Spinnerbait fishing is something I really haven’t spent much time doing. Like most anglers, I’ve thrown one here and there, but I’ve never committed to having it in my hands all day—until yesterday.

The lake I was fishing doesn’t have shad, so I wasn’t sure if throwing a spinnerbait all day was even the right decision, or if I was using the right style for the conditions.

What I did was target spawning areas with a double willow spinnerbait, and I retrieved it just fast enough that I could barely see the blades turning. The reason I’m questioning whether that was the right approach is because I covered a lot of water and good-looking cover, but it felt like I was just blind casting the entire time. It didn’t feel very efficient or productive.

Now, I did catch fish—a 4-pounder and a 3-pounder—and I caught a lot overall, but I also caught a ton of small fish, probably more small fish than I’ve caught in a long time.

I’ve heard a lot about slow rolling a spinnerbait, but while listening to Jason Christie, he mentioned that he never fishes it out of sight. So that’s what I did all day. I caught numbers, but it felt like I was moving through a lot of really good structure without fishing it thoroughly.

I’m trying to figure out whether that “keep it in sight” retrieve is actually the best way to fish a spinnerbait in this situation, especially in a lake without shad, or if I would have been better off slowing down and fishing deeper targets more methodically.

I would ignore the "keep it in sight" advice. Some might argue if you're fishing it deeper than that there are more effective baits but for me, spinnerbaits shine around cover, and if you're avoiding that cover just for the sake of keeping the bait shallow then you're doing yourself a disservice. I usually fish it just fast enough to tick the top of whatever vegetation I'm near, and if I'm fishing around rock or wood I want it making contact with that stuff. The majority of my bites are after some sort of deflection, pause, etc. If there is minimal cover and I'm just fishing a flat/break/color line then I will add in starts and stops of the reel handle, or pump the bait with the rod every now and then and let it fall back for a half second on semi-slack line. If they're following it and that bait just flutters right down into their face a lot of times that's when they eat it. A spinnerbait is pretty much my go-to "search" bait the majority of the year, and in many ways I lean on it over crankbaits in my fisheries due to how weedless it is.

This is what I think and what I do. No reflection on anybody else's methods.

I don't see the connection between shad and spinnnerbaits- no shad where I fish and spinnerbaits catch fish.

If I'm fishing shallow water in a spawning area, I want to go slow because most fish will not chase a long distance. They wanna stay close to the nest.

I use colorado blades for slow rolling. Most times spinnerbait fishing is blind casting. It' a good technique for exploration. Using one to find fish in a large area is very productive. It's not a tool to fish thoroughly.

It's not what I would use in a spawing area. I would use a texas rigged creature.

Snap it Burn it Kill it Lift and Drop. Mix it up with retrieve speed and depth. Make it look alive. Mix up the colors . My favorite this year is Spot Remover from War Eagle. I fish Rivers 99 % of the time. So it’s out of site a lot. It’s a major player

I really like spinnerbaits around submerged wood. I have my best luck banging the spinnerbait over every branch or limb on the way back to the boat. Lotta times my strikes come when I pull the spinnerbait over a limb, then let it slow fall & flutter for a second or 2.

I’ve become a fan of these Booyah Counterstrike spinnerbaits. Chartreuse & white works well in clear or stained water. Almost always throwing 3/8 oz.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Booyah_Counter_Strike_Colorado_Willow_Spinnerbaits_/descpage-BYCWSB.html?from=gshop&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=11473504443&gbraid=0AAAAADkexy7KjX5GCHFAXzRRO5iq3E2l7

There is no wrong way to fish a spinnerbait. They will work with multiple retrieves at different depths, and everywhere in the water column.

Fishing them barely keeping the blades in sight is a great way to start. This method automatically adjusts for water clarity, and changing visibility due to wind and weather. Another method you should try is slow rolling along the bottom. Bouncing one through trees and off the top of other types of cover is another highly effective way to fish a spinnerbait.

