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Want to know about a must-have lure?
A type that’s effective in practically every water
for multispecies fishing that’s great in the spring, summer, and fall.
Well, let’s talk about spinnerbaits.
What they are. How they work.
The science behind why fishes slam them.
And also some methods and tips so how can play them to catch those fish.
I’ll explain how this jingly chunk of metal
that looks nothing like a natural fish or prey item works to attract fish.
So, even if you don’t fish—
this is the how it works of spinnerbaits.
It’s very interesting.
[theme music]
If you aren’t using spinnerbaits then you might want to reconsider.
If you do use spinners, then stick around.
I bet there’s a thing or two you could learn to further master your fishing skills.
This is video one in a three-part series.
I will introduce the spinnerbait.
Describe its essential features like blade types,
how they produce flash and thump, and discuss accessories and their importance to spinnerbaits.
Parts 2 and 3 will more thoroughly discuss
the actual science behind why fishes slam your spinnerbaits.
And Part 3 will give some great methods for using those spinnerbaits.
Be sure to like the video to bookmark it in your liked-videos for future reference.
Share the video with your buddies
who might find this video informative and helpful
and also subscribe, it’s free—why not?
Any lure with spinning blade can be considered a spinnerbait.
The safety-pin, or overhead arm spinnerbait,
for fishing inland waters will be covered more thoroughly
which is one of my favorite lures for catching bass, pike,
musky, panfish, walleye, and lots of other predatory species.
Let’s get into it.
The Spinnerbait Model:
What makes a spinnerbait a spinnerbait? The blades!
The key feature of any spinnerbait are the blades
or disc-shaped objects usually made of metal
that rotate around a fixed point on the wireframe or arm.
When trolled and retrieved through water
these blades will spin around the lure causing sound waves and pressure waves, or ‘thump’,
as well as visual stimuli that will entice fish to strike the lure.
The blades are concave or indented to continuously push and pull water
allowing consistent displacement of water that produces the pressure waves.
The blades’ rotation also creates a consistent source of altering light reflections,
otherwise known as ‘flash’.
Blade texture, size, and coating
play the most important roles in flash rather than general shape
such as Colorado, willow, etc..
A honeycomb textured blade will reflect more light than a smooth blade
as it has more surface area
as well as more opportunities for directed light to reflect in various directions.
And this is very effective when the light source is adequate and unimpeded
such as on a bright day in clear water.
The Two Main Types of Spinnerbaits:
There are many variations of spinnerbaits with two prominently-used variants:
the in-line and the safety pin.
In-Line Spinnerbaits:
The in-line spinner design is fairly simple,
usually one or two blades are rotating around a central axis
where the blades are separated by beads to enable frictionless motion.
A weighted head and/or body lies in front of the treble or single hook.
A covering, such as a hair, skirt, etc., is set just about the hook to hide the metal.
Safety Pin or Overhead Arm Spinnerbaits:
True to their name, safety pin spinners have their wire arm
in the shape of an open safety pin.
Generally there are long arm and short arm variants.
Long arm variants are more weedless than short arm variants
during horizontal retrievals
and are better suited for holding more than one blade.
However, the long arm design can cause the hook to be blocked
if a large fish collapses the lure on itself,
thus making hooking the fish less effectual.
Also the long arm double-bladed spinners
tend to nosedive when the retrieval is halted,
diminishing proper blade rotation.
Though there are blade types
that fall with great blade rotation on double-bladed spinners.
Many fisherpersons who prefer to vertically play
or ‘yo-yo’ their spinnerbaits prefer the short arm spinnerbaits
where the blades spin more desirably during vertical and semi-vertical play.
This is similar to jigging.
The Basic Components of Spinnerbaits:
Blades—as discussed earlier,
the blades are what make the spinnerbait a productive lure.
They create flash for visual stimulation
as well as sound waves and pressure waves for physical stimulation,
sometimes known as ‘thump’.
These are concave or convex
and come in numerous shapes, sizes, colors, and materials.
Most blades are nickel or gold plated from brass stock
but there are a number of other options such as
silver plated, copper plated, orange coated and luminescent.
Blade Shapes:
Colorado Blade—this is one of the two most common shapes for spinnerbait blades.
The other is the willow blade discussed next.
This blade is wider and often deeper than the willow blade
and will generate more vibrations in the water (those pressure waves.)
These blades are used for slow retrievals at deeper depths in darker conditions.
Deep cup Colorado blades offer even more vibration for lowlight conditions.
Colorado blades are great for open water scenarios.
Basically, the Colorado blade is fat and slow.
Willowleaf or Willow Blade—this is the other most common shape of blade.
The narrow, streamlined blade must be played faster than
Colorado blades to maintain the blade’s rotation.
These are ideal for quick retrievals through macrophytes, or aquatic plants,
and for high water column, or topwater action
such as bulge, buzz, and waterskiing.
Willow blades are often used in well-lit, clear waters.
Basically the willow blade is thin and fast.
