One of the guys from my club gave me a Strike King Red Fish Magic spinner bait a couple weeks ago, it is a single colorado blade (gold) with a white swimming minnow on a bare jig type head. I threw it as is and it has a different appearance/action than a regular spinnerbait since it doesn't have a skirt. Well I took one of the Big Hammer swim baits in Tennessee Shad color and put that on there instead of the swimming minnow, wow the action! It wobbles so much with that square tail it feels like a chatterbait on your rod. I threw it up at Old Hickory Lake the other week and caught some of those short fish on it, they absolutely hammered it, and the hook was right in the top of the mouth because they really tried to eat it. I will be throwing it tomorrow on the St. Johns River near Lake Harney for our club classic. Booyah also has a bait almost exactly like it also for redfish, that I picked up at Bass Pro shops last weekend which has a heavier wire and head. I also bought a couple silver willow leaf blades to swap out on it in case gold isn't the color of the day. I will post a report come Monday.
modified bait
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Great tip Shannon! Thank you for sharing it with us. I never thought of tryin the redfish spinnerbaits. I'm gonna have to check them out.
I found a soft plastic bait company a while back and a lot of their ocean soft plastics looked pretty tempting for bass too. I will have to find that link and share it.
I found a soft plastic bait company a while back and a lot of their ocean soft plastics looked pretty tempting for bass too. I will have to find that link and share it.
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found this for all to see.
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if image doesnt show for you, here is the direct link: http://www.strikeking.com/images/products/NEW2006/flier_04_6x8.jpg
if image doesnt show for you, here is the direct link: http://www.strikeking.com/images/products/NEW2006/flier_04_6x8.jpg
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Good topic. I believe it's highly important to modify any bait any way you can just so it's unique and something bass haven't seen. Just a slight change in action can make a good lure much better. I got into making my own spinnerbait skirts, then began replacing stock blade hardware with quality barrel snap swivels so I can add, remove, or mix up blades in seconds. Then began removing the skirts and using Zoom Fat Alberts, twin tail Alberts, Brushhogs, Horny Toads, swimming chunks, the works. Try a Tiny Fluke on a 3/16 oz spinnerbait when the bite dies for regular bass offerings. The new Terminator Laser Eye is often shown with a curly tail trailer.
You've pointed out a fine lure idea all of us ought to be trying and experimenting with. A big bass "Beetle Spin".
Jim
You've pointed out a fine lure idea all of us ought to be trying and experimenting with. A big bass "Beetle Spin".
Jim
The big beetle spin is exactly all it is, in fact I was just about to mention that a friend of mine from Maryland always kicked our buts with a beetlespin on the Upper Chesapeake, and usually some pretty nice sized bass.
Question for you Ouachita - When you bend the wire of your spinnerbaits for changing out the blades etc. does it weakin the wire at the bend and have you had any breakage?
Question for you Ouachita - When you bend the wire of your spinnerbaits for changing out the blades etc. does it weakin the wire at the bend and have you had any breakage?
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The only wire bending I do is to retune a spinnerbait that has been warped from a bass or a hang-up.
There's usually a split ring through the wire loop, or a clevis on the shaft. I just remove the original barrel swivel, replacing it with a high quality snap swivel (50 cents each for best quality), then attach the blade to that. I make up a bunch of blades so all I have to do is switch. I put the snap end on the wire loop, split ring on the blade. I cut the original metal clevis off the shaft and use quick-change plastic clevises. I get those from Jannsnetcraft for about 9 cents each.
I'm not impressed with the quality of hardware on most big name brands. I've snapped a bunch of blades off new spinnerbaits, especially if getting a "professional over run" with sudden snap stop, and from banging it into rocks, stumps, etc. I always try to hit stuff when fishing those, so I'm hard on spinnerbaits.
For you folks that custom build spinnerbaits, a rig I try to keep in the box for when I think bass are going mostly for the trailing blade is to replace the clevis blade on a tandem spinnerbait with a red treble hook that isn't so big it hangs up in the trailing blade split ring. Just add a few extra beads to keep it far enough up shaft. A size 1 or larger hook won't spin and get you hung up while a smaller treble hook will spin and get you in trouble with weed and wood. I built a garage and next will add a workbench, so when everything is unpacked and back in service I'll try posting some photos of my favorite spinnerbait creations step by step.
Jim
There's usually a split ring through the wire loop, or a clevis on the shaft. I just remove the original barrel swivel, replacing it with a high quality snap swivel (50 cents each for best quality), then attach the blade to that. I make up a bunch of blades so all I have to do is switch. I put the snap end on the wire loop, split ring on the blade. I cut the original metal clevis off the shaft and use quick-change plastic clevises. I get those from Jannsnetcraft for about 9 cents each.
I'm not impressed with the quality of hardware on most big name brands. I've snapped a bunch of blades off new spinnerbaits, especially if getting a "professional over run" with sudden snap stop, and from banging it into rocks, stumps, etc. I always try to hit stuff when fishing those, so I'm hard on spinnerbaits.
