spinner bait

[smoothest485]

im reading all over the internet that spinner bait is "the most versitile bait" and how easy it is to use.. then why in the world am i not catching anything or even getting a bite..?

i will use spinners for a while then switch to a crankbait and start catchin fish in the same spot.. any ideas?
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[Catatafish]

How deep are you fishing? Have you tried different colors? What about trailers? Do you vary your retrieve or just burn them in? Fishing from a boat or from the shore?
Those are just a few questions.

I love fishing with spinner baits. After topwater, that is my favorite way to catch bass.

That being said, sometimes they work extremely well, sometimes not.

For instance, last month I threw spinner baits on a lake and caught nothing for a few days. Then I got a tip to add weight to the shank. I did, and then proceeded to nail them. Same color, same location, same water temp, etc. Just a couple of feet in depth made all the difference in the world.

Another example: Last year I was on another lake and the fish wouldn't touch anything other than white or silver spinner baits with a white 3 or 4" curly tail grub as a trailer.

Sometimes the fish like the really fast retrieve. Sometimes they like a start / stop approach, where you let it free fall for a bit and then reel again.

Sometimes they like it when you crash a big spinner bait through the brush.

And, like I said, sometimes they just don't like spinner baits.

Don't give up on them though. Just experiment and be patient, and good luck!
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[smoothest485]

well the pond im fishin at is only about 5ft deep give or take. i have tried the top middle and bottom, slow and fast retrieves and everything in between.

i dont really kno anything about a trailer or how to even go about putting one on.

i have tried all sorts of colors. and i'm fishing from the shore. the crankbaits im using are the rapala original floater if that helps.. i have watched countless videos on spinners and have tried it all.

my buddy is also pretty new to fishing and we go 2-4x a week and he wont touch the spinner bait because i havent been able to pull anything out
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[fsh4fun05]

A trailer is just a soft plastic bait used to bulk up the spinnerbait or add an extra flare. Just put it on like a curly tail grub on a leadhead. Using curly tail grubs adds a tail swimming like motion to the skirt. Sometimes adding a contrasting color, white spinnerbait-black trailer, helps.
What baits have caught fish out of this pond? What color? Sometimes matching the color of the fish that the bass feed on is the key to getting a strike. Here is a color of a bluegill spinnerbait that I use.
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[smoothest485]

the only thing me and my buddy have caught anything with has been the rapala orginal firetiger and the blue. other than those it seemed we were just wasting our time.

now i had a spinner with a trailer hook i got but i guess it was just too heavy for my 8lb line and it snapped on my first cast.

so i just take a plastic grub and hook it thru the hook and i've got the trailer?
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[Catatafish]

Ok, here are some pictures of spinner baits, examples of trailers that you can use, and a picture of a spinner bait with a weight attached to the shank of the hook.

I usually don't use a trailing hook unless the bass are just nipping at my bait. It will help catch them in those types of situations, but it will also make it a lot easier to snag.

Also, keep in mind you can fish these things like you would a jig. Bounce it along the bottom. Crash it through the brush, etc.
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[smoothest485]

hey man i appreciate the pictures. i for sure wasnt going to put the trailer on the right way. i was just gonna hook it and let it dangle haha.

i have tried fishing it like a jig and smashing it through the brush and i keep getting things snagged.. though im not entirely sure when the spinner is on the bottom but im giving it a good shot.

i was supposed to fish tonight and i was going to give them a shot with a trailer but my buddy backed out.

before i forget.. i keep reading about all the differnt kind of blades you can put on them but i cant find a kit or pack of just blades.. where do i get differnt kinds?
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[Catatafish]

You are welcome.

Try this for your blades:

Go to basspro.com, search for spinnerbait blades. You'll see a number of options.

I really don't mess with the blades much, I just buy more spinner baits. I mainly use the colorado / willow combination, or the double willow. Also, the Booyah "Super Shad" has been good to me...it's got a bit different blade style.

I'm partial to Booyah and Pepper brand spinner baits.

Keep in mind, there is no one bait that is going to work in every condition. I love spinner bait fishing, and I always have at least one rod rigged up with one when I go out, and I always try. Some days it works great, some days it doesn't so I switch to something else.

It took me quite some time to catch my first bass on a spinnerbait, and I was pretty much as frustrated as you are. Really, just be patient, keep trying, and experiment.

Also, you never know what you might catch. Check out this picture of a bluegill caught on a 3/8th ounce spinnerbait at Lake Powell last year.
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[smoothest485]

most of the ones i have tried have been the booyah and i tried a terminator once until i lost it bout 5 casts in b/c my 8lb line just wont handle the spinners.

i really appreciate you're help
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[scartinez]

That's actually a green sunfish. Bluegill have much smaller mouths.
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[HockeyMan]

Another thing to consider is water clarity and wind. I fish deep clear western reservoirs and if the water is flat calm spinnerbaits are not the best choice. As soon as a little chop is on the water they work great.

Early morning or late afternoon to dark try a big black spinnerbait. 5/8 to 1/2 oz with one big colorado blade (tear drop shape).

And one more thing, roll it along as slow as you can. Just fast enough to turn the blades. I have caught more fish slow rolling blades than burning 'em.

