Spinnerbaits: closed eye vs R bend

[DitchPanda]

Alright for you spinnerbait junkies like myself...which style do you prefer and why? For me I prefer the closed eye as they seem to hold up better and I also like the classic look. Problem is they are tough to find. 

[Basseditor]

I’m with you. I prefer closed loop. I’ve had line slide down the r-bend when fighting big fish. I use a snap so closed is faster. On the r -bend I put a piece of tubing over the bend so I can attach a snap.

[jimmyjoe]

   Yes, they hold up better. Where I fish, pike or musky can be a problem, and the closed eye makes using a steel leader easier. If it weren't for that, I'd just get good "R" bend spinnerbaits.

   The Mann's Hank Parker Classic is twisted eye, and so are the Northland spinnerbaits. J-Mac has a whole series of twisted eye, and if you want to spend more money, Greenfish has a HD series that are closed eye. I thought Lunkerhunt had a closed eye, but I might be wrong.

   What I don't like about closed eye is that the line (or leader) can wrap around the eye. With a metal leader, this isn't really a problem. With mono or braid, it can be a definite problem, weakening the line very quickly or even breaking it. The open eye doesn't have that problem.

 

   jj

[Jig Man]

I prefer the closed eye for longevity but I really like War Eagle a d they don’t seem to use anything except the R wire.  So I wrap the R with braided line to hold it.  This seems to double the life expectancy of them.

[DitchPanda]

1 hour ago, Jig Man said:

I prefer the closed eye for longevity but I really like War Eagle a d they don’t seem to use anything except the R wire.  So I wrap the R with braided line to hold it.  This seems to double the life expectancy of them.

The war eagle extremes with Trokar hooks and the wake model spinnerbaits use the closed eye.

 

7 hours ago, jimmyjoe said:

   Yes, they hold up better. Where I fish, pike or musky can be a problem, and the closed eye makes using a steel leader easier. If it weren't for that, I'd just get good "R" bend spinnerbaits.

   The Mann's Hank Parker Classic is twisted eye, and so are the Northland spinnerbaits. J-Mac has a whole series of twisted eye, and if you want to spend more money, Greenfish has a HD series that are closed eye. I thought Lunkerhunt had a closed eye, but I might be wrong.

   What I don't like about closed eye is that the line (or leader) can wrap around the eye. With a metal leader, this isn't really a problem. With mono or braid, it can be a definite problem, weakening the line very quickly or even breaking it. The open eye doesn't have that problem.

 

   jj

Do you have any experience with the North land spinnerbaits? Are they decent quality? The have single blade Colorado spinner baits with the closed eye frame for like $3-$4 and was wondering if they are any good

[scaleface]

I dont have a preference .You guys think the twist eye  catches more bass than the R-bend before breaking ?

[Catt]

I throw Stanley spinnerbaits for 2 reasons.

 

First unrivaled flash & vibration! 

 

Second ya can't wear em out!

[DitchPanda]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

I dont have a preference .You guys think the twist eye  catches more bass than the R-bend before breaking ?

I feel like they hold up better yes if all things are equal. I feel like same wire type and size a twist eye has more strength. At least it has seemed that way in my experience.

1 hour ago, Catt said:

I throw Stanley spinnerbaits for 2 reasons.

 

First unrivaled flash & vibration! 

 

Second ya can't wear em out!

I actually just ordered a couple Stanley's after reading how good and durable they are on here. Never thrown one.

[jimmyjoe]

1 hour ago, DitchPanda said:

Do you have any experience with the North land spinnerbaits? Are they decent quality? The have single blade Colorado spinner baits with the closed eye frame for like $3-$4 and was wondering if they are any good

 

   I use Northland a lot. I believe in decent spinnerbaits that catch fish, not in fancy stuff. Sorry, but I don't do fancy. The Northland Reed Runners stand up about as good as anything that I use, and they definitely hook well.

   1) I use spinnerbaits A LOT in rocks and rip-rap. They're my favorite lure to literally drag over the rocks. I don't care what kind of paint or epoxy you put on the head of the spinnerbait, it's gonna get worn off real fast. So I retouch .... once. Then it's gone.