For you folks that custom build spinnerbaits, a rig I try to keep in the box for when I think bass are going mostly for the trailing blade is to replace the clevis blade on a tandem spinnerbait with a red treble hook that isn't so big it hangs up in the trailing blade split ring. Just add a few extra beads to keep it far enough up shaft. A size 1 or larger hook won't spin and get you hung up while a smaller treble hook will spin and get you in trouble with weed and wood. I built a garage and next will add a workbench, so when everything is unpacked and back in service I'll try posting some photos of my favorite spinnerbait creations step by step.
Jim
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On a tandem bait there's a blade at the end of the upper arm hanging over the hook. Sliding on the upper arm is usually a half circle metal clevis holding a normally smaller blade. I remove that inside blade and add a treble hook. If the blade is cheesy cheap I'll cut it off the clevis, then add a split ring to the clevis, then the treble hook (not using a swivel). Otherwise I might cut the clevis off to save a quality blade so I use other blades, attaching hook directly to the arm with a split ring. If not using the hook, I just clip on a blade using the quick plastic clevis, already made up at home.
When custom building I use a metal clevis and split ring with the snap swivel for blades, and can unsnap a blade, then snap a hook on.
Another reason I don't go with the regular spinnerbait barrel swivel and split rings is I lose too much time fooling with split rings in the boat, especially in low light. If you have good eyesight and are handy with split ring pliers, you get better spin or vibration sticking to the stock swivel, depending on which way it aims, toward the blade for smoother spin at lower speeds, away for more vibration at higher speeds. But it only takes me a couple of seconds to switch a blade and I have more confidence in the better hardware. I spend a lot more time finding the blade I want. I think I sold my last custom spinnerbait, but will keep looking and try posting a photo. The hard part is doctoring it up in a photo editor.
The main advantage of putting a treble hook in the place of that front blade is to get better hookups without the misery of adding a trailer hook to the main hook. Those get snagged too easily and a bass gains extra leverage from lengthening the lure. The bass can throw that rig easier. But not if any of that treble grabs mouth along with the main hook. The treble is protected by the upper arm. Of course, since at least two points of the treble stick out the sides, it's more prone to hangups in wood unless you use weedless trebles, the short ones with the three wire guards.
Jim
When custom building I use a metal clevis and split ring with the snap swivel for blades, and can unsnap a blade, then snap a hook on.
Another reason I don't go with the regular spinnerbait barrel swivel and split rings is I lose too much time fooling with split rings in the boat, especially in low light. If you have good eyesight and are handy with split ring pliers, you get better spin or vibration sticking to the stock swivel, depending on which way it aims, toward the blade for smoother spin at lower speeds, away for more vibration at higher speeds. But it only takes me a couple of seconds to switch a blade and I have more confidence in the better hardware. I spend a lot more time finding the blade I want. I think I sold my last custom spinnerbait, but will keep looking and try posting a photo. The hard part is doctoring it up in a photo editor.
The main advantage of putting a treble hook in the place of that front blade is to get better hookups without the misery of adding a trailer hook to the main hook. Those get snagged too easily and a bass gains extra leverage from lengthening the lure. The bass can throw that rig easier. But not if any of that treble grabs mouth along with the main hook. The treble is protected by the upper arm. Of course, since at least two points of the treble stick out the sides, it's more prone to hangups in wood unless you use weedless trebles, the short ones with the three wire guards.
Jim
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If its easier, send me the undoctored image to my email ([email protected]) with an explanation as to how youd like it doctored up and I will help you out and doctor it for you and either send it back to you so that you can post it or post it where youd like for you.Ouachita said:
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;D In order for you to doctor it up, do you first have that last description clear? If not, I'll have to do this with graphics. It's very true the old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words". I'll try tracing and drawing it out with handwritten labels. That would actually be a lot less headache even though I'm no artist. I could scan the drawing, create a jpg, then send that to you. How about that?
Jim
Jim
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I seen Alton Jones use a spinner blade while fishing a swimbait on a fishing show. ( just the blade, not the whole assembly )
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I've switched out blades & skirts with good results, & I never throw 1 without a trailor hook. I use trailor hooks even in weeds or wood, don't have hangup problems as long as I keep it moving & speed it up when I hit wood or weeds. I use the smaller hooks, you can find them in different shank lentghs, I prefer the shorter. Besides changing blade color you can try going up or down in size to "match the hatch", also smaller blades can be moved faster than larger blades, sometimes the opposite maybe what you want so you put on a larger blade. You can also mix & match style & color.
Rodney
Rodney
I have had an issue with having a certain color spinnerbait work and not have a back up. My remedy was simply to buy more spinnerbaits, however when I realized I was poor I looked for an alternative. I then bought a bunch of skirts, I was able to pick up skirts for 2 bucks for a pack of 2 and they get stored with my plastics. Now I can have any color spinner bait just by putting on the skirts. I have multiple spinnerbaits with the same head and blades, so now if I lose my white one and only have the same one with a blue skirt, I just change the skirt. I figure this makes me have 2 backups for every spinnerbait I throw just by caring two skirts.
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