Beginner Spinnerbait and Chatterbait Questions

[bigspirit]

Yet another question for the BR brain trust...so I have a MH rod rated for 1/4-3/4 oz lures. I’m wanting to get into spinnerbaits and chatterbaits this year and was planning on going with 1/2oz for both of these but just saw another thread talking about actual weights and it sounds like the spinnerbait weight is measured mainly by the lead on it. So it doesn’t include all the hardware. This makes me worry it would overpower the rod. I also assume it’s similar for the chatterbaits. 
 

I feel like I’ve heard the most about 1/2oz spinnerbaits so that’s what I was going to get but should I go down to 3/8? Should I get a stouter rod? 

[MN Fisher]

Let me guess - the rod is a Dobyns.

 

Ya, the words on a rod don't matter - it's the line/lure ratings. What Dobyns (and a couple others) call Medium-Heavy, the rest call Medium.

 

To me - a Medium-Heavy is a rod rated up to 1oz, a Heavy to 1-1/4oz or 1-1/2oz.

 

Ya, either go down to 3/8 on that rod, or get a 'real' Medium-Heavy rod (Dobyns 4-power)

[roadwarrior]

I think you will be just fine.

 

[5by3]

It really depends on the rod itself. No two “medium heavies” are exactly alike. I’d say that while 1/2 oz technically falls within your rod’s range, the drag of the spinnerbait or chatterbait may overpower it. You also have to factor in the trailer too, like on your chatterbait.

The best thing to do is to try it and see how it feels.

 

 

[scaleface]

I throw 1/2 ounce spinnerbaits all the time on a rod with the exact same ratings . It cast 1/2 ounce lures easier and more accurately than 3/8 ounce baits . 

[Deleted account]

Most rods labeled MH will handle 3/8 and 1/2 spinnerbaits and chatters just fine, as that is not at the extreme of their range. There is no standard, so not all will fish the same, but they will work.

[Mike L]

The action of the rod itself, regardless of who makes it is what matters. 
 

Case in point....I have 2 MH/F rods by 2 different manufacturers with the same specs as yours. 
Each of those have different actions which are part of my different technique rotation for every outing. 
Both handle 1/2 oz lures with ease. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[jimmyjoe]

  I have several brands of spinnerbaits, all rated 1/2 oz. They weigh .75 to .81 ounces total. The big "thumper" Colorado blades pull like a freight train. If you know how your rod reacts to weights and resistances, you can figure from this information what you need to know. 

   Personally, I only use rods rated to 1 oz. or more for 1/2 oz. spinnerbaits .......... but! ......... I drag those suckers right over the rocks most of the time, too. That makes a big difference.    jj

[MN Fisher]

4 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

I have several brands of spinnerbaits, all rated 1/2 oz. They weigh .75 to .81 ounces total.

Ya - weighed my 1/2oz Strike King spinners and they came in at .61-.64oz. Now add a 4" Pit Boss trailer at .34 and you're well over 3/4oz.

Only spinners I toss on a 3/4 rated rod are my 1/4oz SK Banshees, 3/8 and 1/2 get tossed on the 1oz rated rods

[bowhunter63]

War Eagle 3/8 River Rat and M/H rod. Great bait 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

The trailer can add a good amount of weight and resistance so keep that in mind as well.

[bigspirit]

1 hour ago, MN Fisher said:

Let me guess - the rod is a Dobyns.

 

Ya, the words on a rod don't matter - it's the line/lure ratings. What Dobyns (and a couple others) call Medium-Heavy, the rest call Medium.

 

To me - a Medium-Heavy is a rod rated up to 1oz, a Heavy to 1-1/4oz or 1-1/2oz.

 

Ya, either go down to 3/8 on that rod, or get a 'real' Medium-Heavy rod (Dobyns 4-power)

Actually it’s a Shimano Intenza MH. That’s good information though, I think I just might order a couple sizes of spinnerbaits to test and figure out what works I guess. I know I could do that from the get go just wondering if there was a rule of thumb so to speak for spinnerbait weights 

[MN Fisher]

3 minutes ago, bigspirit said:

Actually it’s a Shimano Intenza MH. That’s good information though, I think I just might order a couple sizes of spinnerbaits to test and figure out what works I guess. I know I could do that from the get go just wondering if there was a rule of thumb so to speak for spinnerbait weights 

Posted this a little bit up -

1 hour ago, MN Fisher said:

Ya - weighed my 1/2oz Strike King spinners and they came in at .61-.64oz. Now add a 4" Pit Boss trailer at .34 and you're well over 3/4oz.

