Summer Spinnerbait Tips! (Catch 15x More Bass!)

Hey, guys, Jason Christie here, I'm with BassResource and we're going to break down summertime spinnerbait fishing. You know, the first thought is a lot of guys are, like, "Well, summertime most of the bass are out deep." I'm going to agree with you, a lot of bass are out deep. And there's lakes such as, you know, Kentucky Lake that, you know, there's probably not a lot of dirty water on the shorelines and stuff like that. So, a spinnerbaits not going to be my first choice. But we go to places such as, you know, the Arkansas River, some of these places where, you know, the water's just dirtier, and a lot of times these fish are going to live up shallower throughout the summertime. 

One thing that you need to remember summertime spinnerbait fishing is dirty water. You've got to have dirty water somewhere to consistently catch them day in and day out on a spinnerbait. 

So, the setup that I use in the summertime, 6’10” Falcon Cara, you know, it's just a rod that, I mean, I've thrown that for years. The size, medium-heavy. It just has a great feel. I mean, it has some tip. I can cast it, doesn't get me tired. 

And now in the summertime, I'm gonna speed my reel up just a little bit. In the spring, I'm more of a slow gear. Summertime, I'm gonna bump that up a little bit because I want that bait moving faster. These fish are gonna be more aggressive. So, I'm gonna look at a 6.8, maybe even a 7.5, depending on what your personal preference is. Line, 22-pound shooter. I mean, 22 pound. I'm going down the bank, I'm covering, I'm throwing bushes, rocks, everything in front of me I'm fishing with.

So, one thing that you're going to know in the springtime, I have pretty much unless the water is just turbulent, eliminated the single Colorado of blade. For me, it's too slow. I mean, it's just too slow, period. These fish in the summer, even though the water is dirtier they can still feel the bait. Everything that I throw in the summertime is going to be tandem. Tandem blades. 

Okay, now, one thing when I say tandem, that's two blades. Now, if the water is really, really dirty, I'm gonna go to, you know, Tandem Colorado. This is a Colorado and Indiana, or even a Tandem Willow leaf. And the difference between the two is a willow leaf, you're gonna be able to move the bait a lot faster. A willow leaf doesn't have the drag like a Colorado blade does. So, when you're out there, two choices, Tandem Colorado, Tandem Willow based on water clarity. Just pick and choose which one you think fits the situation.

Colors. One hundred percent shad colors in the summertime. I feel like after the spawn, once those fish come off bed and it moves into summertime, a lot of fish in a lot of the lakes we go to go from crawfish or whatever to shad. I mean, they're moving, they want to eat a lot, and the main forage is a shad. So, whenever you're picking colors, you want some kind of shad color. You know, this is a shad color that I would use for pretty dirty water in the summertime, chartreuse white and blue. You know, chartreuse and white with a chartreuse trailer, great choice as well.

So, in the summertime, one thing to remember spinnerbait fishing is you have two things going on. You're going to get out there and you're going to have the early morning bite where, you know, you're going down the bank and, and they're, they just seem like they're biting. What's gonna happen is that sun's gonna get up and the trick for spinnerbait fishing is these fish are going to get super tight. It's hot, they're hunting shade. They're going to get super tight to something. 

So, you know, imagine this being a stick the summertime, you're going to be able to get away with, you know, I mean, the springtime, you're going to be able to get away with your spinnerbait coming by, you know, missing at 4 or 5 foot. In the summertime, I want that spinnerbait to almost bump that cover because, I know, their nose is right in it hunting the shade. So, always think about that same way with dock fishing. You know, I'm throwing a spinnerbait up there, I'm going to look for the darkest shade that I can find on anything, no matter what the watercolor is. So, remember that, shad colors, tandem blades, dirty water, and, yes, fish live on the bank in the summer.