What makes the best spinnerbaits transmit vibration/feel?

[TackleDavid]

 I am curious  as to what makes my 3/8oz  war eagle double willow tandem nickel blade spinner bait  transmit vibration better than the others. (stanley vibra wedge, terminator T1 and T2's, boo ya, strike king)

 

I just started throwing them last fall. I ask this because I may start making my own spinner baits and need to know what makes the best ones better than the rest.  I am assuming the right type of wire makes the difference in feel. Blades effect thump and flash and trailer effects swimming and fall rate.  Interested in what your thoughts might be?

 

I encourage spinner bait experts and builders to share their experience.

 

I am throwing them on...

7' mh 13 black envy casting rod

steez sv tw 

30lb pp slick 8 w/ 12 tatsu leader

3/8 war eagle double willow tandem nickel blades  

3.75 in rage swimmer trailer

[Bluebasser86]

It's the thin wire frame.

[smalljaw67]

The Terminators vibrate really well and they put out more than any War Eagle I ever used. I make my own spinnerbaits and have been for a long time but I've used a lot of what is on the market today. Terminators have a titanium wire form and they vibrate more than any other bait but it is a fast, shallow vibration versus a slower, heavier vibration felt with stainless wire forms. As for the Ware Eagle vibration more than the other brands, the answer is simple, Ware Eagle uses piano wire while Booyah and Strike King use regular stainless and it is heavy like most are around .040" diameter wire. The Stanley vibra wedge, and vibra-shaft both put out more vibration than a War Eagle, at least every one that I used and if I wasn't making my own and was buying a bait, it would be the Stanley Vibra wedge. That tapered wire and tapered blade they use make for their baits really make for the most vibration I ever encountered out of a double willow configuration. Don't get me wrong, the War Eagle is really good because of the piano wire but Stanley vibra-shaft and vibra-wedge baits are harder thumping in my honest opinion. On a side note you may wan to start hording War Eagle spinnerbaits, Pradco bought them out and I imagine they will move production to Guatemala and stop using the Sampo swivels so get what remains of the old stock before they are gone.

[Bluebasser86]

3 minutes ago, smalljaw67 said:

The Terminators vibrate really well and they put out more than any War Eagle I ever used. I make my own spinnerbaits and have been for a long time but I've used a lot of what is on the market today. Terminators have a titanium wire form and they vibrate more than any other bait but it is a fast, shallow vibration versus a slower, heavier vibration felt with stainless wire forms. As for the Ware Eagle vibration more than the other brands, the answer is simple, Ware Eagle uses piano wire while Booyah and Strike King use regular stainless and it is heavy like most are around .040" diameter wire. The Stanley vibra wedge, and vibra-shaft both put out more vibration than a War Eagle, at least every one that I used and if I wasn't making my own and was buying a bait, it would be the Stanley Vibra wedge. That tapered wire and tapered blade they use make for their baits really make for the most vibration I ever encountered out of a double willow configuration. Don't get me wrong, the War Eagle is really good because of the piano wire but Stanley vibra-shaft and vibra-wedge baits are harder thumping in my honest opinion. On a side note you may wan to start hording War Eagle spinnerbaits, Pradco bought them out and I imagine they will move production to Guatemala and stop using the Sampo swivels so get what remains of the old stock before they are gone.

Terminators are great thumping blades I believe because of the flexibility of the titanium. I used to fish a tandem Colorado/Oklahoma bladed 1/2oz white Terminator first thing in the spring and slow rolled it. I would always catch some of my biggest fish of the year doing that.

 

 I've not used many Stanley's, and the ones I did were double willowleaf that aren't supposed to have much thump. 

 

I hope there aren't big changes made to War Eagle. There's just something about them that the fish around here and especially in the Ozark lakes, really seem to like. 

[OkobojiEagle]

MANY years ago I read a spinnerbait's blades cut through the water creating very little water disturbance instead sending most of the created energy (thump) up the line to the angler.  This makes a spinnerbait an excellent bait for the angler to "feel" as it's being fished, but that visibility may provide a more important quality than vibration to attract a bass with a spinnerbait, as with most other bass baits.  This theory has led me to worrying more about the spinnerbait size, weight, color, reflective flash and ability to be retrieved without leaning to one side or the other than whether one spinnerbait creates more "thump" than another.  I would hope someone would refute this assertion if not accurate, as I'm far too old to continue believing in fairy tail theories...

