Just wondering if anyone has tried adding on a willlow blade onto their jika rig? Do the fish like it and does it work for you? I tried it earlier today in a tank and I think it looks pretty nice. The blade spins on its way down which I think can mimic dying baitfish. Not sure if it makes any sense but I'll add this picture to clarify what I'm talking about. 

 

interesting idea ... the only way to tell is to get it in the water and trying it.

That idea will work - as long as the blade doesn't interfere with the hook set.  Back in the day (mid 80's to early 90's) a similar bait was popular on Truman Lake.

 

 

Basically it was a 1/2 or 5/8 oz ball headed spinner bait with a very short top arm (3/4 to a little over an inch or so)  A medium to large sized Colorado blade was fixed to the top arm using a ball bearing swivel.  (ball bearing swivels weren't all that common then)  A plastic bait was threaded on to the hook of the spinnerbait, usually a regular sized Guido Bug.

 

The approach was that you would pitch this like a jig to woody cover, weed lines, whatever and allow it to helicopter down.  When it hit bottom or was a deep as you wanted, you'd jig or slow roll it back to the boat.

Basically you fished it like a jig with "thump".  It worked best in very dingy to muddy water.  Most strikes happened on the initial drop or within a few seconds after hitting bottom.  The whole rig was alot more snag free than you might think.

 

That bait has fallen out of favor, the last time I was at Truman, I didn't see any in the home made spinner bait racks of the different tackle stores I entered.

Yeah I'll give it a try some time this week... And I don't think the blade gets in the way of a hook set. From what I saw when the bait hits the bottom, the rig stands up while the blade lays down on the bottom. But I guess I'll have to see how it goes when I'm actually fishing it.