spinnerbait blade configuration

[OkobojiEagle]

Obviously, there aren't many bass guys that want to throw Indiana bladed spinnerbaits or there would be more available.  My spinnerbait lineup is mostly double Indiana, single Indiana or willow/Indiana.  My quarry is smallmouth hiding along weed edges in clear natural lakes.  Are you NOT using Indiana blades because of their unavailability or is there a reason you don't LIKE Indiana blades?  What IS your favorite spinnerbait blade configuration and which flavor of bass are looking to attract?

 

oe

[Bankc]

Indiana is kind of the middle ground.  I think most bass anglers think more causally.  So either you choose a Colorado because you want the thump, or you choose the willow because you want the speed.  Having a third option that straddles the other two feels a bit indecisive.  I'm not saying that it isn't a good idea, or that there's anything wrong with an Indiana blade.  It just FEELS more like a compromise.  

 

That's my theory.

[OkobojiEagle]

4 minutes ago, Bankc said:

 It just FEELS more like a compromise.  

Do you think a smallmouth has a different preference than a largemouth or spot?  Or might there be a different outcome when in rivers rather than lakes?

 

oe

[WRB]

Double Indiana blades push more water with less resistance then the popular willow/Colorado blade combo. My favorite combo was double Indiana. A BR member bought my Nichols spinnerbaits and posted a photo* of a bass caught using the spinnerbait.

I think most bass anglers follow along with what is popular not necessarily what is working.

Tom

* Latest catch pics thread 11/23 search “Nichols”.

[Scott F]

My preference has been the single, Colorado blade. I must be in the minority because of how few of that model I see in stores compared to double bladed, willow leaf baits and most every other combination. 

[jimmyjoe]

50 minutes ago, WRB said:

I think most bass anglers follow along with what is popular not necessarily what is working.

 

   Exactly. Applies to more than just spinnerbaits, too.      jj

[roadwarrior]

Maybe it's just a matter of semantics, but I think lures and techniques become popular 

because they DO WORK!

 

[GTN-NY]

21 minutes ago, Scott F said:

My preference has been the single, Colorado blade. I must be in the minority because of how few of that model I see in stores compared to double bladed, willow leaf baits and most every other combination. 

Single colorado has always been my favorite. 

[Captain Phil]

Not all fish respond the same.  The same spinnerbait configuration that works in a Florida swamp will not necessarily work in a clear Northern reservoir.  Fish preferences change with the seasons as well.  When bass are feeding on small fry, you will do better with smaller blades.  Bigger food means bigger baits and blades.  Experimentation is key.   When you find something that works for you, stick with it.  

[DitchPanda]

I guess for me I'm throwing a spinner bait most in two situations: spring in dirty water and fall in clean water when the bass are focusing on shad. Because of that I use a Colorado for max thump or willow for speed and bait fish profile. Ill add that I'm targeting largemouth...but do catch small mouth from time to time.

[Big Hands]

22 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

Maybe it's just a matter of semantics, but I think lures and techniques become popular 

because they DO WORK!

 

Maybe, but in my personal experience, not always. 

 

There was a worm I was fishing and absolutely killing with. I went through as many of four bags of ten in a day by myself. That worm was made by a very popular manufacturer that is still very highly regarded nationwide. They were made just down the street from where I worked, and they would sell them to me directly. One day I discovered that they had discontinued the color, and I inquired about that, telling them that this was hands down the best worm/color I had ever encountered and had fished it on several local lakes. 

 

The response was, "well, it doesn't sell that well so we're not making it anymore." I tried them in several other colors that were nowhere near as effective. Shortly thereafter, they quit making that style of worm altogether. My take is that you can tell it to them, but you can't understand it for them. I'm guessing they felt the same way about me.

 

Side Note: One of the things I really liked about that worm was that there was something about their plastic, that I could see teeth marks in a worn that had been bit and could more or less gauge the fish size by how wide apart the marks in the plastic were, especially in the flat paddle style tail, but also on the body of the worm.

[WRB]

Off topic, the reason for referencing the Indiana blade spinning bait sold to a member who lives on the east coast is 2,750 miles from where I fish on the west coast, not similar but the same spinnerbait! 

My belief is anglers tend to follow the herd it works why change? Indiana blades maybe working better and you will never know unless use them.

Tom

[J Francho]

Blade choice for me is driven more by retrieve, not popularity. Retrieve is validated by bites. 

[CountryboyinDC]

I haven't started putting together my own, but my favorite river smallmouth spinnerbait is an Indiana/Colorado smaller spinnerbait made by War Eagle.  I don't know that it matches any particular baitfish so well, the big blade is silver, the small one gold, which seems like a compromise, but it does well for me on the river.

[A-Jay]

4 hours ago, OkobojiEagle said:

Obviously, there aren't many bass guys that want to throw Indiana bladed spinnerbaits or there would be more available.  My spinnerbait lineup is mostly double Indiana, single Indiana or willow/Indiana.  My quarry is smallmouth hiding along weed edges in clear natural lakes.  Are you NOT using Indiana blades because of their unavailability or is there a reason you don't LIKE Indiana blades?  What IS your favorite spinnerbait blade configuration and which flavor of bass are looking to attract?

 

oe

I fish 'clear' water most of the time as well.

