Spinnerbait….what I’m doing wrong?

[Deephaven]

I could probably live with only a frog and a spinnerbait.  If you aren't catching them with a spinnerbait you aren't casting close enough to cover.  They are so weedless you can fish them right through super nasty stuff.  

Make sure to not just crank it back either.  Slow roll on bottom, wake it back fast, yo yo it, lift and drop, rip it, helicopter it into a great spot and of course rapid rod pulls to cause the skirt to flair and bait to stop/start.  Everyday they like something else, but rarely is it a bite in mid retrieve it you are just cranking.

[scaleface]

8 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

If you aren't catching them with a spinnerbait you aren't casting close enough to cover. 

Its all about the casting. 

22 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

Spinnerbaits work best when pulled in cover.  How close?  Inches...

Its all about the casting 

[Functional]

1 hour ago, Ravox said:

Not using any trailer just a trailer hook that came with the SB, what trailer doyou recommended?

 

Zoom super fluke in smokin shad color with the spinner color I mentioned above.  I cut most of the nose off to right when the belly starts and thread it on. Size depends on the size of the overall spinnerbait I'm tossing. No trailer hook. 

[Fishingmickey]

There are three colors of spinner bait to throw and two weight sizes. White, chartruese or white and chartruese. Weight 3/8 - 1/2 oz. Like a fair number of others have said above. Accurate casts, hell yaah.  You gotta dang near be able to drop on top of them. I swear I have had them catch it as it hit the water. Like instantly.

     Turn your trolling motor on 2, pick up the spinner bait and hit every target you can while going down the bank. Short accurate casts and quiet entry are a must. Run it into and over everything you can! Retrieve it like a drunken sailor walking down a steep hill. When it is in the strike zone make it dance like a twerking stripper on a pole. Or sometimes a steady thumping retrieve works best. I like to wake my spinner baits sometimes. Retrieve it fast enough it bulges the water and doesn't break the surface. Then give it that little extra burst of speed and make the blades "Burble" break the surface for a second. Run it down those weed lines, twitch it through the pads, hit those dark water ambush pockets and you will learn the power of the spinner bait!!! Day time, night time any time is the right time for a spinner bait!

 

FM

 

P.S. Use a file to make sure that big hook is sharp. I don't use a trailer or trailer hook regularly.

[Bird]

Stumps, submerged timber and standing timber are my favorite places to throw Spinnerbaits.

[scaleface]

I caught a bunch of bass on a spinnerbait yesterday. A bluegill pattern and many of the bass were caught behind the weedline on bluegill beds .

[WRB]

10 hours ago, Glenn said:

Speed up your retrieve.

 

Also, these videos can help:

 

 

 

 

^^^^watch the video’s^^^^ Gold willows are popular in Florida as the bait are usually shiners.

Tom

[Derek1]

50 minutes ago, Fishingmickey said:

There are three colors of spinner bait to throw and two weight sizes. White, chartruese or white and chartruese. Weight 3/8 - 1/2 oz. Like a fair number of others have said above. Accurate casts, hell yaah.  You gotta dang near be able to drop on top of them. I swear I have had them catch it as it hit the water. Like instantly.

     Turn your trolling motor on 2, pick up the spinner bait and hit every target you can while going down the bank. Short accurate casts and quiet entry are a must. Run it into and over everything you can! Retrieve it like a drunken sailor walking down a steep hill. When it is in the strike zone make it dance like a twerking stripper on a pole. Or sometimes a steady thumping retrieve works best. I like to wake my spinner baits sometimes. Retrieve it fast enough it bulges the water and doesn't break the surface. Then give it that little extra burst of speed and make the blades "Burble" break the surface for a second. Run it down those weed lines, twitch it through the pads, hit those dark water ambush pockets and you will learn the power of the spinner bait!!! Day time, night time any time is the right time for a spinner bait!

 

FM

 

P.S. Use a file to make sure that big hook is sharp. I don't use a trailer or trailer hook regularly.