 

 

oe

[Munkin]

If you decide to make your own use .032 piano wire frames.

 

Allen 

[TackleDavid]

3 minutes ago, OkobojiEagle said:

MANY years ago I read a spinnerbait's blades cut through the water creating very little water disturbance instead sending most of the created energy (thump) up the line to the angler.  This makes a spinnerbait an excellent bait for the angler to "feel" as it's being fished, but that visibility may provide a more important quality than vibration to attract a bass with a spinnerbait, as with most other bass baits.  This theory has led me to worrying more about the spinnerbait size, weight, color, reflective flash and ability to be retrieved without leaning to one side or the other than whether one spinnerbait creates more "thump" than another.  I would hope someone would refute this assertion if not accurate, as I'm far too old to continue believing in fairy tail theories...

 

 

oe

The reasoning behind this whole thread is I want to achieve the best feel on my end. I want to be able to tell what's going on in the water with this bait. I believe spinnerbaits make great search baits for finding the fish and telling me what is in the water (weeds) and on the bottom (rocks or muck).

I appreciate the response.

3 hours ago, smalljaw67 said:

The Terminators vibrate really well and they put out more than any War Eagle I ever used. I make my own spinnerbaits and have been for a long time but I've used a lot of what is on the market today. Terminators have a titanium wire form and they vibrate more than any other bait but it is a fast, shallow vibration versus a slower, heavier vibration felt with stainless wire forms. As for the Ware Eagle vibration more than the other brands, the answer is simple, Ware Eagle uses piano wire while Booyah and Strike King use regular stainless and it is heavy like most are around .040" diameter wire. The Stanley vibra wedge, and vibra-shaft both put out more vibration than a War Eagle, at least every one that I used and if I wasn't making my own and was buying a bait, it would be the Stanley Vibra wedge. That tapered wire and tapered blade they use make for their baits really make for the most vibration I ever encountered out of a double willow configuration. Don't get me wrong, the War Eagle is really good because of the piano wire but Stanley vibra-shaft and vibra-wedge baits are harder thumping in my honest opinion. On a side note you may wan to start hording War Eagle spinnerbaits, Pradco bought them out and I imagine they will move production to Guatemala and stop using the Sampo swivels so get what remains of the old stock before they are gone.

I rate them differently but With that being said. 

It's 27 degrees here right now but I'm going to go do some confirmation testing and will report back shortly with results.

8 minutes ago, Munkin said:

If you decide to make your own use .032 piano wire frames.

 

Allen 

Why, and could you recommend a source to find them?

[Munkin]

44 minutes ago, TackleDavid said:

 

Why, and could you recommend a source to find them?

Barlows Tackle,  Janns Net craft, Lurepartsonline.com one of them will have them. 

 

Allen 

[TackleDavid]

7 hours ago, smalljaw67 said:

The Terminators vibrate really well and they put out more than any War Eagle I ever used. I make my own spinnerbaits and have been for a long time but I've used a lot of what is on the market today. Terminators have a titanium wire form and they vibrate more than any other bait but it is a fast, shallow vibration versus a slower, heavier vibration felt with stainless wire forms. As for the Ware Eagle vibration more than the other brands, the answer is simple, Ware Eagle uses piano wire while Booyah and Strike King use regular stainless and it is heavy like most are around .040" diameter wire. The Stanley vibra wedge, and vibra-shaft both put out more vibration than a War Eagle, at least every one that I used and if I wasn't making my own and was buying a bait, it would be the Stanley Vibra wedge. That tapered wire and tapered blade they use make for their baits really make for the most vibration I ever encountered out of a double willow configuration. Don't get me wrong, the War Eagle is really good because of the piano wire but Stanley vibra-shaft and vibra-wedge baits are harder thumping in my honest opinion. On a side note you may wan to start hording War Eagle spinnerbaits, Pradco bought them out and I imagine they will move production to Guatemala and stop using the Sampo swivels so get what remains of the old stock before they are gone.

Just went out and conducted fresh comparison between all the different spinnerbaits I have. 

War eagle  = A+ transferred the most vibration to me.

terminator = B+

Boo ya       = B

KVD           = B

Molix          =B

terminator T1  = D the titanium wire doesn't transmit  as well as other wire type at all.