Only spinners I toss on a 3/4 rated rod are my 1/4oz SK Banshees, 3/8 and 1/2 get tossed on the 1oz rated rods

So ya, I wouldn't toss that 1/2oz SK with trailer on a rod rated 3/4 when the total weight of the lure is almost 1oz.

[rtwvumtneer6]

2 hours ago, bigspirit said:

I feel like I’ve heard the most about 1/2oz spinnerbaits so that’s what I was going to get but should I go down to 3/8? Should I get a stouter rod? 

 

This is not a one size fits all.  For instance, I throw war eagle spinnerbaits and depending on the time of year I fish 5/16oz finesse with a fat albert, 3/8oz and 1/2oz in the standard frame with a swimbait trailer, and 1/2oz screamin eagle with a trailer hook.  I have 3 different rods that I feel work best for each. 

 

But, I digress.  My suggestion would be buy a few lures that fit the rod, before buying rods to fit the lure.  It's much cheaper that way!

 

.

 

 

 

[Boomstick]

3 hours ago, bigspirit said:

I feel like I’ve heard the most about 1/2oz spinnerbaits so that’s what I was going to get but should I go down to 3/8? Should I get a stouter rod? 

I would definitely prefer 3/8oz baits on that rod. For 1/2oz spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, I generally use a rod rated from 1/4 to 1oz. 3/8oz works on either.

 

Something else to consider is you can throw a spinnerbait with no trailer or just a trailer hook, but with a chatterbait you'll always have additional weight from a trailer, often a Keitech. So a 1/2oz chatterbait plus a trailer could easily exceed 3/4oz. Even a 3/8oz with a 3.8" Keitech would be nearing 3/4oz. A trailerless 1/2oz spinnerbait should still be under 3/4oz, but a slightly stouter rod would still be preferred for that although not required.

 

Your cheapest bet would be to start at 3/8oz before buying a new rod. If you're pretty sure that these are presentations you're going to stick with then perhaps a stouter rod is worth it. On a side note, that stouter rod can also throw a senko with a 1/4oz weight pretty well and 3/8 and 1/2oz jigs, 4.8" Keitechs on swimbait hooks and a whole slew of other stuff and is probably one of the most useful rods you will ever own.

[Jig Man]

I use spinner baits most every trip except cold winter.  I don’t throw any spinner baits besides 1/2 oz.  I always use mh rods.  I don’t like the way my h rods feel with spinner baits.  
 

If you have a Walmart near, go buy a bait or two in each size and see what you like.

[BBuck]

I do own a few Dobyn's Fury Rods in both MH and H and have no issues with either throwing spinnerbaits and chatterbaits. ?‍♂️

[Boomstick]

3 hours ago, Jig Man said:

I use spinner baits most every trip except cold winter.  I don’t throw any spinner baits besides 1/2 oz.  I always use mh rods.  I don’t like the way my h rods feel with spinner baits.  
 

If you have a Walmart near, go buy a bait or two in each size and see what you like.

What are your MH rods rated for though? If they are kind of a MH+ rod, usually 10-20lb line and 1/4 to 1oz, then those are great for 1/2oz spinnerbait (and they work for 3/8 too). If it's rated for 1/4 to 3/4oz baits and 8-17lb line, sometimes called by many manufacturers as a medium then it's better for 3/8oz spinnerbaits.

 

The only way I'm using a heavy rod for a spinnerbait is if it's a 1oz spinnerbait, which I don't too often.

[Jig Man]

29 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

What are your MH rods rated for though? If they are kind of a MH+ rod, usually 10-20lb line and 1/4 to 1oz, then those are great for 1/2oz spinnerbait (and they work for 3/8 too). If it's rated for 1/4 to 3/4oz baits and 8-17lb line, sometimes called by many manufacturers as a medium then it's better for 3/8oz spinnerbaits.

