Hammered
Smooth
Blades
1. Texture
Blades are either hammered (stamped or dimpled) or smooth.
“As a rule, smooth blades are the best choice for deep-water
applications because they have less resistance,” Bolton says.
“Less resistance makes it easier to fish the bait deeper and keep
it there.”
Bolton likes hammered blades for shallow applications, partic-
ularly when the water is dirty or stained. The hammered texture
produces extra flash, and the added resistance makes it easier to
fish the bait shallow at slower speeds.
Colorado
Willow Leaf
40
Indiana
2. Style
Willow leaf: The willow-leaf blade does-
n’t produce as much vibration as other
blade styles, but produces a tremendous
amount of flash and comes through brush
and aquatic vegetation with ease. Bolton
says willow-leaf blades are well-suited for a
number of different situations in shallow
water or deep. He likes them mostly in
clear or slightly stained water that is rela-
tively warm – 55 degrees and up. The wil-
low leaf is his bread-and-butter blade
when fishing deep ledges or grass beyond
10 feet deep.
Colorado: The round Colorado blade
produces a significant amount of vibration
or “thump,” which allows an angler to
retrieve the bait at a relatively slow pace
and keep it in the strike zone. The extra
vibration can be a big plus when dingy
water hampers a bass’ ability to see, but
Bolton also likes it in cold water. The
Colorado is the traditional choice for night-
fishing and is Bolton’s choice for slow-
rolling mid-range depths around riprap,
rock points or bluffs.
Indiana: The teardrop-shaped Indiana
doesn’t displace quite as much vibration as
the Colorado and produces a little less
flash than a willow leaf. This is Bolton’s
favorite blade for stained and off-color
shallow water. “It gives you the best of both
worlds, plus you can fish it a little deeper,
say 10 feet, at faster speeds with a larger
head size if you need to,” he says.
FLWFISHING.COM I APRIL 2017