HockeyMan
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[smoothest485]

today was very windy and i fished for about 2 hours in between the rain. the water wasnt clear at all and very choppy for the small pond i was on.

i used a white booyah spinner with a red hook but im not sure what blades they were, whatever they come with. but needless to say it was a complete waste.

no fish no bites no nothing.

tho my buddy did let me borrow his baitcaster to play around with.. its a bit of a pain getting used to it.
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[jon_mabry]

I started to use spinner baits a couple of weeks ago and I too shared in your frustration. It takes some getting used to, but once you do there are great baits to use. Some basics.... there are 3 basic blade designs willow, colorado, and indiana willow blades are the long thin ones colorado the short round ones and indiana some where in between. Willow blades give you the most flash, colorado the most sound or vibration and as before indiana in between. They do make colored blades, but a basic rule of thumb is silver blades are best for clear water and gold blades for murky water. I hope this information helps you out and don't get discouraged keep trying. If you are interested Bass Pro Shops has a nice little spinner bait trailer kit for around 5 bucks!
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[booyah]

Wow, great thread and lots of info. I just started using spinner baits myself. My favorite lure has always been a BlueFox Vibrax Wildeye (silver). It's one of the older ones with the main body painted like a minnow head. It never failed to catch fish. I say 'never' because I lost it last week. It was the first time I had a line in the water in fifteen years and I lose my beloved lure (grrr).

I lost it on the rocks down on the river and so a friend suggested I try some spinner baits. He said they bump over the rocks better than the lures with treble hooks on 'em. I've been searching around on Google looking for said lures and it seems a lot of people prefer the Terminator T-1 Spinnerbait. I couldn't find any Terminators locally so I picked up some cheap LureKings at WalMart. Unfortunately they didn't have any with silver or gold blades so I had to settle for colored ones.

They do take some getting used to and it is best to reel them in slowly. They also handle well over the rocks. I'll have to find me some Terminators with the silver and gold blades and see how those do, or perhaps just buy a couple cheapos to test out.


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[bytebull]

Lots of ways to use a spinner bait.

In heavy cover you can slow roll it over stumps and limbs in timber. You cast let it sink and then reel very slow until you feel the bump of it hitting the structure then slowly reel it over the structure and then LET IT FALL all the way back to the bottom. Most of your hits are when you hit the structure or during the fall after you "slow roll" it up and over.

You can yo-yo it slow off the bottom. Just let it sink then pull your rod from straight ahead of you to 12 oclock "until your rod tip is over your head" then let it fall back to bottom and repeat. Very slowly and finesse.

You can let it sink to bottom and then twitch it until you feel the vibration of the blades and reel it as slowly as possible along the bottom with a few twitches every few seconds

You can cast and then begin reeling at a moderate speed which will let the bait run at its medium depth.

You can cast and then begin reeling fast where the spinner bait is just under the water. You should see a ripple at the waters surface just above the spinner bait.

Each of these techniques work at different times under different conditions.

colors? Where that's a whole new post and would take a lot time to be precise but I will give you the basics.

Clear water: Colorful .. very colorful, try to use colors that mimic the local baitfish but more flashy.

Dirty water: Black and White.
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[jon_mabry]

I use StrikeKing and Booyah spinnerbaits both brands have worked well for me. I just got a Booyah Super Shad which sports 4 willow blades I can't wait to try this bad boy out.

I also got some cheap spinnerbaits at Walmart and I was not impressed at all the hooks were huge the skirts were rubber strips instead of silicone not cool.....I think I will just cannibalize the blades off of them. There are times you get what you pay for! [pirate]
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[booyah]

[quote jon_mabry]I use StrikeKing and Booyah spinnerbaits both brands have worked well for me. I just got a Booyah Super Shad which sports 4 willow blades I can't wait to try this bad boy out.[/quote]

I saw this 'bad boy' at WalMart and I'll be picking it up myself. Looks dangerous.
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[smoothest485]

i too have heard some good things about the terminators and have bought a few but i kept losing them because of line breaking. i just got a bait caster with 14lb line on it and was using a booyah spinner today with no luck. i caught me a nice sized bass for the pond i was at with a good ol' rapala clack n rap. bass pro has a spinner set im thinking of getting but havent really decided. i have yet to find a blue gill colored spinner like the one shown above but you can bet ill jump all over it when i find one
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[booyah]

Well, today I went fishing with my [url "http://www.lurenet.com/productdetail.aspx?id=bybw10617"]new Booyah lure[/url] and caught my very first White Bass - booyah!

I got the Double Willow Snow White version in the discontinued section at Walmart for two bucks!

I have never caught a White Bass before and I've lived in Michigan my whole life. Go figure. I'm definitely happy with this lure and I'm going to try some other ones. It's not as expensive as the Terminators, but it obviously does a fine job of its own. Plus it travels nicely through the water.
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[smoothest485]

i found some terminators at dicks sporting goods today for like 3 bucks but they didnt have a color i wanted so i got a strike king pond special. the pond i regularly fish at is around 4 years old so there arent really that many huge bass in it. im thinking those big spinners are detering them from striking so im going with a smaller one to see what happens
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