 

The only way I'm using a heavy rod for a spinnerbait is if it's a 1oz spinnerbait, which I don't too often.

Gloomis IMX 843c.  They are out in the cold garage.  I’m not going out to check them right now.

[Boomstick]

Just now, Jig Man said:

Gloomis IMX 843c.  They are out in the cold garage.  I’m not going out to check them right now.

 

That' why we have the internet. Looks like it's rated up to 3/4oz. If you use a trailer you could easily exceed that, fortunately GLoomis rods usually handle over their weight ratings pretty well, not sure about the IMX and I don't use a trailer that often myself.

 

https://www.gloomis.com/content/gloomis/northamerica/usconv/en/homepage/PDP.P-IMX_PRO_MBR.html

[Aaron_H]

I've thrown 1/2 oz chatterbaits with various trailers on a 7'2" MH SLX that's rated 1/4-3/4 oz and the rod has never felt like it's being overloaded. I don't like the rod for bladed jigs as it's and XF but it handles casting/retrieving the lure just fine. Conversely, I have another MH rod (7'1" MH/F) that is rated up to 1oz which is overpowered by that same 1/2 oz chatterbait/trailer (but handles a 1/2 oz spinnerbait like a champ).

 

I think you'll be fine, but it sounds like you've got the right idea to just try different sizes and see what feels best on the rod.

[bigspirit]

18 minutes ago, Aaron_H said:

I've thrown 1/2 oz chatterbaits with various trailers on a 7'2" MH SLX that's rated 1/4-3/4 oz and the rod has never felt like it's being overloaded. I don't like the rod for bladed jigs as it's and XF but it handles casting/retrieving the lure just fine. Conversely, I have another MH rod (7'1" MH/F) that is rated up to 1oz which is overpowered by that same 1/2 oz chatterbait/trailer (but handles a 1/2 oz spinnerbait like a champ).

 

I think you'll be fine, but it sounds like you've got the right idea to just try different sizes and see what feels best on the rod.

Great information and good to know, thanks!

[TBAG]

I have several Sierra 734c that are my dedicated spinnerbait/chatterbait rods.

They handle 1/2 oz plus trailer but I honestly think it feels a bit underpowered.

I throw 3/8 oz plus trailer 90% of the time on the 734c

[Deleted account]

I'm so glad that I'm not starting to fish at this time. This discussion will do nothing but confuse those who don't know any better, amuse those who do, and annoy those in the middle. A rod needs to do 5 or 6 things, let's look at the 2 in question here. Forget MH, 1/4-3/4. and anything else written on the rod. Does the rod cast the lure in question well enough (notice no 'ideal" or "perfect" or "best" mentioned). Yes? good, does the rod allow for working the lure properly? In this case a spinnerbait's blade(s) is/are going to be as much as a factor as weight (and yes there is a correlation between the 2). Slow rolling a spinnerbait will load a rod differently than burning one, and there is everything in between. There is no way of knowing if a rod will work or not without fishing with it. Of course someone with vast experience will have a good idea, but that doesn't help the first group of anglers above. Try It And See (TIAS) I just coined that.   

 

Next: Why "Pattern" and "Technique" is limiting you as an angler...

[new2BC4bass]

On 2/7/2021 at 1:25 PM, jimmyjoe said:

  I have several brands of spinnerbaits, all rated 1/2 oz. They weigh .75 to .81 ounces total. The big "thumper" Colorado blades pull like a freight train. If you know how your rod reacts to weights and resistances, you can figure from this information what you need to know. 

   Personally, I only use rods rated to 1 oz. or more for 1/2 oz. spinnerbaits .......... but! ......... I drag those suckers right over the rocks most of the time, too. That makes a big difference.    jj

I only weighed one of each.

 

½ oz. Strike King Thunder Cricket = .62 oz.

½ oz. War Eagle Spinnerbait = .82 oz.

 

Dragging a 1/2 oz. Colorado blade spinnerbait over tops of weeds tires this old man's rod arm out in fairly short order.  A good reason to carry both LH and RH reels.