Spinnerbaits saved my vaca twice, Should be must have lures in the boat or bag

[Cgolf]

Back in June on my traditional Northwoods fishing trip, the plastic bite died along with the jerkbait bite due to a couple of cold fronts pushing though. At some point I decided to try a spinnerbait, and they consistently put fish in the boat for me the rest of the week.

 

Fast forward to a bonus fall trip we have never done on this lake thanks to Covid and no other vacations, Saturday to Tuesday (fishing days), leave early Wednesday morning I just got back from and the first day which was after some brutal cold weather I did okay on plastics but at least got hits. The weather shifted the next couple of days with a warming trend and the plastic bite died, jerkbaits never sniffed a hit, and cranks and spy baits zeroed too. I even tried fishing a senko and zero hits on that. Tried shallow reeds, weedlines in different parts of the lake that are known for holding bass and pretty much zeroed the rest of the week. Did catch a bass on a Berkley power wiggler under a bobber fishing for perch in the reeds which really surprised me.

 

Was about to pull the boat out, but the cabin owners said nobody was coming in and we were the last to stay this year so we could leave later. This bonus morning trip let me think some and I realized that dumb me, a warm front in the fall is similar to a cold front when we are normally there. So I tied on a spinnerbait and in dead flat water the next morning, usually a bad sign, I boated 4 nice bass and missed 4 in about an hour of fishing. This saved the trip fishing wise and I definitely learned something. Had I left without putting the final piece of the puzzle together I would have been frustrated and just confused. I really felt good when I boated my last bass knowing that I had finally pieced it together, you all get it and know that feeling.

 

The moral of this story is don’t forget about the trusty spinner bait. It can put fish in the boat when other baits can’t. I would say Never give up! applies too.

[Hammer 4]

Spinnerbaits, never leave home without them.

[Jig Man]

Yep.  It has been my best producer for the last month.  I’m pretty sure I have at least 3 tied on right now.

[Dens228]

Spinnerbaits have picked up for me that last few weeks also. 

[LCG]

I am still fairly new to spinnerbaits, but the fish I have caught with then are all hooked outside the mouth, I guess you could call it foul hooked on the outside of the mouth. 

 

Anyone know why this is? I am wondering if the bass are swiping at it or going for the blades. I seem to mainly catch then on a 3/8-1/2oz  double Colorado blade white/chartreuse skirt, but I did just switch out of the skirts for black and blue will try this weekend. 

[DitchPanda]

That's why a spinnerbait is my favorite bait of all time! (Jig is dang close)

[Team9nine]

Do as I say, not as I do ?

 

Spinnerbaits should have at least a small space in every bassers arsenal. That said, I think it’s been about 15 years since I last threw one and caught a bass. Maybe this fall I  will pull one out and tie it on just for old times’ sake. I caught a lot of fish on them way back when I used to throw them.

[jimmyjoe]

25 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

I think it’s been about 15 years since I last threw one and caught a bass.

 

25 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

I caught a lot of fish on them way back when I used to throw them.

 

   Yes, you can't catch fish on them if you don't throw them!  ???    jj

[Team9nine]

9 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

 

 

   Yes, you can't catch fish on them if you don't throw them!  ???    jj

“Way back” when I threw them, we had good cover and good water color, and you could make some nice catches running shallow water all day with aggressive baits. Eventually, others figured out the bites, the fish saw a lot of spinnerbaits thrown their way, and the bite suffered from the pressure. I moved on to other presentations guys hadn’t figured out yet and the fish hadn’t seen, and never went back to spinnerbaits. No idea how they’d fare on my waters now, but it would be fun to throw them for a day just to see.

[Mat_ski]

I throw spinnerbaits a good deal when I target pike. For bass I prefer paddle/boot tail.

[Dens228]

1 hour ago, LCG said:

I am still fairly new to spinnerbaits, but the fish I have caught with then are all hooked outside the mouth, I guess you could call it foul hooked on the outside of the mouth. 

 

Anyone know why this is? I am wondering if the bass are swiping at it or going for the blades. I seem to mainly catch then on a 3/8-1/2oz  double Colorado blade white/chartreuse skirt, but I did just switch out of the skirts for black and blue will try this weekend. 

They're probably going after the blades.  Do you use a trailer on the hook?

