Spinnerbait - Tracking Parallel - NOT

[Bartableman7]

I noticed most spinnerbaits travel through the water column at a slant and not perfectly parallel.  They should...and I wonder if that causes some fish to shy away. (Like a crooked un-tuned crank bait.)  More weight to blade water tension ratio, less weight...what do you think would solve this easier? I'm thinking just a ton more skirt resistance would move the lure to "flat".

 

In this image...horrible water travel.

[WRB]

That is how a spinnerbait looks underwater with the upper blade arm in-line with the line pulling it.

Everyone looks at advertising photos with the hook parallel and upper blade arm 45 degrees upright.

The forward blade spins around the wire on a clevis and can’t spin forward only back against the water pressure. The rear blade spins on a swivel and does’t create any torque like the front blade.

Tom

 

[OkobojiEagle]

25 minutes ago, Bartableman7 said:

 at a slant and not perfectly parallel. 

might you have meant vertical?

[Captain Phil]

This is how  a spinnerbait looks when it's being pulled too fast or is out of balance.  Out of balance can be caused by bent wire or a mismatch between jig and blade size.   Spinnerbaits work best when pulled slow and as close to cover as possible.   Every spinnerbait has an optimal cadence. It's up to you to find it.    If your spinnerbait tilts at an angle when retrieved, it's not working to it's full capacity.

[TnRiver46]

Mine run dead true straight as an arrow and I don’t catch jack with them, how bout them apples ? 
 

they are just like anything else, if it’s running funny, tweak it until it’s right 

[GRiver]

I buy cheap spinner baits from Walmart, you know the ones for a dollar each. I have to tweak most them, some I have to tweak again if I change trailers. I figured it was just the nature of the beast.

[scaleface]

My baits are worse than that and catch limits regularly.

 

[Glenn]

Are you using a trailer?  Not a trailer hook, but something like a twin-tail plastic trailer?  If so, remove it and then try again.  If it runs better, then put the trailer back on, ensuring it's on perfectly straight.

[813basstard]

I’d lose that snap thingy on the front..

2ndly that’s a Booyah covert right? Those are money. Usually run REALLY straight. 
3rdly like Phil said you maybe be working it to fast.

4thly pay attention to how the boat is drifting..away from you it’ll increase the speed which will make it run sideways 

[Munkin]

38 minutes ago, 813basstard said:

I’d lose that snap thingy on the front..

2ndly that’s a Booyah covert right? Those are money. Usually run REALLY straight. 
3rdly like Phil said you maybe be working it to fast.

4thly pay attention to how the boat is drifting..away from you it’ll increase the speed which will make it run sideways 

 

Looks like a R2S Bling to me?

 

Allen

[Bird]

Spinnerbaits are my #1 fish producers year in and year out.

I simply won't tolerate one that runs sideways, they should run straight.

[Bartableman7]

6 hours ago, OkobojiEagle said:

might you have meant vertical?

No.  The shank of the hook should run perfectly parallel to the water bed and water surface. Straight flat, not vertical.

[Tatulatard]

On 3/16/2023 at 2:52 PM, Bartableman7 said:

I noticed most spinnerbaits travel through the water column at a slant and not perfectly parallel.  They should...and I wonder if that causes some fish to shy away. (Like a crooked un-tuned crank bait.)  More weight to blade water tension ratio, less weight...what do you think would solve this easier? I'm thinking just a ton more skirt resistance would move the lure to "flat".

 

In this image...horrible water travel.

Thats how they look underwater. Maybe add a paddle tail to add more drag to the hook ans switch to lower drag blades.

[Big Rick]

In your photo your snap is perfectly parallel with the bait. This indicates you're lifting the lure hence the upward tilt. Also, Indiana and Colorado style blades tend to cause much more drag which could cause the bait to tilt at certain retrieve speeds. 

[fin]

Just bend the wire.

