Spinnerbaits and Big Bass

The pros love spinnerbaits and that’s enough to make me love them too. This is a bait that a number of game fish will hit on, but the big bass like them the most. For being such a strange looking but simple bait it is surprisingly effective.

Plugs, crank baits and spinners have been around so long their origins are unknown but this is not true with the spinnerbaits. There is a debate as to whether they were invented in the 20’s or 50’s, but by the 70’s they were dominating the professional bass fishing world.

The beauty behind spinnerbaits is how versatile they are when you are on the water. You can cast it physically onto the shore and pull it into the shallows and start it spinning or you can drop it straight down 60 feet and use it in a manner similar to a jig.

Another thing that makes spinnerbaits very popular is they are easy to make yourself and quickly modified when needed.

If you are not familiar with this bait, it is basically a hook with a built in lead weight that resembles a fish (or other creature) that is attached to a .040 piece of wire. The wire is bent 45 degrees at about the center point. At the top bend there is a spinning blade. The bait is on the bottom and spinner is on the top, hence the term spinnerbaits.

The biggest and most effective, quick modifications you can make to these baits is by changing the skirts around the weight. They weight by itself really isn’t a bait, but when you dress it up with a latex skirt it becomes irresistible to big bass.

Most people will have a wide variety of weight and blade styles on hand for different conditions, but they will have even a more wide variety of skirts.

Big bass will hit this lure both day and night any time of the year in all regions and weather conditions. All you need to do is to change the skirt to meet your needs.

Experiment with different sizes and color for your area to see what works best, but this is the standard rule adopted by most of the professionals. Use a lighter color skirt when it is bright or you are fishing shallow water where the sun can penetrate. Use a darker color in low light or deep water conditions. This sounds opposite of logic, but it does work.

In clear water, use spinnerbaits that are smaller and have smaller blades, in dark water go big. This makes sense.

In the spring (spawning season) up through the summer use a smaller bait that is in the 1/8 to 3/8 size unless the wind conditions dictate using something bigger to cast out. This bait can act like a Frisbee sometimes so the wind can really affect your casting.

Towards the end of summer and into the fall, switch over to the bigger lures that are ½ oz and up. They support larger blades and that is what the big bass are looking for. Often times, in the fall and heading into the winter months the big ones are in deeper water anyway, so you will want the extra weight to get down to them.

If you are new to bass fishing remember that spinnerbaits are the first choice of the professionals. It is worth your time to learn everything you can about this bait and specifically the way it is configured and used by the successful anglers that are fishing in your area. Bass fishermen are a very friendly group of people and they are always ready to hand out some helpful advice.

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