When Spinnerbaits Go Gitzit

By Russ Bassdozer

This article tells you how to use a Gitzit as a trailer for a big bass spinnerbait. Then it tells you how to use a Gitzit as the entire spinnerbait body - not just the trailer! You can use this spinnerbait Gitzit as a fast way to find bass and quickly detect unseen underwater cover. Once found, you slow down and fish Gitzits on lightweight Insider jig heads! Please read on, I think you are going to enjoy this.

Spinnerbait Trailers. Many anglers like to attach trailer baits to skirted spinnerbaits. They reason it makes a spinnerbait bulkier, which may represent a more appealing mouthful to bigger bass! Personally, I try to get away without using trailers if I can. There is often enough attraction, vibration and water movement already going on from the spinnerbait blades and skirt. I would rather go to a bigger blade size (offset by a slightly heavier spinnerbait head and hook) to attract big bass. However, there are those days when a trailer bags more bass than a trailerless spinnerbait.

Spinnerbait Trailer Hooks. Some anglers are also concerned about short-striking fish that may grab at the spinnerbait trailer but miss the hook point. To nab short strikers, they attach a second extra single hook which has a wide eye that slips over the spinnerbait hook and hangs off the bend. The trailer hook point should face up. All hook manufacturers (Eagle Claw, Mustad, Owner, Gamakatsu, VMC, etc.) make a model or two of these special spinnerbait trailer hooks.

Gitzits go great when you need both a spinnerbait trailer and a spinnerbait trailer hook. Quite often, a trailer hook fouls or gets out of kilter, but by sheathing it in a Gitzit, the trailer hook swings around less and snags less. Merely thread the Gitzit onto the trailer hook so that the eye of the trailer hook is enclosed within and pressed up against the inside nose of the Gitzit. Then slip the point of the spinnerbait hook in the bottom of the Gitzit, through the eye of the trailer hook and right on out the top of the Gitzit. The Gitzit should sit perfectly straight.

For starters, try a copper blade, a chartreuse skirt, and a pearl white Gitzit trailer. It is truly a great color combo in clear or dirty water, and in cool water. Both big largemouth and smallmouth love it when spinnerbaits go Gitzit!

Double Your Pleasure. This next technique is for using not one but two 3 3/4" Gitzits. If you can conveniently fish with two rods, then always use one rod with a plain 3 3/4" Gitzit on an Insider Lead Head. Use a second rod with a 3 3/4" Gitzit rigged on a spinnerbait arm. You will need the following spinnerbait components. Here's how to make one:

Spinnerbait Heads. The Stamina web site provides a mail order catalog of quality components for you to make your own bass lures. For Gitzits, I prefer Stamina's unpainted bullet spinnerbait heads. The bullet head look similar to a Texas Rig weight on an R-bend spinnerbait arm. With Gitzits, I prefer Stamina's 1/8 oz. and 1/4 oz. sizes which have long, strong 2/0 and 3/0 Mustad NeedlePoint round bend hooks.

Swivel. I often use more economical ball bearing and crane swivels on other spinnerbaits. However, on the Gitzit spinnerbait,  I prefer the higher-priced but best-spinning size #1 or #2 ball bearing swivel by Sampo

Indiana Blade: This blade doesn't flash as much as a Willow or vibrate as much as a Colorado.  It isn't as wide as a Colorado or as long as a Willow. An Indiana is the subtlest blade, and the best match for non-aggressive fish or spooky fish in clear water. In short, an Indiana blade is the best match for a Gitzit. Try size #3, #4 or #5 Indiana blades on the 1/8 and 1/4 oz. bullet heads.

Bending Board. Finally, you will need to bend the loop that attaches the spinnerbait swivel to the wire arm. I just make a bending board out of a piece of plywood. I lay one spinnerbait down on the board, and hammer thin headless finishing nails into the plywood dead center through the R-eye, and dead center against the inside of the hook bend. These two nails hold the lure solidly. Then I hammer a third nail behind the wire arm where I want to bend a loop in the arm. When I am ready to twist a few arms, I just impale a spinnerbait body on the two bottom nails, grab the tip of the wire arm with needle nose vise grips, and bend the wire around the top nail. Cut the wire flush. Slip the swivel and blade onto the loop. Bend it closed with needle nose pliers. Thread the Gitzit onto the hook and superglue it to the lead collar where you would otherwise use a skirt. Before casting, spray down the entire spinnerbait including swivel and blade with a fine mist of Bang fish attractant spray. It's that easy.

Now you've done it. What you've done is assemble a special purpose spinnerbait. If you could ever classify a spinnerbait as a finesse bait, this Gitzit rig is it! If you do not know where either bass or underwater cover are located, merely prospect an entire area with the spinnerbait Gitzit. The 1/4 oz. size covers water faster and deeper than the 1/8 oz. bullet spinnerbait head. Always try just above bottom. That is how you will find hidden underwater cover, which can be a treasure trove of bass. In deep water, you can also quickly prospect mid-depth water for suspended fish as well. Either mid-water or bottom, the fast-moving spinnerbait allows you to quickly spot-check a lot of water. Once you hit fish or you bang the spinnerbait off hidden cover, put the spinnerbait rod down. Pick up the plain Gitzit rod and flip a lightly-weighted Gitzit back at the location of the bass or the cover that you just discovered on the spinnerbait. Just use the same color of Gitzit on both the spinnerbait rod and the plain Gitzit rod...or you can use "typical" spinnerbait colors like white, black or chartreuse versus more natural, subdued colors on the plain lead head Gitzits.

Find them then finesse them. The plain Gitzit on a lighter weight Insider jig head falls more slowly with more action that lures more fish than the spinnerbait...but you can thank the spinnerbait Gitzit for finding them quickly in the first place!

At night or in very deep water, use the bigger 3/8, 1/2 and even 3/4 oz. sizes of Stamina bullet spinnerbait heads. These all have strong, long 5/0 Mustad NeedlePoint hooks. Glue on a 5" Magnum Gitzit. It's a big body which presents a solid profile and highly visible target in deep water slow-rolled near bottom or at night. Expect bass to lunge at it. Both black and white are great colors night or day. Use either Willows for more flash in light or Colorado blades for more vibration and slower retrieve at night.

Just smile and thank your lucky stars when spinnerbaits go Gitzit!