My best spinnerbait conditions include any water that will have the brown bass in 10 feet or less and willing to chase a bait a ways; usually post spawn to mid-fall. 

There's almost always some type of cover for them to 'use' so that the bass

is either being surprised by the bait or the bass feel like she's the one initiating the surprise, or both.

The more visibility there is, or how far away a smallie can see my bait,

the less time I want to offer her to look at it and make a decision whether to eat it or not. 

So while most any and all 'blade configurations' can & do produce, my best producers allow me to keep the bait moving along at a pretty good clip, while running straight/true (not turning over on it's side - which is a bite eliminator IMO).

Believing that the brown ones are sight feeders, I am not depending on the vibration as much. 

I like, want and need some flash & vibration but only enough to get their attention;

and not enough to sacrifice the speed. The 'flash' off the blade can be from a shiny or colored/painted blade; both work for me. 

 So I use tandem willow blades a lot, as well as a willow/Indiana or willow/Colorado.

Going down a blade size on both is standard operating procedure.

 

 

Burning it for a ways and then throwing the shortest pause possible, before continuing the retrieve has solicited many strikes for this kid over the past few years; including my PB Smallie. 

This is what that looks like . . .

 

A-Jay

 

 

 

 

[OkobojiEagle]

AJ... a lot of pertinent information in your post above.  I hope it is read and re-read.

 

oe

[Jig Man]

For me it is what works best on what waters.  Table Rock lake has been a double Colorado night or day.  On Stockton a double willow produces best for me during the day and a single Colorado at night.  I rarely mix blade types.

[gim]

I still have a few of the old school Terminator series with the "oklahoma turtle back" blades.  They really give off a lot of thump.

[Bankc]

2 hours ago, OkobojiEagle said:

Do you think a smallmouth has a different preference than a largemouth or spot?  Or might there be a different outcome when in rivers rather than lakes?

 

oe

I think a fish's preference can change by the minute.  And the environment will have a lot to do with that.  

 

I was just offering the theory that perhaps the reason you don't see as many Indiana bladed spinnerbaits is because people tend to think in dualities.  Good or evil.  Left or right.  Right or wrong.  High or low.  Dry or wet.  Big or small., etc.  It makes decision making easier, even if it's over simplifying the situation and leading to poorer decisions.  If you want thump, you have Colorado.  If you want speed, you have willow.  Indiana might be the right choice.  But bass gear is largely marketed around the idea of specialization, and Indiana blades don't feel quite as specialized.  

 

It's a purely psychological thing.  

[scaleface]

I dont want a lot of thump from my blades so I almost always use a willow Colorado combo . I caught 462 bass this year on that combo . Not saying the Indianas are not just as good,  I just  tend to stay with what is working for me .

[ww2farmer]

This....by a wide wide margin. Clear or dirty water.

[king fisher]

I spent 30 years trolling spinners for King Salmon.  When I first started, all I would ever see used were Indiana and Colorado blades in either silver, or gold.  Now the only blade you will ever see used for Kings, is called a Mag Willow, ( also called Oklahoma, or turtle back) in mostly colored blades.  I see more and more spinnerbaits offered with this blade style.  It will be interesting to see if the Oklahoma blade takes over bass fishing the same way it did salmon fishing.  My favorite spinnerbait for many years was a single Colorado with a black skirt. I either crawled it on the bottom, or bulged it on top. Lately, I find myself using willow blades with light colored skirts.  After reading this thread, I decided to buy some Indiana blades.  I see many fisherman take away the blades, altogether, and call it a swim jig.   Where does the madness end?

[Jigfishn10]

My numero uno is a short arm single brass/gold Colorado blade spinnerbait. The retrieve is cast, let it settle to the bottom, Jerk up and reel a few turns, drop the rod tip to let it helicopter down. Repeat.

Next is a speed retrieve with either a willow or Indiana blade. This is in clear water conditions and where in the water column I’m fishing.

Willows will stay down and Indiana’s will produce more lift, so I can keep that in the middle of the water column. 

From there I adjust blade size to where the fish are. Bigger for more lift, smaller to keep down. 

 

Most waters are pretty clear so thump is not the attribute I’m looking for. In the case of the Colorado, I’m just looking to reduce rate of fall and slower retrieve speed.

[Columbia Craw]

This is great dialogue.  Blade style and configuration is driven by several factors.  First is species.  Smallmouth seem to be much more of a sight feeder.    A blade configuration the provides the ability to retrieve quickly with flash gets priority.  Largemouth and the cover oriented environment and generally less visibility point to a need to increase water displacement and light refraction so the configuration choice will try to provide those attributes.

 

I don’t think the Indians blade, just like the turtle back is an afterthought or a lack of specialty.  I agree availability of spinnerbaits with those blades is far less but there are manufacturers that do.  Confidence is huge in the type of blade configuration you throw.  A side note:  I used to place to much emphasis on color but not as much now except blade finishes.  Gold versus silver versus copper versus painted is still very important in spinnerbait selection.

[ChrisD46]

Good comments here - I happen to like Indiana blades on a spinner bait and do not feel indecisive at ail (I just consider it another tool option) . *Pros like Jimmy Houston have forgotten more than I will ever learn about a spinner baits - fascinating to hear him talk about spinner bait techniques as the man had it down to a science !