What search bait do you reach for when you open your tackle box? My top choice has been a spinnerbait for shallow water, and in the last ten years, I have also added a bladed jig into that mix. I don't think many would disagree. Both baits allow you to cover water, and we know that these baits can flat-out catch bass. But what do you do when you get into deeper water situations? Are these still your go-to baits? For me, the answer is still yes, but I'll also add that there must be some changes to that mix to make it work.
Let’s break down spinnerbaits and bladed jigs and go through a few modifications to get more out of these baits all season long.
Let me set this up for you. One day, I dropped my boat in the water, and I was looking for a few bites around the landing.So I picked up a spinnerbait and started to cover water. By the time I reached the first deep-water point around the corner, I had put three bass in the boat. I was thinking not a bad start.
Before reaching the point, I grabbed my jig rod with a 3/8oz jig tied on; I searched and put a craw trailer onto the jig and fired a few casts to cover the point. In about 15 minutes, I put three more bass in the boat from the point with my jig. Before I left, I grabbed my spinnerbait rod again and fired some casts across the point. I let the bait go all the way to the bottom before I started to crawl it back to the boat. Before I left, I put four more bass over the side of the boat, and then I continued down the weedline with my jig.
My first thought was, what is going on here? This was not the first time I caught bass with a spinnerbait in deep water, but it was the first time I used it as a follow-up bait in a situation like this, so I wanted to take a closer look at this.
I still don't know what caused me to try this, but at this point, I was happy that I took that chance and got the results that I did. It started the wheels turning and got me thinking. Was there something to this bladed bait follow-up tactic?
Get Armed With The Right Baits
To pull this tactic off with spinnerbaits and bladed jigs, you will have to arm yourself with the right baits to work in the different conditions you're facing. In both lure categories, I use baits in the 1/2oz to 1oz range. With baits that get down to the depths, you're fishing and staying in the strike zone. If you can't keep your lure in the bite zone, you will only generate minimal results for all your efforts.
Spinnerbaits Makeup
Many companies make spinnerbaits in the 1/2oz to 1oz range. Make sure that you have both single-spin and tandem-bladed baits in these sizes. I keep my baits as generic as possible to start, and carry Colorado, Indiana, and willow blades in assorted colors and sizes to adjust blade makeup to match the situations and conditions in which I'm fishing.
Blade Breakdown
Colorado blades give off the most vibration and have the most lift of all three blade choices. If you're fishing in stained to dirty water trying to get the bass to come out of the cover, a Colorado blade will be your blade of choice. These blades have the best calling power making it easy for the bass to find your bait in tough conditions. This is the blade of choice when covering water depths of 2ft to 8ft.
Indiana blades are the in-between of the Colorado and willow blades. Indiana blades are teardrop-shaped and don't put off as much sound as a Colorado blade or have as much lift. You can keep Indiana-bladed baits deeper in the water column and have some calling power simultaneously. When you need to keep your bait down in that 8ft to 12ft range, these are the blade of choice.
Willow blades give off little sound compared to Colorado and Indiana blades, but they excel at giving off the flash, making them the top choice when fishing in clear water conditions. Willows also have a minimal lift, making them the blades of choice when probing deeper water situations. These are the blades of choice for deep-water spinnerbaits in the depth range of 12ft and deeper.
Bladed Jigs Breakdown
Taking a closer look at bladed jigs, you can find 3/8oz and 1/2oz baits, but when you get to 3/4oz and 1oz baits, selections are scarce. I make all the bladed jigs I fish because I have more options for baits that I can't buy. I can also make bait sizes that I could not find or pay a premium to get.
I get all my parts from Lure Parts Online to make my baits ranging from 1/4oz to 1oz. Just like spinnerbaits, I have all sizes covered for my bladed jig needs.
Dressing Your Baits
When dressing your baits, pay attention to your blade choices and colors. Are you trying to keep your baits over cover, or are you trying to keep your baits on the bottom? Match your blade choices to what you're trying to do with your baits.
When it comes to skirts, pick colors to match forage that you're trying to imitate when fishing in clear water conditions. If fishing in stained or dirty water conditions, pick colors that will get noticed and help the bass find your bait.
Pay special attention to your trailers. If you're trying to keep your bait at a certain depth, a creature bait is excellent. A creature bait has a wide body and will help keep your bait above the cover that you are targeting.
If you're fishing the bottom, I go with a split tail or a grub in a bright color to get noticed. I'm looking for a trailer that won't give my bait any lift to pull it up off the bottom, but I still want to add a noticeable color to the mix.
If you're looking for something new, I have played with a creature bait that I rig on its side (please see attached picture). By rigging the creature bait sideways, the flapping craws act like a bluegill’s tail as it moves back and forth. You can also put a Strike King Menace Grub in this place and another trailer.
To help sell the craws a little more when imitating bluegill, I'll add a little chartreuse dye to the tips of the claws. Not only am I imitating a bluegill tail with the color I'm also adding scent at the same time.
If you're looking to add more action to your baits, a swimbait is the best choice for a trailer to accomplish adding more action and movement to your bait.
Rod & Reel Setup
Over the years, I have honed this tactic. I use a 7’11” MH crankbait rod that I team with a Lew’s BB-1 baitcaster reel with a 5.1:1 gear ratio spooled with 16lb Sunline Sniper FC. The extra rod length gives me added casting distance and allows me to pick up the line faster when setting the hook.
When fishing these baits over weeds as a follow-up, you already have an idea how deep the weeds are, so pick the appropriate size bait for these conditions and the depth of the cover. In this case, I'll use either a bait with Colorado or Indiana blades. Make your cast and count your bait down as it falls. When it reaches the depth above the weeds, get your bait started. Your goal is to tic the top of the weed cover and keep your bait moving as slow as you can, but not so slow that it gets fouled. If the bait starts to foul, give the rod a pull to shed the weeds and get your bait moving again. This one-two punch gives the bass a few different looks, so use this to your benefit. Same when picking and using a bladed jig in these situations.
When working hard bottom areas, tactics are the same with a few minor changes. Make your cast and let your bait get down to the bottom. Reel down and get your bait moving. Your goal is to keep your bait on the bottom, not up swimming free. You should feel the rocks as your bait works its way back to the boat. If you're not feeling rocks stop, and let the bait get back down to the bottom again. If it continues that you can't keep bottom contact, make a bait adjustment. You will generate more strikes with your bait on the bottom than you will if it's up off the bottom.
Use this blade follow-up tactic to your advantage because I can guarantee the fish your waters are not used to seeing it. Yes, in the shallow water, bass see a barrage of spinnerbaits and bladed jigs, but not in deeper water conditions. This tactic will work if given a chance in your waters.
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