Spinnerbaits 101: Session #2 of 3

By Dennis Bryant "The Fishin Professor"

On with session 2 of the course!

Now comes my favorite and also the most controversial part:

THE "HOW-TO"

Every angler that has ever tied a spinnerbait to the end of his/her line has a favorite way of using a spinnerbait.

Quite honestly, at any given time of the night or day, on any given body of water, someone is reinventing the uses of a spinnerbait!

There are far too many different techniques to mention them all.

But, I'll cover a few of the different ways to make your spinnerbait do things that the fish can't ignore.

Spinnerbaits 101 How To

Pop It

Throw it to the back of a small cove or to an indentation in the shoreline structure and "Pop it" just before it touches the water, so that when the lure hits the water it makes a FLAT/exaggerated splash & drop as it hits and before the start of the retrieve.

Swim It

Throw it up onto the shore.

After it lands on the dry land, begin your retrieve slowly so that the lure enters the water without making a splash and "Swim it" back to you at a slow - constant speed, with your rod-tip raised, allowing the blades to cause a ripple at the surface of the water.

Pulse It

Throw it to your target (begin the retrieve before the lure touches the water), retrieve the spinnerbait at a constant rate, but exaggerate or hesitate a minuscule amount of the winding motion of the reel handle in order to cause the skirt to flare out and recede back toward the body of the bait at regular intervals.

"Pulse it" it drives the fish crazy!

Note:

This maneuver doesn't work well with the newest styles of silicone skirts.

It just won"t work the same as it does with a high-volume living-rubber skirt or a rubber breather-skirt!

Jig It

When positioned outside of a "drop", throw it to the shallow edge of the drop, beginning your retrieve before the lure touches the water and "Jig it" back to you with a reel/pause maneuver or a raise/drop maneuver with the rod-tip.

This is exactly the same thing that you"d use if you were using a "jig & pig".

You"d be surprised at how many fish can be brought to the boat this way!

Drop It

In open water or at the outside edges of emerged or submerged weed-beds, throw it out and begin your retrieve before the lure touches the water.

Maintain a constant retrieve speed, then stop and immediately "Drop" your rod tip allowing the lure to "helicopter" down about 6" to 8", then resume the retrieve as before.

Maintain contact with the lure during the drop and be prepared to set the hook during the maneuver.

Rip It

Throw it to your target and begin your retrieve before the lure touches the water.

Begin and maintain a constant fast retrieve immediately.

The blades of the lure should just barely break the waters" surface, causing a wake.

Wing It

In open water, "Wing it" or "Throw it" as far as you can.

Begin your retrieve before the lure touches the water.

Here comes the fun part.

Now, you can use any or all of the other techniques we've discussed, while you retrieve the lure to your position.

You"d be surprised at how often you"ll find hidden weed-beds or structure you didn't know existed when you do this!

Toss It

The spinnerbait-fisherman"s" equivalent of "flipping". Treat the spinnerbait as though it were a flipping-jig.

In heavily stained or muddied conditions, with about 10" to 12" of line let out, "Toss it" to close shoreline structure (boat houses, docks, stumps, etc.), again beginning the retrieve before the lure touches the water.

Pitch It

"Pitch it" to your target with a snap-of-the-wrist underhanded or side arm cast, beginning the retrieve before the lure touches the water.

Here"s another place that the "pulse" maneuver works well during the retrieve.

Heave It

"Heave it" is a routine that only Musky fishermen use. If you were throwing 1 ½ oz. spinnerbaits with X-Hvy. 8' rods and using 50 lb. braided line, you"d probably heave the lure out or your arm out by the end of the day too!



Summary of Spinnerbaits 101 How To

Have you ever fished an actual stump-field?

I don"t mean a 10' square area that has 3 or 4 stumps in it.

I mean an area of about 10 or 12 acres of water that has submerged stumps so thick that you can"t get your boat into it more than 20 feet!

It"s in a situation like this that a spinnerbait really shines!

Throw it to your target and begin your retrieve before the lure touches the water.

Begin and maintain a constant retrieve immediately.

When you feel the spinnerbait touch one of these submerged stumps, "Bounce It" off the stump, let it fall slightly, then immediately resume your retrieve again until the next contact!

Here"s one other place that the "pulse" maneuver works well during the retrieve.

Have you noticed a repetitive sentence throughout the article so far?

Let me show you one more time!

"Begin your retrieve before the lure touches the water"

If you didn't do this before when you used a spinnerbait you've only used a spinnerbait to ½ of its" potential!

Beginning the retrieve before the lure touches the water reduces the entry splash, points the lure in the correct position for an immediate hookset, allows for a controlled drop on entry and prevents ninety-five percent of the backlashes and hang-ups that are encountered when using a spinnerbait.

Really think about that the next time you go out!

It"ll become second nature after a while!

Now that you've got a basic knowledge of Spinnerbaits and how to use them, I hope that you"ll stop in one more time and take my short test.

It"s based on your own basic fishing knowledge!

And it's a requirement for your diploma!

Look for Spinnerbaits 101: Session #3 of 3 - How to Fish Spinnerbaits - Coming Next.

Dennis Bryant
The Fishing Professor

Look for other articles written by Dennis Bryant in The Fishin Professor's Pro Staff Angler Profile