   2) Pulling over rocks, I frequently lose spinnerbaits. They lodge, and they don't come free. Bye-bye $$.

   3) Some spinnerbaits' wires twist on a big fish. When you straighten it, it weakens. Next good-sized fish you hook ........gone. Northland doesn't do that.

   4) I admit that for pike and musky, Northland is awful cheap, maybe even weak. But for bass, I think they're just fine.

 

   Some people really and sincerely believe in high-dollar spinnerbaits. And I understand that. Heck, that's the way I am about spoons! But for some reason, I'll spend $7 on a spoon, but not on a spinnerbait.

 

   Hope this helps you.      jj

 

  

[scaleface]

I've had a lot of spinnerbaits catastrophically fail when fighting a bass  . Every brand I use eventually break , even Titanium Terminators . Now days I pour my own and just switch out the hardware to a new bait before they get to that point .

[Fishingmickey]

9 hours ago, jimmyjoe said:

 

   The Mann's Hank Parker Classic is twisted eye (one of my all/old time favorites)

   What I don't like about closed eye is that the line (or leader) can wrap around the eye. With a metal leader, this isn't really a problem. With mono or braid, it can be a definite problem, weakening the line very quickly or even breaking it. The open eye doesn't have that problem.

 

   jj

Spot on JJ! I love the Hank Parker Classic and I hate the twisted eye.

FM

[DitchPanda]

20 minutes ago, scaleface said:

I've had a lot of spinnerbaits catastrophically fail when fighting a bass  . Every brand I use eventually break , even Titanium Terminators . Now days I pour my own and just switch out the hardware to a new bait before they get to that point .

Yeah I had a booyah fail the other day on a 5+ lb fish...all I got back was the blades...I knew better than throw it cuz the wire was weak but it was a dumb choice and I paid for it. Oh well can't catch them all. Btw I've been throwing those baits you sent me...they run great and have caught me some fish even when its been tough.

[king fisher]

I'm on the fence with this issue.  I like the twisted, because the line can't slide down the arm, and they seem to hold up better.  For some reason R bend baits seem to run straight at higher speeds better.  I make my own and am constantly switching preference.  I lost a  trophy bass a couple weeks ago on a brand new spinner bait because the braid slid down the wire on an R bend and broke at the bend.  Currently back to liking the twisted wire.  Next week I may be burning the bait just under the surface and be back to liking the R bend.

[GReb]

R bend 100%. A closed eye tends to eat the line causing you to retie often or risk line failure. Also a closed eye is harder to tune when the arms get bent. 
 

[Catt]

When I started bass fishing spinnerbaits were my first love.

 

CATT orginally stood for Cajun Anglers Tournament Tackle, I built spinnerbaits & crankbaits for a few tournament anglers.

 

With spinnerbaits I bent my own wires, built my own shirts, poured my own lead, & used round bend hooks.

 

I played around with wire diameters, short arms, long arms, double arms, R-Bend, & twisted eye.

 

I stopped making spinnerbaits when I meet Lonnie Stanley.

[DitchPanda]

11 minutes ago, Catt said:

When I started bass fishing spinnerbaits were my first love.

 

CATT orginally stood for Cajun Anglers Tournament Tackle, I built spinnerbaits & crankbaits for a few tournament anglers.

 

With spinnerbaits I bent my own wires, built my own shirts, poured my own lead, & used round bend hooks.

 

I played around with wire diameters, short arms, long arms, double arms, R-Bend, & twisted eye.

 

I stopped making spinnerbaits when I meet Lonnie Stanley.

That's awesome to learn some of your history..I didn't know about your bait making. I'm glad you responded again because I had a thought come to me and you may be just the guy to answer it. I'm thinking of possible spinner bait trailers...what are your thoughts of the zoom swimming chunk on a spinnerbait? Do you use it and how do you like it? I know guys back in the day used uncle josh pork in different forms on a spinnerbait...the swimming chunk should be similar I'd imagine

[gim]

12 hours ago, jimmyjoe said:

Yes, they hold up better. Where I fish, pike or musky can be a problem

This problem never goes away here.  Mostly pike...usually not muskies.  Let's just say we have way too many of them and they are very aggressive.

