A spinnerbait is a year round lure for me.  They work differently in the winter and summer than they do in the fall and spring, but hey still can work.  Especially if you can get them knocking into submerged wood. 

 

That being said, there seem to be years when spinnerbaits don't work for unknown (to me) reasons.  Some years they're hot.  Some years they're not.  But when they're working, there isn't a time of year I won't throw them. 

Usually, this time of year, I go for heavier, single Colorado blade baits that can stay lower in the water column.  Just kind of slow roll them like I might in winter.  But sometimes, smaller, double willow blade baits, buzzed just under the surface in shallow water also work this time of year.  It depends.  This year, in particular, spinnerbaits aren't doing much for me.  In fact, nothing with a skirt has been doing much for me since last fall. 

I use them only at night. I make my own with big #5 or #6 Hildebrandt thumper blades. They do catch BIG fish but if I can use something else, I generally will. 

 

 

 

I'll fish them year round, but in the summer I will be fishing them deep most of the time. 10' down or more.

Being a primarily bank fisherman, I don't use them a lot in summer. Though I will occasionally.

On 7/28/2024 at 7:46 PM, LrgmouthShad said:

Take a single colorado and replace the Colorado with a willow??

Most of the time I just take wire cutters and snip the second off a double willow, but this also works. Just depends what size you are going for.

On 7/28/2024 at 1:11 PM, 33oldtimer said:

A Spinnerbait is my favorite bass lure. But by the time summer rolls around bass don't hit it much and I move on to other lures. But I still see bass busting on shad in the summer. I use paddle tails for my spinnerbait trailers. I'm wondering is losing the trailer or using more subtle trailers would help get bites in summer. Also bass hang around bluegill beds and there are bluegill colored spinnerbaits, wondering if those colors are better in summer.

 

Just wondering who uses spinnerbaits in summer and what your tactics are for them, downsize, different trailers, fish them differently, different colors in summer, etc. ?

White skirt with 4 nickel willow leaf blades when there are lots of small shad;  not unusual for fish to bite the blades.

Yes but I do change some things during the summer months.  Firstly I tend to use heavier (for me 1/2 oz and up) and slow roll them bumping along the bottom. Usually close to breaks.  I like white and white/chartruese.  I don’t always use a trailer for this method but when I do I like a split tail grub.

Second thing is I fish a big single Colorado blade at night with a paddle tail trailer.  Always black and blue.  I like to target shallow cover and flats adjacent to deeper water.

 

I have been catching fish on a Spinnerbait since February and I just caught a new PB with one a few weeks ago.  So I have a lot of confidence in the technique.

Fish them March to the end of October generally around here. Summer baits I throw are more natural colors with smaller willows or a black with large colorado for night fishing.

 

Allen

Anytime the wind really blows, it rains, water has some stain or any combo of the 3 is a good time to throw one IMO.  

I fish a 3/4 oz white double colorado gold blade spinnerbait - fast in the summertime.  Over weedbeds, around rocks, docks, weed edges, isolated cover, riprap especially.  Sun, clouds, rain, wind...all the time.  Early morning or evening can be outrageous!

The best time for me to throw a spinner bait is….. anytime the water isn’t frozen. I can drag it on bottom, I can burn it over weeds,  I can put it anywhere in the water column I need.  It’s not always my most productive but, always worth a throw. 

@Bankc oddly enough I experience the same thing. For 2 years I could catch fish on a spinnerbait anytime I wanted then the next year I couldn't catch a single thing. They preferred the chatterbait last year and I haven't been out enough this year to see which they prefer. I thought maybe I overplayed my hand with a spinner but it was across all the lakes I fish regardless of frequency. Weird.