Saved by a spinnerbait!

[Cranks4fun]

I am a crankbait, jerkbait, and worm guy. I like flukes and Kinami-style baits too, but I mostly fish cranks, jerkbaits, and T-rigged worms. However, I did have my best day ever on a spinnerbait yesterday. I have never fished spinnerbaits (safety pin type) much and had only caught about 10 bass on them in my whole life. The wind was howling yesterday at 20+ miles an hour and we were on a smaller, 10 acre body of water. My buddy and I were having a bad day at it. I'll bet I tried 20 baits (worms, cranks, jointed Rapalas, etc.) but the wind was really affecting our ability to grip some lips. I caught two bass on shallow Bandit cranks and then just kept hauling water and weeds. Worms were doing nothing for us. I suddenly remembered KVD talking about spinnerbaits shining on windy days. So, out of frustration and desperation, I went to a chartreuse Booyah Spinnerbait with 2 gold Colorado blades. Wow! I caught 13 bass on that thing! I ended the day with 15 bass and my friend only caught 4. We had no other spinnerbaits in the boat and when I offered him an old beetle spin as a consolation gift he turned up his nose. I have a renewed interest in spinnerbaits baits now. I am putting new skirts on my old ones and I am adding them to my most-used tackle boxes. I may even try some little in-line spinners again. I used to do well on them with bluegills years ago. I love learning new things on the water. I keep learning that bass sometimes demand a very specific presentation. I was lucky enough to guess what it was yesterday.

[scaleface]

Im a worm/crankbait guy too , but I can put a spinnerbait in crannies that I would never attempt with a crankbait .

[riverbasser]

friend should of took the beetle spin, he might of out fished you. that thing catches everything

[soflabasser]

The spinnerbait is one of the best lures a bass fisherman can use.You can fish it where it breaks the surface,just below the surface,mid water level,and slow roll it near the bottom.

[fishballer06]

Next comes the chatterbait...

 

The bait monkey welcomes us all with open arms.

[Cranks4fun]

Yeah. That bait monkey has my number for sure. Surprisingly I only own one chatterbait but have never caught a bass with it. My fishing partner has caught a few on his but I remain unimpressed for now. 

[Ratherbfishing]

They are not an "anytime, anywhere" bait BUT when they shine, they really shine.  I think they work best in low light or stained water conditions and when fish are in a reactive bite mood.  Provided it isn't too thick or clingy, you can fish them in, next to, and over aquatic vegetation and in just about every part of the water column.  They have saved my bacon on many occassions and I would feel something was amiss if I did not have a handful of spinnerbaits at my disposal.   White, chartreuse, orange, and/or black skirts and blades are USUALLY my go to colors.

[primetime]

When they work, they work, when they don't, they usually flat out don't....But more often then not, you can find fish willing to hit a spinnerbait. I think that is all Jimmy Houston ever used in tournaments, maybe a spook a few times?

[scaleface]

When bass stop hitting spinnerbaits go small . A little blade that is barely detectable to the fisherman trigger strikes  such as on  a Beetle spin . I try to mimic the vibration of a  Beetle Spin with the  snaglessness of a fixed arm . Beetle spins dont jump logs or bounce off snags well . .

 

 

 

[YoTone]

can i get anyones opinion on itrailer hooks or plastic trailers  or even a combination of both?

 

[S. Sass]

3 hours ago, fishballer06 said:

Next comes the chatterbait...

 

The bait monkey welcomes us all with open arms.

I am still trying to get my chatterbaits to produce like a spinnerbait. I keep hearing its the replacement for spinnerbaits but right now Ill take one white spinnerbait to 10 chatterbaits any day of the week. Guess its a confidence thing. But I swear I have nearly blanked a few days trying to make myself use chatterbaits. One day I am sure it will pay off.  

20 minutes ago, YoTone said:

can i get anyones opinion on itrailer hooks or plastic trailers  or even a combination of both?

I dislike trailer hooks period but some swear by them. There are 50 ways 50 different people say the dang trailer hook should be as well so if you decide to use one good luck with what is the "correct" way to hang it on there.

As for plastic trailers for years I never used them at all and now I'm about 50% of the time with a small plastic trailer. Lately the Lucky E Strike Baby Bug in white has been a good inexpensive bait to slip on. Just make sure your skirt isnt interfering with the action of the plastic tail. 

[scaleface]

I rarely use a trailer hook on a spinnerbait . If I want a little extra weight for casting I'll add a half a Senko type bait .

[curtis9]

I never go out without a spinner bait tied on.

[bigbill]

My spinnerbait setups, 

Clear water, slightly stained water, stained water.

1/4oz blue glimmer skirt, double Indiana or Colorado gold blades.  Mister Twister white 4" split double tail grub trailer. With a trailer hook.

Stained water. Muddy water.

1/4oz hot chartruese skirt, double Indiana or Colorado gold blades. Mister Twister chartruese 4" split double tail grub trailer. With trailer hook

Don't forget a scent.

[Stingray23]

Spinnerbaits have always been a confidence bait for me from day 1.

[Chowderhead]

9 minutes ago, Stingray23 said:

Spinnerbaits have always been a confidence bait for me from day 1.

Same here.  When all else fails, I go back to a basic Booyah Pond Magic spinnerbait. 

[RB 77]

I'm a worm/ jig dragger at heart and have also  caught my fair share on cranks and what not,  but when it comes down to reaction baits, hands down I have more confidence in a spinnerbait than any other type of reaction bait. This is probably due to its sheer versatility more than anything. While I don't invest a ton of stock into too many color, size, blade combinations (I fish mostly Shad and Bluegill, 3/8ths and 1/2 oz, silver and gold blades, etc) I fish them with so many different presentations it makes me feel like the opportunities to pattern fish with them are endless. Burning, slow roll, yo-yo, bottom crawling, open water, heavy cover, through stick ups, over laydowns, plowing shell beds, dragging  them off the bank, the sky is the limit!

18 hours ago, YoTone said:

can i get anyones opinion on itrailer hooks or plastic trailers  or even a combination of both?

 

Sometimes none, sometimes both, sometimes one or the other.  For me personally if I want to make a "smaller" presentation I will forgo both. When I want a larger presentation I will use a soft plastic fluke style or swimbait style trailer with a trailer hook. When I want a larger profile, but am fishing heavy cover, I will use a soft plastic trailer with no trailer hook. I do not use any hard fast rules in regards to this, but these are some general guidelines that I follow.

[Columbia Craw]

There's a lesson to be learned. When the bass aren't cooperating, you need to keep two things open, your mind and your tackle bag.  Good for you. 

[WIGuide]

Looks like you found out how deadly a spinnerbait can be. You were fishing it in near optimal conditions, but there's other times it can be good too. It's definitely one of my confidence baits.