Spring Spinnerbait Fishing! Everything You Need To Know!

Hey guys, Jason Christie here. I'm with BassResource, and we are going to do a springtime spinnerbait breakdown. Everything you need to know about a spinnerbait, spinnerbait fishing, where I'm going to do it. 

So, first of all, we're just going to go through the setup. I use a 6'10" Falcon Cara, and the reason I use a 6'10" is because a lot of times in the spring, a lot of the lakes are flooded. You're up around the bushes, you're up around boat docks, grass, things like that. I want to be able to roll cast, and I want a rod that's short enough to get away with a lot of that stuff. But also, I want a rod big enough and long enough to fight 5-pound or 6-pound or 7-pounders hopefully. So the rod is pretty important.

And typically, when I'm spinnerbait fishing, it's not a lure that I just pick up and throw. If I'm spinnerbait fishing it's locked in my hand pretty much all day long. So you want something comfortable as well. I use a slower gear ratio reel. This is a Lew’s HyperMag. I like the slower reels just because I want to keep the bait down in the spring. A lot of times when I'm talking about spring, I'm talking about water temperatures from 55 to 65, mainly in that area right there. So I want to keep that bait down in the water column, you know, a foot or so below the surface. You just barely be able to see the blades. 

Ninety-nine percent of the time when I'm throwing a spinnerbait, I'm using a 22-pound Sunline Shooter and a lot of guys go wow that's big that's what I flip with. Well, a lot of a lot of the bites you get spinnerbait fishing in the spring they're close contact. I mean, they're around a bush, they're around a dock pole and the last thing I want to worry about is that fish breaking me off. With the fluorocarbon, I choose fluorocarbon over mono or over braid. Just, I want to feel the blades. A lot of times when you get a bite in the spring, it won't be, you know, he's not going to jerk the rod out of hand. He's just going to cut your line. So my rule of thumb, you know, I'm feeling those blades turn as I'm reeling it. And when that blade quits turning, I'm setting the hook because a lot of times they'll just come up and they'll follow the bait and they'll push it right behind you. So that's pretty much the setup that I use in the spring.

Let's talk about spinnerbaits. So in the spring, typically, a lot of what I'm looking for is dirtier water. You're not going to see me throwing a spinnerbait in 3 to 4 to 5-foot visibility. They used to catch them like that a lot a long time ago. Just times have changed. There's more people fishing. So when I'm out in the spring, I'm hunting dirtier water. 

Whenever you're talking about, we're talking about water temps between, you know, mid-50s to mid-60s. It's usually a single Colorado for me. Dirtier water, I'm looking for a Colorado blade. And it's just, I think, me personally, I think it's that thump, thump, thump, thump. I think it just draws strikes and it draws bigger strikes. This single Colorado, and I've actually tested this, is has a lot of the same feel in the water as a vibrating jig. I mean it's just that you know just a thump thump thump thump thump. So that blade...this spinnerbait right here gets a lot of play. 

As far as colors, you know it's simple just remember this, the clearer the water you know 2 2-foot visibility, I want more of a lifelike-looking spinnerbait. You get into you know 6 inches stuff like that you want something bright. You know, notice the cover there orange head. I want this fish to be able to pick up the spinnerbait now. 

When talking 55 to 65 degree water temperature, you're covering pre-spawn, spawn, and even some post-spawn. Once I really really feel like these fish have spawned, and they're coming off the bed, that's when I go to a tandem blade. And the reason being is I feel like it's more finesse in the water sound-wise. It's not going, it's not as intimidating to them. You know, when those fish first pull up to the bank in the mid-50s, they're fresh. They haven't been fished for, you know, I'm gonna use the Colorado to get their attention, make them bite. You know, 65 degrees, they've been up there a while, they've seen some baits, so it's not as loud in the water. And I feel like you're gonna get a lot more bites going to tandem. And notice, you know, the red kicker, that's a dirty water spinnerbait for me. Chartreuse and blue. That's my favorite, just like today, darker, not a lot of sun, 6-inch visibility, that'd be the spinnerbait that I pick. 

One thing about a spinnerbait: you notice here how many I have. There are... couple of hundred at least in this box right here. Every one of these spinnerbaits in this box will catch fish. But whenever you key the right blade, the right color, the right trailer, for the springtime, it's gonna turn your day from a good day to a great day, or a not-so-good day to a good day. It's gonna improve it. 

As far as trailer, trailer is really a personal preference. I use a YUM Swim'n Dinger. There's one laid right here on the top. I don't like a lot of plastic in the trailer because what it does is it takes away the action of the bait. I like something slim, not a lot of plastic, and just a little kick in the back. 

So, yeah. I think that that covers the springtime. Hope you guys learned something.

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