Stanley       = couldnt find the one I have but it didn't impress me as any better than any of the others when I tested it last month. = B

[basscatcher8]

I know there were a few guys around here that were making them on frames so light they were junk or would break after a few fish. They just made sure to make a lot of them to change out during a day. Was said the vibration they got with the frames made a difference. I can't say that's fact. Just something I've seen before.

[MickD]

If you are not already using braid, try it.  It will transmit vibration a lot better than mono or FC.

[TackleDavid]

Yes braid always!

[fish'n Jim]

I think you're referring to what causes the most vibration up the rod, and that isn't a parameter that I'd necessarily recommend you solely go by.  That also depends on the rod/line size/type, how much line is out, etc.

I think it's best to "play around" with various configurations, as you have with commercial baits, until you find ones that actually catch fish and learn what causes it.   You can invest a lot of time and not get anywhere, as well, depending on your skill level.   You might have to trade a little "vibration" for wires that don't bend up or break when you fight a fish.   Also, if they're too soft, they'll not deflect off cover and hang up more.  Can even affect hook up if the wire is too soft or long and blades get in the way.  So there's other factors to effectiveness.   To each his own, regional preferences too.

eg; I can take a SPBT and change the skirt and make it more effective regardless of the vibration or blades.   It's also how you fish them.   It's not strictly a chunk and wind vibrating type of lure like a trap, per se.   The flash and retrieve will affect the effectiveness.  The water clarity, depth, and temperature will also play a role in choice.   It's also what specie you're after and what stage they're in.   SMB react a bit different to them than LMB and spots are someplace else...   But once you have one that catches, it'll catch anywhere, N to S.   Like inline spinners, it seems they don't get the respect they used to these days.   I've got a "near perfect" SPBT tied on all the time in my rod box.   They're  not just a search bait, but a numbers bait that'll catch giants too.

 

 

[TackleDavid]

Very good post^^^

I agree there are many aspects that make it a wonderful bait. The most important being "BIG O FAT FISH CATCHIN!"

I have had great success with the war eagles, even upgrading my personal best in October.

 

I like to compare things until I have what works best for me. I will go through the system and test each individual component I until I have what I feel is best for my application. Example... rods, line, bait, blades, wire diam, trailer and so on.

 

Catching fish is fun.

 

[Chris]

Part of it is the wire bend, The wire used be it stainless steel, spring steel or piano depending and density of it and gage, the weight balance, the blades and shape thickness, kind of material, and weight and spacing of the blades, the umbrella skirt that helps with balance also

 

Piano wire, or "music wire", is a specialized type of wire made for use in piano strings. It is made from tempered high-carbon steel, also known as spring steel, which replaced iron as the material starting in 1834.

[Scarborough817]

what setup are most of you throwing a spinnerbait on?

[TackleDavid]

6 hours ago, Scarborough817 said:

what setup are most of you throwing a spinnerbait on?

I prefer 7'3" mhxf 13 Black envy w/ Daiwa steez 7.1  30lb braid w/ 6'  15lb tatsu flouro  leader.

I feel this setup gives me a good deal of sensitivity to feel what"s going on in the water and enough backbone to get a good hookset on a long cast.

[scaleface]

There are certain spinnerbaits that just feel good to me .  Single blades seem to have that perfect vibration more often . .  My most used lure are single willowleafs from late spring until late fall . Everybody prefers different baits with different configurations , I  go by feel . 

[Chance_Taker4]

Picasso Invizwire and River2Sea Bling are the only two spinnerbaits I throw. Give of the perfect amount of vibration and I can feel everything they are doing down there.

On ‎12‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 4:33 PM, Scarborough817 said:

what setup are most of you throwing a spinnerbait on?

6'9" MH Kistler KLX blades rod paired with a 6:1 Revo SX gen 4 spooled with 12# Vicious Pro Elite Fluorocarbon. I slow roll my spinnerbaits and love using them in the lower part of the water column. If I want to burn it I use 12# Vicious Ultimate Co-Poly on a 7:1 Ardent Apex Elite.

[detroit1]

I don't consider a spinnerbait a "feel" bait. I could care less if it vibrates hard or not at all. The bass don't care either. In the clear waters I fish, speed and flash are more important. And no, I don't bother slow-rolling a spinnerbait. I don't want fish looking too close at my bait. Much better bait choices than slow - rolling a spinnerbait.  (works for me)....