 

4 hours ago, DitchPanda said:

Do you have any experience with the North land spinnerbaits? Are they decent quality? The have single blade Colorado spinner baits with the closed eye frame for like $3-$4 and was wondering if they are any good

 

The northland reed runners are literally the cheapest, least durable ones available.  I highly advise against them.  Once they get bent, they are completely useless.  The frame is made with cheap chinese steel.  So unless you intend to buy 40 of them, buy something of higher quality.

 

I almost exclusively use the original Terminator series with the titanium frame.  Its an open loop but it has more durability than any spinner bait out there because the frame won't bend or kink, even after a day of pike attacks.  They are discontinued now because Rapala bought them.  You might be able to find some on ebay.  I've got 5 remaining and 3 more in the original packaging and intend to make them last a long time.

[Dens228]

I also prefer the R bend.  I tend to get the line all messed up in the twist sooner or later........usually when I'm on a hot bite and am in a hurry to get my spinnerbait back in the water........lol

[Krux5506]

I'll fish either I can find, but 90% of the time it's R bend. Spinnerbaits are probably the #1 lure I throw so if I can catch 20-30? bass on a cheapo Strike King Banshee or something of the like then I consider that lure to have done it's job and I don't expect a whole lot of life beyond that. Usually the wires just break off, either from pike or the occasional rogue and fiesty smallmouth. 

[WRB]

Back in the '61 while attending ASU I bought my 1st single arm safety pin style spinnerbait at lake Roosevelt. The spinnerbait had a simple cylinder style head and wire was bent around a pin to form a 1 wrap coil, like a safety pin, not a twist eye or R Bend. The coil allows the upper arm to vibrate and forms the eye to tie the line onto. 

I made a mold duplicating the design making my own spinnerbaits for years, never broke a wire. 

Like everything today lots of spinnerbait choices so find a model you like and use it. The SD jam knot is very easy to tie on a spinnerbait and stays put.

Tom

PS you ever watch underwater vedio of how a spinnerbaits runs? The blades run inline with the top wire and line pulling with the head hanging downwards about 45 degrees.

[Catt]

@DitchPanda Actually I use Zoom's Swimming Chunk quite often on spinnerbaits, Johnson Spoons, & Jigs.

[DitchPanda]

14 minutes ago, Catt said:

@DitchPanda Actually I use Zoom's Swimming Chunk quite often on spinnerbaits, Johnson Spoons, & Jigs.

Perfect...thanks for the reply

[Catt]

42 minutes ago, DitchPanda said:

Perfect...thanks for the reply

 

Zoom's Swimming Chunk is a highly effective trailer that's overlooked!

[GReb]

3 hours ago, Catt said:

I stopped making spinnerbaits when I meet Lonnie Stanley.

Wasn’t Lonnie the first to create jigs and spinnerbaits with interchangeable skirts? 
 

His spinnerbaits have landed a bunch of nice fish for me. I’ve tried other brands but nothing compares

[Captain Phil]

If I had to catch a bass and I only had one bait to use, it would be a spinnerbait.

 

There is a lot more to spinnerbait fishing than most anglers imagine.  I use Hildebrandt spinnerbaits exclusively.  They are made with quality components.  They are not cheap or easy to find.  I order them online. If you hold a cheap Walmart spinnerbait in your hand next to one of these baits, you can see the difference.  The blades are gold plated, which gives more flash.  The top blade is easily changed as I often downsize or upsize my blades.  The wire is thin and bent just right giving off more vibration.  The hooks are sharp.  They use ball bearing swivels so the blades turn no matter how slow I fish them.  They are without a doubt the best spinnerbait on the market.  If I had to pick second place, it would be a Terminator.

 

I don't concern myself with the cost of baits that catch fish. Why spend your hard earned money on a boat, a truck to tow it with, rods, reels and tackle so you can miss out on fish by fishing with cheap baits?