Don Dziedzina,Illinois Outdoors:Spinnerbaits For Bass

WITH DON DZIEDZINA Spinnerbaits for Bass

At this time of year success can be achieved if you use one type of spinnerbait blade over another. When the water is cool, make sure you have a Colorado bladed bait. These blades are relatively round in shape. They can almost be described as being a wide teardrop shape and very different than the other popular style which is the willow leaf blade. The Colorado blade give more of a thump while spinning and will work well with a slow retrieve.

Willow leaf blades are long and narrow and pointed at each end. Like the Colorado blade, it gives off vibration, but it’s a lot tighter or higher pitched if you will. This is what’s important in cold water conditions. The Willow leaf blade vibrates, for sure, but has a tighter wobble in the water that is not as noticeable. The Colorado blade has a wider or larger profile which is also a good thing.

When the weeds in your favorite lake start to come up, the willow leaf blade will skim through them without getting tangled. So the willow leaf bade is good for later in the year.

As for blade colors, two basic colors pretty much make up the majority of blades on the market. Silver and gold are the main colors and there are two general rules of thumb. Use silver on bright sunny days. On cloudy days, or when the sun is not high in the sky, go with gold blades. Gold is good for working in shadows while silver is good when working cover that is exposed to the sun.

Spinnerbaits come with one, two and even three blades. They also come in a variety of sizes like 1/4, 1/2, and 3/8 ounce sizes. Sure you can find smaller and larger sizes, but these are the basics. What size should you have in the tackle box? Well, they will all work, but your best bet is to have the size that will match your gear. Lighter gear will work a lighter bait well while heavier gear would depict that you can throw heavier baits. A1/4 ounce bait is pretty much a good all around size.

Colors of the skirt are also another thing to consider. Many swear by white and/or chartreuse. Some say that you have to have a black skirt in the box as well as some with a combination of colors like white and blue, blue and char-

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treuse, black and white, or even a fire tiger pattern. Not that one is better than another, but just think of this. Certain colors will work better on one body of water over another. Let me explain with an example.

On Lac Vieux Desert in Vilas County in northern Wisconsin, I would fish with a purple bucktailed in line spinner. This bait would catch northern pike, walleyes and musky regularly for me. I tried many different colored bucktailed spinners and none would work. I even tried a different shade of purple, but caught no fish. By switching back to the regular shade of purple, it was fish after fish after fish once again. Ironically, this same bucktailed spinner never did any good at any other lake. So, trial and error will tell you which color skirt will work best on your spinnerbaits on any given body of water.

Spinnerbaits are great for spring time bass. Get an assortment of them in different sizes and colors and start using them on your favorite lake. It’s warming up so let’s have some fun catching fish rolling those spinnerbaits around the trees and other cover.

In your presentation of a spinnerbait, try a slow steady retrieve while working certain depths. Sometimes the fish will react to a different presentation. So now it’s time to try something else. After casting the bait towards the shore, raise and lower the rod tip to make the bait slowly hop down a drop off. Quite often the fish will strike when the rod tip is lowered because that is when the bait will be dropping or free falling.

What I like so much about a spinnerbait is that quite often in clearer water I can see the blade spinning and the skirt shaking. I’ll watch the bait propel it’s way back to the boat, then all of a sudden, it disappears. Asecond after that the bait feels heavy and it’s time to set the hook. I recall one time fishing a windy shore on the Cal River below the O’Brian Locks. I literally connected with 8 bass in one drift about a city block long. I saw every one of the bass hit the lure. What a day that was.

So dig out the spinnerbaits and work them during your whole trip on the water. Once you get the feel of it and connect with a few fish, you’ll be bringing them to the top shelf of the tackle box with all your other favorite lures.

Thanks for reading my articles. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write me at iloutdoors@comcast.net or visit my website at www.illinoisoutdoors.com. You can also send your fishing and hunting reports or photos to Illinois Outdoors, Inc, PO Box 713, New Lenox, IL60451.

Zack Quoss, of Jerseyville, caught this 21 inch, 6.5 lb. bass at Beaver Dam State Park with a little help from his dad, Tim. Way to go Zack! Thanks for sharing your catch with us!