Burn that blade. Cover more water. Here’s how the spinnerbait master fishes. Spinnerbait fishing tips by Kevin VanDam: The fishes #spinnerbait locate the fish, cover a lot of water, use a reactionary bait, and keep that trolling motor moving.
Keep covering water! Spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, and power fishing, and KVD shows you how it’s done! Make more casts to increase your efficiency and odds.
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Bass tend to group in small stretches on shallow bars. To maximize your chances, move quickly to promising locations. When you see fish busting on the surface, it’s time to act fast.
Many anglers favor swimbaits or bladed swim jigs, but a spinnerbait remains one of the most effective tools. It covers more water and helps locate aggressive fish. However, fishing it correctly requires more than just casting and reeling it back quickly.
Choosing the Right Spinnerbait
To fish a spinnerbait effectively, you need one designed for a faster retrieve. The Strike King Scorcher is a great option. This particular model features:
- A Blue Shad color, ideal for clear water conditions.
- Two narrower razor blades that displace less water, allowing for a faster retrieve.
- A balanced head design that keeps the bait upright, preventing tilting.
- A sturdier wire frame, built to handle high-speed reeling.
How to Trigger More Bites
Simply retrieving the bait at high speed will catch fish, but making it more erratic will trigger even more strikes. Changing your retrieve speed, speeding up, slowing down, or briefly stopping can make bass react aggressively.
Best Conditions for a Spinnerbait
On Kentucky Lake in the fall, bass are heavily focused on shad. While top water lures and swimbaits work, spinnerbaits are ideal for covering large grass lines effectively.
By using polarized glasses, you can spot grass clumps and time your retrieve to make the lure pass just as the fish are ready to strike.
Keeping the Bait in the Strike Zone
A key aspect of spinnerbait fishing is ensuring bass see the lure without getting too good a look at it. Keeping it high in the water column, where waves and motion distort its outline, makes it more enticing.
To trigger reaction strikes:
- Reel it fast near grass clumps.
- Make the blades flare by speeding up your retrieve.
- Let it flutter briefly after burning it near the surface.
Using the Right Weight for Depth
- Shallow Water (1-2 ft): Use a ½-ounce spinnerbait to keep it moving just below the surface.
- Slightly Deeper Water: Upgrade to a ¾-ounce spinnerbait with larger blades to maintain speed while keeping it just under the water.
The key is keeping the bait above the fish’s line of sight, not dragging it along the bottom. Spinnerbaits are most effective when worked erratically, forcing neutral fish to react.
Spinnerbait fishing tips: Final Thoughts
Fishing a spinnerbait isn’t just about casting and reeling, it’s about control, speed variation, and strategic placement. Mastering these techniques will help you catch bigger bass consistently.