Double Colorado
Double Willow
3. Arrangement
While there are bass spinnerbaits available with as many as four blades, single and double mod-
els are the most popular. Bolton throws a lot of tandem setups and says that altering blade style
and size is a good way to custom-tailor a bait to the conditions.
“The thing you always need to remember with any blade combination is that the bigger the
blade you put in front, closest to the head, the more vibration you will take away from the blade
on the swivel,” he says. “However, what you give up in vibration you will gain in flash and lift.”
For example, Bolton says he can essentially throw a bulky 1-ounce spinnerbait where he’d
normally use a 1/2-ouncer by placing a big No. 7 Colorado blade on the swivel and a No. 4 or No.
5 Colorado in front.
“You’ll give up some vibration doing that, but you’ll gain a tremendous amount of flash and lift
that will enable you to fish it effectively in shallow water that’s off-color or cold while producing a
really big target at the same time.”
Just the opposite can be accomplished by going with a small-blade combination.
“If I’m fishing in clear water and I want to fish a spinnerbait faster and deeper, I may downsize
my blades to something like a No. 2 willow in front of a No. 4 1/2 willow,” he adds. “That will take
away some of the lift and allow me to fish the bait faster.”
Metallic
Painted
4. Color
Nickel and copper blades rule, but Bolton says colored blades
have a place. Chartreuse is popular on northern smallmouth fish-
eries, while red can be effective in extremely dirty water.
“Another situation where I’ve had good success with colored
blades is on cloudy, rainy days when fishing around grass,”
Bolton says. “White willow-leaf blades can be a killer in that situa-
tion, especially during the fall.”
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