Tail Spinners

[papajoe222]

So I got out on the water today with the sole purpose being getting to know my new depth finder.  It's awesome, BTW.

What I discovered sort of puzzled me on one hand, but on the other it made perfect sense.  It seemed like all the bass were in the deeper water and they were all right on the bottom. Of course I started thinking about how I've approached this situation in the past and I had a senior moment of sorts, but this was a memory. Back in my early days of fishing my dad and I would target walleye on the Wisconsin River Chain north of the Dells right after ice out.  We only used two presentations, hair jig/minnow and a tail spinner.  We caught a cooler full of eyes every year, but we also would catch a bunch of bass from a spot and move on in search of our favorite table fare.  Dad used the jigs he'd tied over the winter and whatever minnows we could find for sale and I used a tail spinner. Those bass loved that tail spinner (the walleye not so much).

Dad passed when I was still in high school and I didn't fish again until after my time in the service. Sadly, mom got rid of all our gear and I started out fresh targeting bass with my new found Creme Worms and forgot about tail spinners until today. Needless to say, I stopped at BPS on the way home and picked up a few.

Do any of you that live in areas where the lakes freeze over use tail spinners for ice-out bass?  If so, share some tips please.

[Catt]

[softwateronly]

I had one day with a 1/2oz deracoup in early March this year.  Water was in the high 30's and it got smoked by a fat 4ish lb bass that I lost at the canoe, operator error turning her head near the boat.  About 5 casts later, it got smoked again but this time it was immediately followed by the all too familiar tink of getting bit off by a pike.  Fished the rest of the day with only one other fish on a blade bait.  I'm not sure I'm gonna get the opportunity to try it again before the bass move up, but I'm definitely looking to have one ready for summer open water schoolers and for the next cold water period.  Because of my lost fish, I'm definitely looking into line-thru versions like @Catt posted.

 

scott

[Mobasser]

I used to use a Mann's Little George a good amount. Haven't used it in a while due to snags. 

[Mobasser]

The line through style like Catt has posted are the way to go. Fish hit the old Little George, but many throw it also.                                                    I used to make a long cast, let them sink then snap them up, letting them fall again. Sometimes, just a straight slow reeling retrieve would work also. The Little George was named after Alabama governor George Wallace, back in the 1960s.

[camman]

Not fishing through ice, but we use them for suspended bass in the summertime.  Usually when they are 30+ feet deep going after baitfish, we will fish the tail spinners and spoons vertically and do really well.

[WRB]

Underspins with soft plastic swimmer (Keitec) works better imo for for bass on the bottom.

Tom

[scaleface]

I used the Little George some but had lots of problems with them. Often the spinner didnt seem to spin on the lift, at least I couldnt feel it  . They snagged often . I had to tie on a barrel swivel to keep the line from twisting .   Caught some fish with it but not enough to put up with the aggravation.

[tander]

On 4/4/2023 at 5:21 AM, Catt said:

 

Yep, that's what I throw. Used to called the Wing Ding in my part of the country.

[Catt]

1 hour ago, tander said:

 

Yep, that's what I throw. Used to called the Wing Ding in my part of the country.

 

Rinky Dink ?