clear water, throwing a 3/16oz Leverage spinnerbait in the 'Naked Shad' color.  This was post-spawn, and the fish really preferred the smaller profile of the 3/16oz Leverage.  My boater was throwing a full size, 3/8oz white Booyah spinnerbait, and he only had one keeper all day, and I was culling by noon.  It just proved to me yet again how important picking the right size and color of a bait are, not just the right type of bait.  In clear water on cloudy days however, a white skirt with painted white blades is the ticket.  On cloudy days, there is no sun to reflect off of the blades or skirt, and the white skirt/blades contrast against the sky.  I purchased some Falcon 'Red Eye' spinnerbaits last fall, and they are designed for clear water/high skies.  They have translucent skirt colors, and they incorporate silver colorado blade ahead of a very small willow...ideal for burning in clear water.  

Here are some clear water/high skies spinnerbaits.  Top left is the 3/16oz leverage, and the other three are Falcon 'Red Eye' clear water specials.

[Munkin]

Try some hidden weight spinnerbaits? This is a pic of one I made for clear water as you can see in the plain heads beside it most of the weight is hidden under the skirt on the hook shank. This bait is 3/8 or 1/2oz but is the same size as a 1/4oz bait.

Allen

[Rob G.]

Redtail,  in clear water I would use white, or even grey with silver blade/blades.  I would burn this bait, you do not want the fish to get a good look at it, you are going to get a reaction strike with this bait.  Just stay with subtle colors then experiment with blade design and size and you will catch fish.

[Grey Wolf]

Don't rule out 1/8 oz. spinner baits, I've caught  many large bass on them.

[Styx]

I second that on using an 1/8 oz. spinnerbait. I use the Stanley WedgePlus which is hard to find locally anymore. It produces well in clear water conditions. I would also suggest using a translucent skirt as well.

[MALTESE FALCON]

I like Terminator, Strike King, or Leverage. Most of mine are white or white and chartreuse. The only time I don't use a trailer hook is when I'm using a plastic trailer. All my blades are willow leaf because I fish in alot of weeds.

Falcon

[Garnet]

Munkin

Were did you get those heads.

Garnet

[Munkin]

Munkin

Were did you get those heads.

Garnet

staminainc

Allen

[RiverRaider]

Terminator titanium spinnerbaits are expensive but they don't warp after getting snagged.