[GReb]

If it’s cloudy with some chop a spinnerbait is one of my go to baits. I prefer more compact willow leafs. A spinnerbait with blades that extend way past the hook is a pet peeve of mine. In my lifetime I’ve probably caught more on spinnerbait than every other bait combined. 

[Bird]

Spinnerbaits are in the hall of fame......probably 75% of my biggest fish over many years on them. 

[scaleface]

This year has been my best spinnerbait year ever .There was a short period during the post spawn that other lures "crankbaits " were the lures to throw but spinnerbaits have dominated my catches this year . Its going to be short lived as the Conservation dept introduced grass carp to the lake . They will eat every last bit of vegetation and in a year   the spinnerbait wont be as effective .

[king fisher]

I use spinnerbaits to much.  When I should fish a jig, I slow role a spinnerbait instead.  I keep telling myself, I'm going to gain confidence in swim jigs, and paddle tail swimbaits, but end up fishing my confidence spinnerbait instead. I buy soft plastics, but only use them when I can't get a half dozen different styles, color, and retrieves with spinnerbaits to work.  I try top water in the morning, but usually end up burning a spinnerbait just under the surface.  To make matters worse, a couple weeks ago I couldn't get a bite on a spinnerbait, so I try an inline spinner and start getting bites.  I need to kick the addiction.  I don't think I can do it cold turkey.  Maybe I will start with underspin's and go from there.

      

[MassYak85]

Spinnerbaits are my go to search lure. And usually the lure I grind out tough days on. Want to slow roll it in 15ft of water on a drop-off? Boom covered. Want to fish docks? Weed lines? Lilly pads? Lay downs? Rocky points? Boulders? It gives a jig or t-rig a run for it's money for that "all terrain vehicle of bass fishing" title. The only time I wont use one is the coldest months of the year when I really want to slow down. 

 

2 minutes ago, king fisher said:

I use spinnerbaits to much. Maybe I will start with underspin's and go from there.

      

Nah then you just get into that "hey if they're eating an underpin I'll bet they'll hit a finesse spinnerbait" mentality lol. 

[Cgolf]

2 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Do as I say, not as I do ?

 

Spinnerbaits should have at least a small space in every bassers arsenal. That said, I think it’s been about 15 years since I last threw one and caught a bass. Maybe nthis fall I  will pull one out and tie it on just for old times’ sake. I caught a lot of fish on them way back when I used to throw them.

I looked back at my vacation logs and the last time I used them at all was 3 years ago. The last time that I used them to capture a lot of bass was 7 years ago. So for me it was a blast from the past. 

[soflabasser]

Spinnerbaits are one of the best lures for bass fishing and it would be wise for all fishermen to learn how to fish them well.

[DitchPanda]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

This year has been my best ever using  spinnerbaits .There was a short period during the post spawn that other lures "crankbaits " were the lures to throw but spinnerbaits have dominated my catches this year . Its going to be short lived as the Conservation dept introduced grass carp to the lake . They will eat every last bit of vegetation and in a year   the spinnerbait wont be as effective .

I have great luck on spinnerbaits fishing around hard cover. Laydowns especially because they come through it better than anything in my opinion. Never really thought of them as a grass bait sticking more to a swim jig or chatterbait...May need to rethink my approach. That said I think even if your grass is gone they will still be very effective...just may have to change where you throw them.

[soflabasser]

1 hour ago, Bird said:

Spinnerbaits are in the hall of fame......probably 75% of my biggest fish over many years on them. 

Have caught lots of big bass on spinnerbaits as well. It is a very versatile lure that can be fished throughout the water column. 

[813basstard]

Ah. I read it too literal. 
I thought you made a tire iron out of a $1 Walmart spinnerbait and traversed the Australian outback with the remaining strands catching dew droplets and repurposed the hook as a compass finding your way back to civilization.

 

But catching a couple bass is cool too..

[Cgolf]

3 minutes ago, 813basstard said:

Ah. I read it too literal. 
I thought you made a tire iron out of a $1 Walmart spinnerbait and traversed the Australian outback with the remaining strands catching dew droplets and repurposed the hook as a compass finding your way back to civilization.

 

But catching a couple bass is cool too..

That would have been awesome too, but finally catching some bass on a tough fishing trip definitely had a very good feel to it. 

[Derek1]

That’s because it’s the best bait ever. Slow roll it, hop it, pop it, rip it through the grass. I try to use other baits I really do. I like them so much I catch them two at a time with them. This really happened.