Introduction
One of the reasons that I have loved fishing for largemouth bass now for over 40 years is their inbreed tendencies to ambush their prey. Or to put it a little closer to home, ambush the particular artificial bait that I might be using at the time. I have always leaned toward running type baits such as crankbaits, jerk baits, buzzbaits and spinnerbaits as my main lures of choice.

Having a bass smash a diving crankbait so hard it almost jerks the rod out of your hand is a feeling that is hard to describe. The only thing that could make it better would be if you could “See” the bass hit, which you don't most of the time unless you are fishing clear water. But on the other hand, there is a versatile bait that can be used not only in deep water, but in mid range and shallow water presentations that will allow you many times to “See” the strike. This, of course would be the safety pin type “spinnerbait”. Over the next several paragraphs I want to share (1) how I choose a spinner bait; (2) the rod and reel combinations that I use; (3) where and how I fish the bait.

How To Choose A Good Spinnerbait
Let’s get this out of the way up front. The “Price Tag” on the spinnerbaits isn’t always an indication of how well the bait is made or how well it will perform under heavy usage. “Cheaper” seldom is “better”. But, the most expensive” isn’t always the answer either. To me there are seven tests that spinnerbaits must pass to make it a good tool. Some of these elements can be determined with the bait still in the package; unfortunately others can only be determined by using the bait. That is why I would suggest not purchasing more than one until you know it is worth an additional purchase. Now for a little Q&A.

1. What kind wire is the bait made of and what is the wire gauge? I’m sure there are those that are saying right now, why is this important? It is very simple. I have found that spinner baits made with wire that is less Than .045 gauge just won’t hold up under rigorous usage. The price on the bait might look attractive when you pay for it at the store, but how good does it look to you when it bends beyond repair after you have used it a time or two and you have to throw it away? The wire in my opinion that holds up the best is stainless steel. I have used spinnerbaits made of everything from small gauge wire cable to titanium. Wire cable was so flexible that it created too much shaft movement it negated the blade action and Titanium spinnerbaits have a tendency to snap because the compound is very brittle when heated as they are at the head and bends. For my $$$$$ stainless is the best choice.
   
   
2. Where is the hook point in relationship to the line tie? This is another test you can do while the bait is still in the package. Again why is this important? Back in the mid 70’s I was burning the roads up between home and the famed Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Louisiana-Texas border when I made friends with a great fisherman from Monroe Louisiana. He introduced me to Louisiana lakes with names such as “Black Bayou,” Lake Bruin,” “Lake Providence,” and more. All these lakes are full of cypress tress and custom made for spinner baits. I watched him “open” the hook up on his spinnerbaits explaining that this was done to get better hook up’s. What he was saying was the absolute truth. But the reason for having to do this was that the line tie was higher than the hook point which meant when my friend set the hook he would actually be jerking the hook downward and out of the bass mouth. This is why it is so important….and believe me, it will make a difference at the lake. The next time you are in a fishing tackle section just take a few minutes to look at the various spinner baits and you will see what I’m talking about.
   
   
3. What brand of hook is used on the bait? Why is this important? Simple! There is nothing worse than having a bait with a hook that won’t penetrate butter. As I said earlier many baits look good at the store. But they loose their looks at the lake when you see a big fish jump and throw the bait because of bad hooks. I would just suggest this rule of thumb. If a spinner bait manufacturer doesn’t list on the package the type of hook used (such as Laser Hooks-Mustad Needle Point and others) I would pass on by. Believe me if they used a premium hook on their bait they would sure want you to know about it! No hook information on the packaging might even indicate cutting corners in other parts of the manufacturing process. Just food for thought.
   
   
4. Is the spinner bait equipped with a good premium silicone skirt? How many times in the past have you bought a spinner bait and put it in you boat storage or tackle box to use on your next trip? Trip day is here... you reach down to get this new bait only to find that the skirt had melted together and is unusable? Now not only do you have an additional expense replacing the skirt-but more annoying is the sticky mess the skirt has made in your tacklebox. I do believe however that there is a slight difference in the way a 100% rubber skirt will perform in cold water verses a silicone skirt. When that time rolls around and it is necessary, I change the shirts out. But it is very rare that I leave a 100% rubber skirt in my boat during hot weather. It may sound like a small thing,but it isn’t when you have to clean up the mess.
   