That was beautiful 

[Fishingmickey]

6 hours ago, Derek1 said:

That was beautiful 

I was inspired by spinner bait memories... Could ya tell I do like to throw a spinner bait?

Thank you for the kudo's, Derek!

[scaleface]

Yesterday I rigged a 1/2 spinnerbait with a swimbait in lieu of a skirt . I could not fish it . That little bit of extra weight caused every single cast go  to the right of target  . I went back to the skirt . Thats how critical having the weight dialed into the gear is . 

[Derek1]

10 minutes ago, Fishingmickey said:

I was inspired by spinner bait memories... Could ya tell I do like to throw a spinner bait?

Thank you for the kudo's, Derek!

We’ll I could tell you were speaking from your heart. 
probably my favorite bait also. 

[crypt]

I've caught more bass on a spinnerbait this year than ever. 1 trick I've used over the years in Fl. is I use a black/green skirt with gold blades and try different retrieves to find out what the fish want. otherwise they want something else.......

[Derek1]

And woman say we don’t know how to express our feelings ha!!

This was supposed to go under my last reply lol. 

[GReb]

If you are fishing in open water try pumping the bait or stop and go. Something to make the blades flare out or kill the bait. A lot of time the chasers will attack when the bait does something other than a straight retrieve. That’s why banging into cover works so well

[scaleface]

In the spring , while the bass are still dumb , I go with bright colors and a little bit larger blades  Once they get pressured  smaller blades and more natural colors keep me catching them the rest of the year . I use the same weight .

[Cory20]

There's 2 things magic about a spinnerbait,  reaction strikes and reaction strikes. 1st reaction strike is this crazy flashy thing flying by so fast they just eat first ask questions later. The 2nd is popping this thing through grass and off cover. It comes flying in and out of the stuff they just eat it. My favorite is pop it out of grass and just let it sink. 

[Munkin]

On 8/10/2022 at 10:25 AM, WRB said:

^^^^watch the video’s^^^^ Gold willows are popular in Florida as the bait are usually shiners.

Tom

 

So do you know what the bass are feeding on? I say this to echo Tom's comment about the gold blades. I have been making spinnerbaits for over 15 years and can tell you everyone in Florida wants gold blades. It has to do with the golden shiners being the dominant prey for FL LM. All the people I have dealt with want a 3/8oz spinnerbait with larger than average double gold willows and a whitish with gold skirt. Now I have never fished in FL but based on the above requirements the water is shallow and larger than average golden shiners were the prey.

 

Allen

[Captain Phil]

5 hours ago, Munkin said:

I have been making spinnerbaits for over 15 years and can tell you everyone in Florida wants gold blades. It has to do with the golden shiners being the dominant prey for FL LM. All the people I have dealt with want a 3/8oz spinnerbait with larger than average double gold willows and a whitish with gold skirt. Now I have never fished in FL but based on the above requirements the water is shallow and larger than average golden shiners were the prey.

 

I throw spinnerbaits about 70% of the time.  Gold blades catch more big bass here in Florida than any other color.  My favorite spinnerbait has a gold body as well.  I use tandem blades and downsize the top blade to give it a different look and to make it run deeper.  We have both gold shiners and white shad in our lakes. I have seen days when silver blades worked better, but mostly it's gold.  Native gold shiners are our preferred bass food.  

 

 

[Ravox]

Not that easy to buy spinnerbaits with golden blades attached? the vast majority is silver from big brands right?

[@reelChris]

Every time I try and run a spinner bait down a weed line I can either see on a graph or with my eyes, I cast out and end up in the weeds themselves.  Then, I spend the rest of the cast tearing it out, reeling a little, getting caught in more weeds, tearing it out, reeling...etc.  How do you find clear water between heavy weeds to run those things through?   

[Choporoz]

2 hours ago, Ravox said:

Not that easy to buy spinnerbaits with golden blades attached? the vast majority is silver from big brands right?

