Each blade combination has its time and place. Blade sizes
vary along with skirt colors. Here is an assortment of important
tips that work for me:
1) The Colorado and Indiana give off more
vibration and are good for limited visibility or at night.
2) In the Willow Leaf blade, I like to
fish the small to mid size in the spring when the fish are
roaming in the shallow water. A chrome willow leaf and a gold
Colorado are a good combination for this time of year.
3) If the water is stained to muddy, I
like to throw a solid white blade with a white skirt and a
chartreuse trailer. The white blades give off a lot of flash and
gold or copper is good for this kind of water too.
4) Slow rolling these baits will locate
fish over and around logs in the shallow water. I like to run
them over logs and let them flutter down then start up the
retrieve again. Normally, the fish will hit as the bait is
falling. I slow roll them around timber and stumps letting them
bump into the brush. This stop and go retrieve will draw more
strikes.
5) In the summer I throw a 1 ounce spinnerbait
with big willow leaf blades over deep humps. I cast the bait out
letting it sink to the bottom, then rip it up from the bottom and
let it flutter back. I watch my line to detect any strikes on the
fall. I slow roll for four or five cranks then rip the bait up
again and let it fall to the bottom. This tactic will catch some
really big fish, but you must watch your line carefully.
6) I like to pitch a spinnerbait with a
single blade into brush and around trees. You will hang up a lot
but you can catch a lot of fish that have never seen a
spinnerbait presented this way. I shorten the arm on the
spinnerbait so that it will have a tighter flutter for this type
of presentation.
7) In the fall, I like a smaller 1/4 to
3/8 ounce spinner bait with small willow leaf blades in nickel or
chrome. The bait fish at this time of year are small and the
blades resemble them. I fish this small spinner over the grass
just under the surface.
8) Skirt colors that work year round are
white, chartreuse or a combination of both colors.
9) At night, black
blades and black skirts are the ticket.
10) Keep your hooks sharp and stay in
tune with your blades. A good spinnerbait will give off enough
vibration so that it can be felt in the tip of the rod. Should
you feel the blades quit turning, set the hook immediately. Bass
have been known to inhale a spinnerbait and swim along at the
same speed you are retrieving it.
11) A trailer hook can be attached to
the main hook. If you are getting a lot of short strikes, this is
an old tournament trick. However, this will cause the bait to be
less weedless than before.
12) Soft plastic trailer baits are often
added by a lot of people, but sometimes the trailer baits can
cause short strikes. Trailers are optional and can be left up to
the individual.
Jim
has the experience to help you have a marvelous fishing trip
having been a full time guide for eight years. Uncle Larry Bolton
taught Jim how to fish as a young boy and got him interested in
bass fishing. Jim has been fishing for bass primarily since the
age of 13. He even hunted on the land before Lake Fork was built.