   
5. What about blades? A test for the lake! Do you buy a spinnerbait with willowleaf Blades, or Colorado Blades, or Indiana Blades? Should the blades be painted, or hammered nickel, or hammered copper, or mirror finished, or metallic finished? Do I need tandem blades or single blades? And the answer is yes! You may need a combination of all of these to effectively fish different water conditions. But no mater what the combination, the blades need to be made of high quality material where they will hold up under heavy usage. The finish on the blades need to last and not discolor or flake off after you have bang it into various structure a few times. And each blade style needs to provide you with maximum vibration and water displacement for their size. At the lake, blade performance can be determined rather quickly. The durability test may take a little longer. To help you understand the difference in blade types look at the attached picture to the left. (1) This is a Colorado blade. This blade will put off more vibration and is the blade that I turn to in heavily stained to muddy water and at night in deep water. I also like to use it in areas where I’m fishing more wood than grass. (2) This blade is called a “Willow Leaf. “ For the water that I fish the most here in Tennessee it is probably the best over all style. It is good in clear and stained water and will put off a fair amount of flash based on it’s finish. I fish a lot of weeds on Old Hickory and the willow leaf tends to come through them much better that other styles. (3) This is a Indiana Blade. It is a mixture of the willow leaf and Colorado blade/ It also will put off a “good vibration” (little Beach Boys there) and a lot of flash based on the blades finish. Size of blade is normally dependent upon how fast I intend to retrieve the bait. The smaller the bade the faster the retrieve. The larger the blade the slower the retrieve.
   
   
6. This test you unfortunately won’t know until you get to the lake. When you “Burn” the spinnerbait just under the surface (I’ll explain this technique later) does the bait come back straight to you or does it roll on one side or the other? So what if it rolls? If it rolls the blades won’t displace the maximum amount of water possible and your percentages of provoking a reaction strike diminishes. Even with .045 gauge stainless steel wire after you have beat and banged the bait into structure over and over again it will sometimes bend to the point where the bait will roll. When this happens, gently straighten the wire with a pair of pliers the problem can normally be corrected. Other reasons that spinner baits roll is that the blade or blades are too large for that size spinnerbait or the wire gauge is to flimsy. In the last two cases you have just bought a bad spinner bait which more than likely will be added to your “I wish I hadn’t bought that bait pile”
   
   
7. Another test you can only perform at the lake. The opposite of “Burning” a spinner bait just under the surface would be “Slow Rolling” (Another technique we will discuss later) the bait in deeper water. It seems that most smallmouth fishermen here in the south love to slow roll big bladed spinner baits in deep water. Most of the time they literally “drag” or “crawl” the bait. But that’s hard to do when you continually have to increase your speed just to get the blades to turn. To me a good spinner bait is one where the blades begin to turn immediately upon retrieve, and you can feel the thump of the blades when you slow it down to a crawl.

Choosing Size And Colors Of Spinnerbaits
I’m going to try my best to keep this fairly simple. One of the most important considerations that needs to be addressed in any lake is the size of the predominate bait fish that the bass are feeding on. If I can I try to match the size as closely as possible. But (and there is always a but) there are other factors that need to be addressed as well. Such as water color, cloud cover density and are you fishing daylight or darkness. If your fishing at night is it the light or the dark of the moon?

Let’s start with size. Do I use a 1/4 ounce, 3/8 ounce, 1/2 ounce, 3/4 ounce or 1 ounce bait? This explanation is going to be very basic. If I’m fishing water that is stained to muddy or if I’m fishing slowly in deeper water at night I will use larger spinnerbaits. 1/2 ounce and up. The reason for this is that larger spinner baits are bulkier and the larger blades will create more vibration which will help a bass locate the bait. If the water is real muddy or if it is pitch black dark, I might even add a big trailer of some sort to add to increase the bulk. If I’m fishing daytime clear water (or) shallower clear water at night with a moon I prefer smaller baits, 3/8 ounce and down because the bass can see them much easier and most of the time without a trailer.

Now what about color? Once again I will try to keep this simple. In clearer water I like to use white-chartreuse & white-off white sliver pepper and a see through silver flaked skirts. If I’m fishing moderately stained water I will almost always opt for chartreuse and white or chartreuse and blue. If it is muddy I like pure bright chartreuse. At night I like combinations of solid black, solid purple, black & blue, black & purple, -lack & red. And at night if the water is clear with a moon and I’m fishing in shallow to moderate depths I even like pure white or pink.

There is no doubt in my mind that other solid colors or color combination work for other fishermen. But these are the sizes and colors that produce for me most consistently.