more fall events. In fact, before the rise
of FLW, B.A.S.S. officially started its
tournament season in October or
November, when the shad migration
into the upper end of tributaries was
peaking. A spinnerbait was a fall staple
on the decks of pros back in those
years. These days, tournaments have
become so spring-centric, and the
bladed jig has certainly proven its effec-
tiveness over spinnerbaits when it
comes to that prespawn reaction bite,
especially in vegetation.
A spinnerbait is an awesome muddy
water bait. However, it seems we have
less muddy water in reservoirs these
days. I’m not complaining. Clean water
is good. It’s just that those big thump-
ing blades can be a little much in 2 to 3
feet of visibility.
Finally, a lot of those shallow spin-
nerbait targets such as laydowns,
stumps and standing timber have
either rotted away or silted in on aging
reservoirs across the country, leaving
fewer targets to throw the old spinner
bug next to.
So is the spinnerbait completely
dead?
Oh, no. Not entirely. There are still
several windows where a good old-
fashioned spinnerbait still shines. One
such time, as I mentioned, is in the fall.
The Lake Norris Invitational saw a
smattering of spinnerbait use in the
top 10. I still contend that if there were
more fall tournaments, there would be
more spinnerbaits flung.
The other scenario is cold, muddy
water – plowed-field muddy. We don’t
seem to get that combination much in
tournaments anymore, but when it hap-
pens, some big blades will come out.
Also, big wind on the big lakes – as
in the Great Lakes – is a great window
for ripping blades for smallmouths.
Finally, the spinnerbait is still irre-
placeable during the shad spawn in late
spring/early summer in the Southeast,
especially in a lake that has grass. I was
reminded of this during the FLW Tour’s
visit to Pickwick Lake in May 2016, when
roughly half of the top 10 used spinner-
baits to cash some dandy checks, and a
shad spawn pattern was in play.
And as for my battalion of blades, well,
I have found a very good use for them.
Thankfully, bruiser redfish in Florida’s
inshore waters go after spinnerbaits with
gusto. As the fluttering blades wake over
the top of eelgrass on high tide, they dis-
appear into a coppery boil so big it would
impress even Hank and Jimmy.
February-MarCH 2017 I FLWFISHING.COM
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