My favorite way to fish a spinnerbait is bulging a wake on the surface with a large Colorado blade. If it doesn't get a violent surface strike on a steady retrieve just under the surface, I often get bit when pausing the bait near any type of cover. The bass will hit the bait the instant I stop the bulging retrieve, or wait until I start retrieve again. Either way it is a very exciting way to catch bass. I lighter bait with big blades helps keep the spinnerbait bulging the surface at a slow speed. My experience with this retrieve has been the slower I can keep the blades making a wake without completely breaking the surface the more strikes I get.

Burning a heavy bait with small blades a few inches under the surface is another killer technique that will get violent strikes.

Keep experimenting with retrieves and baits and a spinnerbait may become one of your favorite techniques.

Using a straight retrieve will still catch fish, but making it look alive increased my catch rate.

I can't recommend this enough:

I use it as more of a search lure/bait. It elicits a quick, reactive strike.

The warmer the water, the fast I retrieve it. Right now our water is still quite cold, and I have not even used one yet this season. But I will when it starts to warm up.

I know a lot of people love to use a white skirt or white/chartreuse, but don't forget about black. I used to think it was only a night time color, but then I had a wicked good day in the rain with black.

Also, I get a lot of strikes after I bounce or deflect it off something. Like a weed, log, or dock post. That's part of the beauty of its design; you can toss it into some pretty snaggy areas and still catch fish without getting hung up.

On 4/29/2026 at 7:23 AM, MassYak85 said:

I usually fish it just fast enough to tick the top of whatever vegetation I'm near, and if I'm fishing around rock or wood I want it making contact with that stuff. The majority of my bites are after some sort of deflection, pause, etc.

^^^X2^^^

Spinnerbaits are pretty versatile and can certainly be good in open water under the right circumstances. Windblown points is one of those circumstances. However, the spinnerbait really shines when you are smacking it off of stuff.

The most important aspect about fishing spinnerbaits and most lures as far as that goes is at 12::55 of this video. Glenn is using a 3/4 oz lure, I prefer a 1/2 oz because it matches my equipment best.

You caught a 4, a 3, and tons of dinks in one of your first times fishing it? That's a good day!

They work and you can fish them steady, pulse them, burn them snd break the surface, slow roll. Just a matter of the day/fish attitude.

If the water has color to it and a broken surface, a spinnerbait can be an all day bait. It’s too good of a lure to neglect using one.

My favorite bait to fish and there is no wrong way to fish it. My normal way is to keep it barely in sight but also fish it deeper to contact cover. Usually use 3/8 or 1/2 oz. baits, Colorado or Indiana blades early in the year, willow leaf blades when the water warms and clears up. Have well over 100 spinnerbaits in multiple colors and sizes and normally have 3 tied on when I leave the house and Jason Christie an expert, watch all his videos, but his way isn't the only way, just his way, find yours.

Not sure which JC video you were reading, but he definitely does fish it out of sight. In fact that is one of his keys is getting it out of sight. When he starts to see the bait (at the depth he wants to fish) he’ll swap up to a less visible bait and usually a finesse, smaller blades some times, and drop it down in the water column. He prefers color in the water (6-18” visibility) and a ripple or more of wind. Early season he’ll slow roll big ones out to 5-8’ of water just off the bottom.

that said, there are a lot of ways to catch fish on them depending on the cover. JC is fishing a lot of colored water and shallow with cover at home. I don’t have that here- i either have wood cover in super clear water, grass with 6” to 6’ of clarity, or rocky lakes. If there is a ripple on the water then I’ve got one tied on. I got away from them for a little bit but they just catch fish when the conditions are right. And if the conditions are right (breeze, ideally some color, cover that I can bring it through clean) I’ll force it a bit until they either start eating it or absolutely won’t. A spinnerbait is a good big fish bait, a good searching bait, and a good picking apart cover bait.

Sounds like you were fishing it a little slow if the blades were just barely turning. Pick up the pace just a little. Go heavier if it is riding up. A 1/2 oz is my starting point. That steady “whump whump whump” of the blades is what makes them react.