Indiana blade—this third most common type is shaped like a raindrop.
Its performance of vibrational and rotational speed
lie between that of the Colorado and willow blades,
making it a more versatile lure.
It maintains the narrow shape of the willow
and the roundness of the Colorado.
In-line spinners often have Indiana blades.
Basically the Indiana blade is a versatile hybrid.
Oklahoma—the Oklahoma or turtleback, mag willow, or Olympic blade
rotates and vibrates in a range between the Colorado and Indiana.
In waters with high fishing pressure
these blades may offer a new sonic signature
as most other fisherpersons are not likely using the Oklahoma blade.
Studies have shown that many fishes are capable of associative learning—
that is they will learn to avoid lures that have fooled them before.
Basically the Oklahoma is a not-as-often used hybrid
that may provide an advantage in heavily fished waters.
There are many more shapes and designs of blades
such as serrated, rippled, chopper, fluted,
royal, whiptail, and thumper.
Each offers unique aspects of the sound and visual profile.
Many anglers make their own spinnerbaits
or change accessories on premanufactured purchases.
Other Basic Components:
Wireframe—the wire arm is usually made of variants of stainless steel.
Different metal compositions offer different tensile strengths
and vibrational allowances.
The two main 'eye types' are ‘R’ and ‘twisted’
with R being more popular for safety pin spinnerbaits.
A common mistake is to attach a swivel directly to the R eye of a spinnerbait.
Twisted eyes may directly receive a swivel attachment
whereas the R eye should receive the line or wire tied at the eye.
Hooks—in-line spinnerbaits will more often have treble hooks
while safety pin spinnerbaits are usually wearing single hooks.
Stinger—this is an extra dangling hook
connected to the main hook either rigged pointed up or down.
And this increases hooking effectiveness
as well as reducing the chances of the fish spitting the lure
during a jump or shake.
Cut tubing of silicone or rubber
is used to fix or limit the movement of the stinger on the main hook.
Split Rings—the split rings are what connect the blade
to the swivel that is attached to the wireframe.
Clevis—a clevis is a C-shaped component that the wireframe slides through,
attaching the tandem, or second blade—or more.
Swivels—ball bearing, crane, and roller swivels
are used to diminish friction and ensure proper rotation of the blades.
Beads—a bead or two are inserted to diminish friction and create spacing.
They offer a surface for the clevis and blades to bump against,
acting as a barrier for spacing needs.
Head/Body—
the head and/or body are most often made from lead molds.
This component is not only important for visual appeal,
where an eyespot painted on aids in the appearance of a fish eye,
but also as a counterbalancing weight for the arm not housing the blades.
Skirt—
the skirt is tied to the body or attached by a silicone/latex collar
and covers the majority of the hook.
The skirt enhances the profile of the lure.
There are a myriad of options for skirts with various
materials, sizes, and colorations.
Skirts are usually made of round rubber, silicone, and hair.
Silicone seems to be the most popular on the market
for the more diverse profile options available.
Metallic flakes, luminescence and fixed-shapes.
Silicone skirts also maintain a larger profile
and wiggle more effectively during retrieval
whereas hair skirts condense quickly, offering less flare.
Keep in mind that the skirt will add weight and resistance to your spinnerbait.
When altering skirts, mind the changes to the action of the lure.
Spinnerbaits should always run true,
meaning that the blades and body should be oriented vertical upon retrieval—
one directly over the other.
The body, often made of lead, should be seated beneath the blades.
Dressings & Trailers—some fisherpersons say trailers are pointless
and some swear by them.
Me? I find that I catch more pike and bass
with a soft plastic trailer during the spring and summer.
The wiggle that the plastic receives from the blades
is a great visual stimuli to entice fishes.
When a fish removes even the slightest bit of plastic from my tail,
then I put on a new one,
making sure that the tail wiggle is at its best.
Pork rind is also a popular option
and also offers the aided benefit of taste and smell.
There are soft plastic scented-baits as well.
Other Extras—often fisherpersons will dip their skirts
in dyes to change the color scheme of the profile.
Also, liquid and paste scents may be applied to the skirts and blades.
Some fishers say that applying paste to the blades is a better strategy
as the blades disperse the scent far better—I too would agree.
Either way, adding scents to your spinnerbaits
will trigger the chemosensory organs of fishes.
So keep in mind,
this may limit your versatile, multispecies spinnerbait
by dissuading certain predatory fishes that find the scent unappealing.
However,
applying scents is more likely to produced second hits should that first hookset fail.
[upbeat music]
Alright, thanks for watching.
Be sure to ‘Like’ to bookmark the video,
share the video with your buddies,
and subscribe—it’s free.
Part 2 will cover the science behind why fishes hit your spinnerbaits.
I make the science simple
to help you understand how fishes hit your baits
so as to help you with your fishing game.
And Part 3 will cover some good methods for using your spinnerbaits.
Keep loving the beautiful chaos of nature.
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Hmmm…rico. (girl giggles)