[Team9nine]

I believe it’s a design flaw made worse by the snap. It has to do with the angle that the hook and the wire arm were positioned in at their connection before being imbedded in the lead head. As @WRB alluded to, the natural running position of a twin blade spinnerbait is as shown in your photo - a slight approx 10-15 deg. rise above dead flat (parallel) due to resistance and drag on the upper wire arm. If you hold a spinnerbait in your hand at that running angle, then look at the hook, you’ll see how your bait will appear in the water. Some run “correctly” with the hook near parallel like the blade arm, and some don’t. You can alter this a bit by extra weight, trailers, and wire bending to a degree, but it’s much simpler to just buy one that will run how you like from the get-go. They probably all catch fish, but the mind is a terrible thing - lol

[WRB]

The OP’s spinnerbait underwater photo isn’t rolling sideways, the hook point is upright, the skirt is following straight back. What you don’t like is the head is pointed upwards and top blade wire is parallel with the line pull…,that is the only position a double blade spinnerbait can run unless it’s falling on slake line.

Tom

 

[Team9nine]

Screenshots from an online YT video showing different sp’baits; 2 running “correctly” and 2 not. Notice the upper blade arm wire angle is practically identical in all 4 shots, as is the lower wire. The difference is poor design angle when molding that connection under the lead head, IMO.

 

 

 

 

 

[scaleface]

5 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Screenshots from an online YT video showing different sp’baits; 2 running “correctly” and 2 not. Notice the upper blade arm wire angle is practically identical in all 4 shots, as is the lower wire. The difference is poor design angle when molding that connection under the lead head, IMO.

 

 

 

 

 

If thats the same video I viewed , one of the baits actually pivots up and down .

[riverat]

 

I don't think it makes one bit of difference to a bass if the hook is running parallel or not. I've been fishing a spinnerbait since the 1960's and the majority of the strikes I get are when it runs into and bounces off of cover. 

 

 

 

 

[keagbassr]

5 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Screenshots from an online YT video showing different sp’baits; 2 running “correctly” and 2 not. Notice the upper blade arm wire angle is practically identical in all 4 shots, as is the lower wire. The difference is poor design angle when molding that connection under the lead head, IMO.

 

 

 

 

 

Looking at these pics the 1st thing I see is the 2 running "right" are double willows and the 2 running "wrong" ,like the one in the op's post have a leading Colorado. Does that matter, I don't know, I ain't no engineer. I make my own and have no idea what they do under water and don't care so long as they catch fish.?

[Tatulatard]

On 3/16/2023 at 9:34 PM, Bartableman7 said:

No.  The shank of the hook should run perfectly parallel to the water bed and water surface. Straight flat, not vertical.

They do not.  There are blades on the top wire pulling on that wire and lifting the head of the bait.  This is how the bait appears in the water.  It is even more extreme if there are high resistance blades in use such as Colorado or Indiana blades. 

[Deleted account]

One can make a spinnerbait run at several angles by varying several factors, but the fish don't seem to care. I've had them hit ones running perfectly sideways. 

[smalljaw67]

The spinnerbait is my favorite lure hands down. I spent a lot of time with them and I can tell you that they don't need to run perfectly flat. They present a big enough target that the fish rarely miss. The thing you want to avoid is having the bait lean to one side or the other. That is usually caused by reeling the bait too fast for the size blades the bait has on. The smaller the blades the faster you can retrieve it without it leaning over. Another reason it doesn't matter if it runs on an angle is because of the way it gets bit. If you ever ran your spinnerbait shallow enough to see it you'll notice 99% of the time the fish will hit the bait from the side and not directly from the back. When I'm slow rolling a bait I can see it so I don't know how they are hitting it but I do know they are hooked the same.

[JediAmoeba]

The biggest bass I can recall ever catching on a spinnerbait was one that got messed up from a Pike. I was fixing it and bending it back into shape and on a retrieve where the whole bait was literally helicoptering a giant bass inhaled it - the only reason I caught her is the trailer hook. Ever since then I realized it doesn't matter all too much unless you are throwing through laydowns and grass.