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Spinnerbaits
by "The Bass Coach", Roger Lee Brown
Through all the years of teaching students bass fishing skills
and techniques, as well as many former guide clients I have taken
on bass fishing trips, one question comes to mind that has been
asked time and time again and that question is; "Are spinnerbaits
really worth the money you pay for them?," and I have to
say YES!.... If I had a choice of 3 baits to fish a body of water
for Largemouth, Smallmouth, or Kentucky Spots I would definitely
have to say that a Spinnerbait is one of the 3 baits that I would
choose. Spinnerbaits are one of the most versatile type of baits
that a angler can use when fishing for bass. There are several
different presentations and techniques that one can use when
fishing with a Spinnerbait, such as;
1....."Chunk-N-Wind" This presentation is probably
the most common used by most anglers. You just simply cast the
bait and reel it back in at a moderate rate or retrieve keeping
the bait just under the water surface usually no deeper than
4 to 5 feet deep. This technique works well when a angler wants
to cover a lot of water territory in a short time, and can be
found to be very effective at times.
2....."Slow-Rolling" This presentation is used quite
often when you want to fish deeper water areas usually anywhere
between 6 and 20 foot depths and sometimes even deeper. With
this presentation, you want to try to keep the Spinnerbait as
close to the bottom as possible and bump or hit any possible
structure that may be in the area you are fishing. With this
presentation, simply cast your Spinnerbait, and when it hits
the water you can either immediately start your retrieve or "Count-Down"
letting the Spinnerbait fall to the depth you want to cover,
then start your retrieve. Maintain a slow steady retrieve keeping
the Spinnerbait moving at all times.
3....."Waking or Bulging" This presentation can
be a little difficult when you first learn it. You simply cast
to your targeted area and retrieve or reel the Spinnerbait back
in just fast enough to create a "Bulge" or "Wake"
just below the surface without actually skimming the top of the
surface of the water. This presentation is a good pattern to
use around submerged timber, rip-rap, fall-downs, vegetation,
edge drops, docks, and just about any type of structure when
the bass are active.
4....."Jigging-It" Jigging the Spinnerbait can be
one presentation of a Spinnerbait you’ll not want to forget
because it’s proven to be one of the more successful techniques
when fishing a Spinnerbait. The presentation is very simple and
the results can be very satisfactory! Jigging the Spinnerbait
is done simply by pitchin’ the Spinnerbait in a targeted
area like; patches of open water in vegetation, space holes in
structure, next to and in-between pilings, in-between rocks,
etc. let the Spinnerbait drop to the bottom, lift your rod tip
up and down 2 or 3 times then let the Spinnerbait settle to the
bottom again.
5....."Draggin’-It" Some of the biggest bass
I had ever caught was by using this presentation. You simply
work the Spinnerbait as you would a plastic lizard or worm. Cast
the Spinnerbait and let it fall to the bottom, reel or retrieve
in the slack out of your line, lift your rod tip "slowly"
from about the 9 o’clock position to the 12 o’clock
position (or straight up), reel in the slack and repeat this
technique all the way back to the boat. Make sure you try to
keep tension always on your bait for this technique.
6....."Yo-Yo or Pumping" This technique can as well
be very effective at different times, especially in and around
vegetation areas. With this technique, simply cast the Spinnerbait
to the targeted area, using more of a "slow-roll" for
a retrieve, while on the retrieve, periodically make a quick
lift of your rod tip after 5 or 6 winds on your reel, stop reeling
and let the Spinnerbait flutter back down towards the bottom
until the slack is out of your line, then repeat this process
all the way back to the boat.
Although there are more, these are some of the most effective
presentations that I have found to be quite successful and they
have proven themselves time after time. I teach my students many
different types of presentations and techniques with many different
baits ranging from Top-Water, Crankbaits, Plastics, Jigs, etc.
at my bass fishing school, and some of these presentations listed
above can be some of the most effective at catching bass if you
just give them a chance, but, like anything else it takes time
and practice to build confidence in any bait. There is a lot
more to learn about spinnerbaits such as; blade size, blade shape,
colors, weights, trailers, trailer-hooks, etc. and Lord willing
I can share some of these things with you in future articles,
or you can learn from me with Personalized Instruction by attending
my 3-day "On-Water" Bass Fishing School.
Till next
time! Take care & God Bless!....."The Bass Coach"......
www.capital.net/~rlbrown
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