Witnessing Vexus pro Brandon Card catch 20 pounds last week on a spinnerbait during the Bassmaster Elite Series event on the St. Johns River was about as rare as a bald eagle sighting. Not quite sasquatch rare, but the lure that was once bass fishing’s crescent wrench tool has become sadly underutilized over the past two decades.
So, we talked to the 38-year-old about all-things-spinnerbaits, and whether he planned to bust out the blades again this week in Florida at the Elite Series event on Okeechobee, where he finished third in 2023.
Q: Did you have any spinnerbait heroes as a teenager?
Card: All of them! KVD, Jay Yelas, Rick Clunn, Ken Cook, and Jimmy Houston, to name a few.
Q: What’s the key to being an excellent spinnerbait angler?
Card: Realize that windy days are your friend and heavier spinnerbaits worked at slower speeds often outperform lighter spinnerbaits retrieved too quickly.
I like the ½ ounce Advantage Bait willowleaf spinnerbaits that feature a unique Extreme Flash Technology on the blades, and I reel them on a 7.4:1 reel. My retrieve is slow and steady on a 7’ 3” medium heavy iROD to keep them a bit deeper in the water column, versus a lighter 3/8-ounce bait.
Q: Why didn’t you throw a ChatterBait at the St. Johns instead?
Card: I had a ChatterBait tied on, but on the first cast with a spinnerbait I caught a good one, and I never caught a bass last week on a ChatterBait, so I stayed loyal to the spinnerbait.
Q: How much weight will a guy need to catch each day to make a Top 10 at Okeechobee?
Card: You’d still better have 16 or 17 pounds a day, but the lake is almost totally void of vegetation right now and a lot dirtier compared to 2023 when I finished third.
Q: The obvious question to round things out is, will you break out the spinnerbait again this week?
Card: There's a chance (laughs), but I honestly don't think it will play a huge role because of the type of cover and habitat I'm focusing on.
