Spinner Bait Wire Break

[FishOnLMB]

Hey everyone, today I went fishing with a spinner bait at my local lake. I was throwing it for bass, but then  2 1/2 pound trout wacked it. I set the hook and then 3 seconds later the wire broke, so I was only left with my blades. I have only caught 5 bass on it, and was wondering if this usually happens with spinner baits and any recommendations for some spinner baits. I was using a tandem blade fishhog spinner bait.

[MassYak85]

It's pretty much inevitable that the wire will break eventually. Whether it's after 20, 50, 200 fish will depend on the thickness and quality of the spinnerbait arm. I personally like War Eagles. 

[Logan S]

Use some braided line and tie off the R-bend like this...It keeps the wire from bending as much when you catch a fish.  Another benefit is that the wire doesn't flex quite as much on hooksets .  Just a few wraps and half-hitches and then a drop of superglue to keep it from unravelling.  

 

It will still break eventually, but it does last longer this way.  

[Jig Man]

Logan is right on the money with that technique.  I have been doing it for some time now and have never had one brake since I started.  I even wear the skirts out and replace them while the wire stays good.  I don't use half hitches I just wrap it and glue it.

[S. Sass]

1 minute ago, MassYak85 said:

It's pretty much inevitable that the wire will break eventually. Whether it's after 20, 50, 200 fish

^^^ this. Also if you fish only open water they probably will last a little longer but throwing in brush and slow rolling the bottoms beating and banging will shorten the life span sometimes. As well as bigger stronger fish, Stripers are fairly hard on them. 

 

Personally I have mostly Pepper Custom and Mann's with a few other brands as well. Price per performance keeps me using the Peppers. Pepper Customs seems to me to be as smooth or smoother in the water, they never try to roll or track funny, and the hardware is second to none. Also unlike some of the name brands the Peppers have a nice barb for your trailer. 

 

In all honesty the metal wire used today I think is inferior to the wire use many years ago. I have some old spinnerbaits that have caught no telling how many fish and were fished in and around cover constantly. Several that are light wire as well and they are still going, but I have pretty much put them in preservation mode.

 

Logan S may be onto something. My older ones are all closed eye which may have something to do with them lasting longer. None of the old school had R-bends. Which I detest anyway. 

[WRB]

Never had a failure using Nichols spinnerbaits for decades, the wire shouldn't break.

Tom

[Damn Yankee]

I use closed loop spinnerbaits, Mann's ect. No problems with breaks.

[Catt]

Stanley Vibra Shaft is thicker & will not break!

 

Got some that are 15+ yrs old

[RoLo]

The odds are that you'll never experience that again.

Nevertheless, if you're really concerned about wire fracture,

Terminator makes titanium wire spinnerbaits that will never crystallize (i.e work harden).

 

Roger

[Gundog]

Terminators Titaniums. Had one I've fished every year since I bought it over 5 years ago and its still going strong. 

[everythingthatswims]

I use war eagles. They are gonna break, but the light wire lets the blades put off more vibration. It makes a big difference IMO. I try to not swing any fish over 2lbs in the boat, on the bank, etc to put less stress on the arms. Definitely don't hold the fish up by the line while he's thrashing, that will put an end to a spinnerbait very quickly!

[RoLo]

1 hour ago, everythingthatswims said:

I use war eagles. They are gonna break, but the light wire lets the blades put off more vibration. It makes a big difference IMO. I try to not swing any fish over 2lbs in the boat, on the bank, etc to put less stress on the arms. Definitely don't hold the fish up by the line while he's thrashing, that will put an end to a spinnerbait very quickly!

 

 

Good point.

The shock generated by a fish thrashing in the atmosphere is far greater than a fish thrashing in the drink.

I've had more than one terminal snap blowup from a fish thrashing in the boat, and even during water jumps

 

Roger

 

[Jig Man]

6 hours ago, everythingthatswims said:

I use war eagles. They are gonna break, but the light wire lets the blades put off more vibration. It makes a big difference IMO. I try to not swing any fish over 2lbs in the boat, on the bank, etc to put less stress on the arms. Definitely don't hold the fish up by the line while he's thrashing, that will put an end to a spinnerbait very quickly!

War Eagle just happens to be the brand that I use and have wrapped with braid. 

[Catt]

The Stanley Vibra-Wedge Spinnerbait produces more water displacement than any other spinnerbait on the market.  Featuring two of Stanley’s most innovative designs - Vibrashaft wire and Wedge blades.

The wire is thicker at head to the line tie & tapers towards the tip, tapered wire transfers all the vibration to the tip of the wire, where the blades are. 

 

The Wedge blades are specially designed & taper in thickness, allowing them to emit the thump of a Colorado-blade, as well as, the flash of a standard willow blade. 

I've thrown em for 35 yrs & ain't never heard of one breaking!

[OkobojiEagle]

It appears you now have an opportunity to buy a new spinnerbait...

 

 

oe

[Bobby Uhrig]

This one didnt even bend

 

[.ghoti.]

You should have had Roland holding that fish so we could all get another look at his giant thumb. LOL

[Bobby Uhrig]

[Deleted account]

Any spinnerbait is eventually going to break. The gauge and quality of the wire along with how, where, and how often it is fished is going to determine if that happens in a week or a decade. I've had smallmouth, pike and snakeheads (as well as the occasional LM) wreck a quality spinnerbait in one fell swoop, sometimes the hook gets pinned sideways in the jaw, and the torque twists the wire all different ways. In addition to the R tie, the wire will fail where it enters the head eventually, still way cheaper, and more fun to fish than plastics.

[scaleface]

A couple of years back I was using a Storm spinnerbait with light wires . It only lasted about 6 fish . I caught a 6 lber then one fish later it broke on a dink .