On 9/27/2024 at 3:14 PM, HawkeyeSmallie said:

I just watched a Rick Clunn video and he said the willow leaf blade is the worst.

 

He says water displacement is the main key and the willows displace the least. He will still throw them but sounds like he prefers Indiana blades and Colorados.

 

Found it interesting.

Far be it from me to ever question The Zen Master.  But maybe blade selection can serve a specific  purpose.   I have a bit of success burning a spinnerbait just under the surface for smallmouth bass.  A double willow set up seems to be pretty decent for this application.

Normally I'd add a picture or even a video showing what I've described above.

Including a freaky large brown bass.

But ain't nobody got time for that.

A-Jay

 

Casting or spinning rod using 20 lb braid?

Tom

11 minutes ago, WRB said:

Casting or spinning rod using 20 lb braid?

Tom

Casting.

 

It’s a 6’6” MH fast action.

At least 20 years old, Gander Mountain Guide Series.

 

Absolutely nothing wrong with double willows.  Choose the correct blades for the correct conditions and desired presentations.  I catch 90% of my spinnerbait bass on double willows.  And I catch a lot of bass on spinnerbaits in general.

How about a triple willow?  Just arrived: The "Fall Fry" from Bizz Baits.

 

1 hour ago, MIbassyaker said:

How about a triple willow?  Just arrived: The "Fall Fry" from Bizz Baits.

 

Bass Geek just did a video. They look great 

Triple willow or quadruple willow when around lots of tiny shallow shad.  Only problem is sometimes the bass bite only the blades.

4 hours ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

Is mono or floro better? Stick with the braid?

I think that’s a preference thing.  I’m also a Spinnerbait aficionado and I have fished them using all three at one point or another.  I can say that using straight braid I had to change my hook set from a swing for the fences type to more of a sweeping/reeling style.

5 hours ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

It’s a 6’6” MH fast action.

I ran into hookup struggles when using a fast action rod and braid for spinnerbaits. When I would hookup, the fish were almost always hooked in the lip, not behind it or farther back in its mouth.

I went back to using my old spinnerbait rod which has a Mod action (MH Power) and continued using braid and my hookups increased to what I consider normal.

If you want to keep using the same rod, I'd recommend mono. Big Game under 20lb. test and a hookset that takes it from 9:00 to 11:00 with a turn of the reel handle will get you what you need.

1 hour ago, papajoe222 said:

I went back to using my old spinnerbait rod which has a Mod action (MH Power) and continued using braid and my hookups increased to what I consider normal.

I'm still using my Aird-X MH/F rod for spinnerbaits....action is more of a MF-F, not a true F. Line is 12# YZH, which has less stretch than mono with better abrasion resistance...seems to work well.

I use a 7' mhmf with floro

16 hours ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

Throwing it with 20 pound braid.

 

Is mono or floro better? Stick with the braid?

I use both fluoro and braid.  No strong preference.   However, when using braid, I use 40# almost exclusively.   I am just way too good at getting 20# stuck in split rings.

I generally also use mono (sufix advance) in 12 or 14 lb test with my spinnerbaits.

 

I've long contemplated using braid though instead.  Based on what I've read here, I think I'll stick with the sufix for now.

On 9/30/2024 at 9:24 AM, Pumpkinseed Lizard said:

 

Well, not all of us fortunate enough to live where there are Pike or Musky, they are few and far in between. I run into Pike in CT but that's because I am Pike Fishing, but I usually am fly fishing for the those.

I would pay you to take all the chain pickerel out of the lakes here in south jersey... so sick of them. They absolutely love spinnerbaits too. Found that out very quickly after moving here.  

11 minutes ago, LootyDjibouti said:

I would pay you to take all the chain pickerel out of the lakes here in south jersey... so sick of them. They absolutely love spinnerbaits too. Found that out very quickly after moving here.  

 

Haha.  Sounds like the northern pike problem we have here.  They even increased the daily bag limit to 10 fish too.

 

The problem is that very few people are interested in harvesting significant numbers of small pike here.  Everyone wants walleye, panfish, or trout instead.

3 hours ago, gimruis said:

 

Haha.  Sounds like the northern pike problem we have here.  They even increased the daily bag limit to 10 fish too.

 

The problem is that very few people are interested in harvesting significant numbers of small pike here.  Everyone wants walleye, panfish, or trout instead.

 

 

Give me the choice between catching 5 lb and up northerns or 2 - 3 lb green carp - I'll take the northerns all day.  Just not on $10+ spinner baits, lol.

 

Of course harvesting I'm not interested in filleting a northern much under 8 lbs.  Give me the smaller green carp in a harvest scenario.

6 minutes ago, RevoSEMIpro said:

Give me the choice between catching 5 lb and up northerns

 

Ya except the problem is with slime darts, not 5+ pounders.

 

95% of the pike here are of the 20 inch variety - the exact ones the DNR wants you to keep.  You have to release the bigger ones because those are the ones that were over harvested for too long, leaving us with the problem we have today, way too many small aggressive ones.

Understood - hard sell getting folks to cut up hammer handles.

Hot dang, went out this afternoon trying a different lake.

 

Second cast of the day with my trusty white Terminator spinnerbait I caught an 18.5” bass. This girl had a massive body on it for that length. Definitely a top 3 bass for me this summer.