Spinnerbait
Spinnerbaits attract predatory fish primarily by creating significant amount of turbulence, noise and flashing reflections with the spinning blade.
Spinnerbait blades also functions as individual spoon lures, mimic prey and stimulate other fish senses by creating flashes (sight) and noises (hearing) that can be detected quite far away in clear, calm water conditions.
Each blade applies to different scenarios, making it crucial to properly arm and prepare yourself for multiple weather conditions.
The simplest hook dressings have been hair or feather and add a fluttering tail action that is imparted by blade vibration.
For this reason, some companies have added soft plastic dressings to the hook to change the appearance and action of the bait and these are routinely called trailers.
The weight material on the wire behind the spinning blade and also been made to look like a fish or like traditional minnow type baits such as the Rapala.
Its most prominent feature is a wire frame that is bent roughly 90 degrees and embedded at its base in a bullet-, cone-, or arrowhead-shaped lead body with a single hook behind it.
Slow-rolling a spinnerbait is similar to the presentation of a skirted jig in that the lure remains in contact with the bottom throughout the retrieve.
If fished as a "drop-bait," the main blade helicopters above the weighted body and hook as the bait falls, thus simulating a dying minnow.
Ideally, the bait should run true, meaning the overhead arm and the hook are vertical during the horizontal retrieve.
Spinnerbaits with spinner blades attached on separate in-line frames are relatively free from torque-induced roll-over and, consequently, achieve higher hook-up ratios.
As with in-line spinners, the trailer affects lure profile, action and lift depending on shape and size.
Another advantage of some soft molded trailers—particularly split eel trailers—is that when a fish sucks the lure into its mouth, the trailer tails can catch on the gill rakes.
This prolongs the time it takes the fish to spit out the lure and gives the angler another second to react and set the hook.
Short-arm spinnerbaits are preferred for more vertical presentations, such as flipping bridge pilings or docks, and working down steep structure like bluffs.
This type of spinnerbait falls better (doesn't nose-dive), presents the spinner blades closer to the skirted body and hook, and is more effective than long-arm models when the bait is dragged across the bottom like a jig or slow-rolled.
Typically a Colorado blade is used to slow the fall and create the maximum fluttering flash as the lure descends.
Disadvantages: the short arm guards the hook point less effectively and, therefore, makes the lure more prone to snag vegetation and brush than long-arm frames.
Single, large blades produce more fish-attracting vibration, increase skirt and trailer pulsation, and provide added lift to the bait on the slowest retrieves.
The overhead arm spinnerbait is used for fewer species, but is a great tool for larger sportfish that dominate the food chain.
A small blade is attached by a swivel (the as for overhead arm spinnerbaits), but the wire frame is formed into a spring clip that opens to allow a jighead to be attached by sliding the jig eye into position such that the jig hook runs in the same direction as the overhead blade.
The original jig dressing was called the cricket, a straight, double-tailed soft plastic creature that had little action except that it wagged up and down and side-to-side behind the spinning blade or with variations in retrieve speed.
