3/8 Spinnerbait

[Big Stick Joe]

I was wondering how many people throw a 3/8 oz Spinnerbait? i have 2 or 3 and do not know when and where to throw them. What's your guys input?

Thanks

Joe

[Scorcher214]

I throw them when Im having a hard time getting anything on a 1/2oz spinnerbait.

[smalljaw67]

I can talk all day about spinnerbaits, it is my favorite bait and I love it so much I started making my own over a decade ago. The 3/8oz size spinnerbait is what I call a universal size, larger than 1/4oz but smaller than the 1/2oz, it appeals to most size of bass. Is your spinnerbait one with 1 blade or two? Do they have willow leaf blades or colorados? Whatever they happen to be, you want to fish them around some type of cover first and foremost and in pretty shallow water. While you can fish a spinnerbait at any depth, the 3/8oz isn't a deep water size bait, this is a good size for water 6' deep and less. If you go fishing to your favorite lake or pond, whatever and you find that there is a breeze that makes a light chop on the water with an overcast sky when the water temp is above 60 degrees, those are the perfect conditions to use your spinnerbait. Throw it to laydowns or next to or over top of weedbeds or lily pads and you will bet bit and once you see how hard and violent a spinnerbait bite can be you'll be hooked. I remember a day on the river were it was about 70 degrees outside, it was cloudy, you know those grey skies that don't produce rain but just make it look dull, well thats how it was. There was a slight breeze every now and again, not much but enough that the slack water areas on the river would get ripples on the surface. I was testing out a new pattern I made, chartreuse and black in a double willow blade configuration and I was thinking it might not be the day for that pattern as the water was gin clear but I wanted to see how the bait looked coming through the water so I kept it on my rod. Well I made one cast and really liked the way the bait looked, it was more natural looking than I had imagined but the black in the skirt and on the head really toned down a lot of the chartreuse so I had some confidence that this would work. I made a few more casts as I was slowly drifting in about 3' of water when I came to the edge of an island that had a fairly large eddy off the point that lead into a large pool, I made a long cast to the other side of the pool and began to burn the spinnerbait back, just barely under the surface of the water. As the bait made it past the pool it was coming very close to the eddy and I can see the bait the entire way, I thought it was going to make it back to the boat when all of a sudden I saw a large swirl, the biat just disappeared and the rod doubled over and was almost pulled out of my hand, this took all of a second to happen but it was like I was watching it in slow motion. I set the hook hard but probably didn't need to as the fish more than likely set it herself as she hit it so hard, it was unbelieveable. She made a quick run followed by an incredible leap and then another run and two more leaps before I landed her, a beautiful 20.75", 4lb. 7oz smallmouth that made my day, I went on to catch a lot more but even if I didn't catch another fish I would have been happy. That scenario has played out hundereds if not thousands of times over the years and everytime it feels as good and just as exciting as it did that day and the day I caught my very first bass on a spinnerbait. Trust me, learn how to use that 3/8oz spinnerbait, you'll be glad you did.

[dag623]

Great stuff smalljaw!

[Red]

3/8 is really the only size I throw. Like stated above I usually fish it really shallow around wood cover or rocks. One of my favorite to fish, alot of fun.

[iceintheveins]

I use the 3/8 ounce more than any other weight. Better for a slow retrieve in shallower water than a 1/2 ounce. For clear water, depths under 8 feet with emerging weeds, and colder conditions, nothing works better than a 1/4 ounce though. But you can't go wrong with 3/8.

[ww2farmer]

I use a 3/8 and 1/4 a lot more than I use 1/2 and bigger. A 1/4 oz bait with down sized blades, a trimmed back skirt and a 1/4 oz lead sinker pinched on the hook shank to keep the bait from rolling or blowing out of the water reeled at warp speed has fooled many clear water shallow spring time bass for me.

[Big Stick Joe]

WOW thanks guys. What type of blade combination do you use with these baits? The 2 or 3 3/8oz i have both have tandom willowleafs silver on top and gold on the bottom.

[Scorcher214]

For blades, if you want to move the bait fast and give off more flash choose a willowleaf combination. A colorado provides more lift so you can fish it slower at different depths. It also gives off a lot of vibration, making it good for really dirty water or night fishing. As for color, silver on sunny days and clear water, gold on cloudy days and muddy water. I have silver willowleafs on almost all my spinners since up here most of the lakes are generally clear.

[J Francho]

All things equal, a lighter bait can be retrieved slower. I don't really consider size of the bait when spinnerbaiting. Size, style, color of blades, and weight, yes.