For whatever reason, I find myself fishing a spinner bait more often this year than in years past. I use Booyah and War eagle baits but find myself liking the War Eagle better.

My issue is that I find , after a few fish, I end up "wishbonin'" the bait with me getting the blade half and the fish getting the hook half.

So far I haven't lost a lunker but it's only a matter of time.

If I could find an old style spinnerbait where they looped the wire instead of just bend it where you tie up, I'd use them. Is there some trick in tying on? If not, has somebody figured out when to retire a bait before you lose the big-un that costs you the tourney?

Are you saying that the line is slipping up the "R" bend?

So are you saying the bait is breaking or is your knot sliding down to the blade end?  If it is the latter, the only brand I can think of that still uses the old twist loop for the line tie is the Mann's Classic.

Many pike and musky spinnerbaits have a looped line tie, for this reason, and because most Esox anglers use steel or sevenstrand to tie their baits on.  That slips up the shaft on a standard bass style R-bend bait.

What line are you using, and what knot do you tie for your spinnerbaits?  I've had no troubles with a Uni knot on all types of nylon mono and fluoro.  With CXX, all it takes is a standard cinch knot, pretty much no slipping there, though occasionally, it loops around itself on the knot during the fight.  Fish sometimes mangle the baits, comes with the territory.  Terminator T-1 don't mangle easily, and are one the best fishing spinnerbaits around.

IMO, you might be moving in the wrong direction.

Several years ago, I moved away from looped-eye spinnerbaits

in favor of R-bend wire. During the cast, the line would occasionally

get wedged between the wire loops of the looped eyelet.

With R-bend wire I use a 6-twist uni-knot with braided line, and wire slippage is not a problem.

Roger

Maybe back off the drag a little bit too? Make sure you wet your knot when you cinch it down to be sure it is nice and snug.You can also use a small drop of glue to keep the line in place. Inspect the bait closely after every fish and make sure the R bend isn't coming open any.If it does then your line may be more inclined to slip up the shaft.

Here's a tip from Guy Eaker.

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/columns/story?page=b_col_bt_inside_pro_fishing_0412

Here's a tip from Guy Eaker.

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/columns/story?page=b_col_bt_inside_pro_fishing_0412

Thanks Crank, thats exactly what I'm looking for.

You could also wrap some fine wire around it and then solder it.

a drop of glue