Try Dave's Tournament Tackle.  I use other spinnerbait brands, too, but for gold on gold, I always have some of these on hand....if my wife hasn't taken them all.  This is, by far, her favorite spinnerbait.  And we're a long ways from Florida 

[MickD]

I see you are canal/pond fishing in FL.  That is likely very clear water.  I've tried it and they seem to spook at everything, so the advice on long casts, going smaller and slower, is good, in my opinion.  Also you don't want a lot of flash.  If you could get clear blades and very transclucent skirts it would probably be your best bet.  You are likely fishing a very difficult situation.  Try ghost pattern small hard jerks, soft landings on long casts. 

[Captain Phil]

2 hours ago, @reelChris said:

Every time I try and run a spinner bait down a weed line I can either see on a graph or with my eyes, I cast out and end up in the weeds themselves.  Then, I spend the rest of the cast tearing it out, reeling a little, getting caught in more weeds, tearing it out, reeling...etc.  How do you find clear water between heavy weeds to run those things through?   

 

LM Bass larger than a few pounds lay in wait for their food.   If they are pressured, as so many are these days, they will be deeper in the cover.  To catch these fish consistently, you must place your bait as close to the fish as possible.  There are a couple of ways to do this with a spinnerbait.  Making long parallel casts down a weed line is one.  You will occasionally hang up on the weeds. This happens to everyone.  If you are not touching the weeds every once in awhile, you are not fishing close enough.  Touching the weeds with your lure as you reel is actually desirable as it can trigger a fish to strike.   If you are constantly hanging up, you can get better with practice.  Another way to target these fish is to fish pads.  Obviously, you can fish the edge.  If you look, you will find small trails and openings in the pads that you can run your lure through as you bring it back to the boat.  One of my best spots is a small group of pads in front of a canal intersection.  Big fish hang out in those pads around midday.  That group of pads is perfect because they are sparse enough that I can cast beyond them and reach the sweet spot without splashing.  I have taken a dozen bass over 6 pounds off that same small group of pads.   Slow down!   The small bass that you will catch by reeling a spinnerbait fast was caught by the angler fishing before you got there.  Think about this and apply it to your own conditions. ☺️

[detroit1]

I love spinnerbaits, and they get thrown somewhere on the lake every outing. My favorite / most productive scenario is water 5 - 12 ft deep  with weeds that are anywhere from 3-5' from the surface. This works in the clear waters i fish in any weather conditions - sunny or cloudy, wind or not , and mostly over the weeds, but sometimes along the edge.Of course it's not ALWAYS, but what is. I "assemble" my own from 3/8 oz. "hidden head" to std. 3/4 oz sizes. Gold willows 80% of the time, mostly white skirts, a trailer hook with no trailer. This past saturday i caught a stupid sunfish on a 3/4 oz with #4 & 4.5 blades. (in the mouth) He thought he was big, i thought he was a weed.  

[DaubsNU1]

I got away from spinnerbaits for a while (and jigs as well), but recently started throwing them again. 

 

My uncle throws spinnerbaits all day, every day, and likely nothing else. He's one of those "if you ain't fishing my way, you are not doing it right..." so I tended to gravitate away from SB's. 

 

But this spring I decided to toss them again. I see lots of angler throwing plastics, wacky rigs, some cranks...very few throwing SB's on the lakes I fish.  So I figured, what the heck. 

 

I toss them at rip-rap, submerged weed-beds, in timber, drop offs, beds, etc. Had great luck this spring and summer. 

 

My favorite way to fish them is in flooded timber / trees.  I can roll-cast and hit spots under trees, in small openings, then slowly work the SB near cover, even bouncing off limbs, etc.

 

Landed a nice 5lb LMB tossing SB underneath fishing pier earlier this summer. White and chartreuse, and white are my favorites. Lately I've been adding a white or chartreuse power-grub as a trailer.  

 

Double willow, or willow and Colorado blades, 3/8 oz. 

 

Good luck!!