"DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES"

I like to use the spinnerbait as a search tool, and kind of a depth finder, and bottom contour device also. What I do is check out the structure of the lake by bumping objects, and increasing my chance for a reaction strike right then. The spinnerbait will make a different sound bumping off different things such as, stumps, rocks, sand, pea gravel, etc. I vary the speed a lot, and even shake the rod if necessary, trying to give the bass a different look, which is important in highly pressured waters. I work buzzbaits in a different manner also, which I believe is what accounts for some real Lunkers that I might have missed.  When fishing the bait in heavy cover such as pads, I employ a technique that I now know that it is called fluttering by some anglers. Basically what you do is to cast the spinnerbait out into the pads, and by moving your rod tip, and other parts of your body positioning, you maneuver the bait through the pads, and when it comes to an opening, stop it, and let it flutter down. Many strikes comes as a lure sinks, be it a spinnerbait or soft plastic, or a jig. You should make a lot of casts to the areas where you  believe the bass are, or see them, as they can be irritated into striking, after the bait is presented in enough variations and positions. Slow rolling can be extremely effective in deep water as it designed to imitate a a crawfish on the bottom, or another type of bass forage. The trick to it is rolling it down the side of a sloping bank, a rock bar, a hump, or any underwater structure, and then slowly pump it back to the boat. We employ the almost identical technique with a lipless crankbait also with great success. There are also better types of spinnerbaits for different types of cover. C shaped baits tend to work better than heavy pads and grass, but a V shaped bait gets hung up more easily.

Riprap is another good area to slow roll spinnerbaits over the rocks and debris mixed in, many large bass are waiting in ambush for prey to come along, and a re primes areas to slow-roll spinnerbaits. The spinnerbaits should be slowrolled over the rocks and such, and extra action imparted to the bait is not really necessary. It should crawl over the bottom, and sometimes I give it a little twitch. All you have to do is raise the rod a slight bit, lightly shake it, and then continue slowrolling it back to the bait.

"DEEP METHODS"

When the bass are really deep I employ a technique I call deep pulling; its like a yo-yo method but a little different. I let the bait flutter all the way down, and then let it sit, then I pull it hard and way up near the surface and do it again. I use real heavy baits with Colorado blades for this, usually in a chartreuse, or a chartreuse and white skirt when I fish in places that have dying shad in the winter, but anywhere else, I always use black, or black/purple combinations. I always add a little Megastrike attractant on all the baits. 

"TACKLE"

I always like to use a six to six and one half foot rod for this but sometimes I use a seven foot rod, for different occasions. Many time situations come up when a seven foot rod suits the situation better that a six or six and one half foot rod for distance and control. Most of my rods I use for this technique are in a medium heavy action. I really like a Fiberglass rod for these baits, but there are many new rods that are very good for spinnerbaits and crankbaits, made by G.Loomis, St.Croix, and Bass Pro Shops. Sometimes on the smaller baits I use a spinning rod with Spiderline, but the rest of the time I use a baitcast rod with a Shimano Chronarch, with fourteen to twenty pound line.

WHAT COLORS FOR WHAT BAIT

 When I choose a color for a spinnerbait, a lot of factors come in to play. The first thing I do is pick a Shad pattern or whatever is the dominate and new dominate species in the lake. I usually double up the skirts, to give them more bulk. I usually use Blue and White, Black and white, and chartreuse and white. Sometimes I use red also, depending on the location I'm in. All of these colors give a good range of visibility under water.

In muddy water, I have always used the same colors, Black and Blue and Red, the same goes for the nighttime. I like to use the forage in the lake if I can,such as rainbow trout, shad, whatever, and to make it appeared injured to trigger that genetic response.

I like to use BIG spinnerbaits in the spring, when I'm in big fish waters, some right here in Delaware, Maryland, Florida, Arizona, Texas, and Mexico. When fishing strictly for big bass with spinnerbaits I add on a double or triple skirt for bulk and lift, and use really big blades. Terminator makes some big blades that I really like on our spinnerbaits. This year here in Delaware, we landed 3 bass in one day on big spinnerbaits, that went seven and eight pounds. Some times we even break off the tails of worms for trailers, but many a time in the spring, I have caught some huge bass from ten inches of muddy water with a big spinnerbait with a trailer. We have had a great response from bass in the Delaware, Maryland, New jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania areas. using a double Golden Shiner skirt. The bluegill, and Shad patterns top the list overall though. Sometimes, reversing the skirts on the baits presents a different profile, and also will also trigger hard to get strikes. The spinnerbait isn't just a bait for beginners, although it is a great bait to break in a novice or child to the sport of bass fishing. But in the hands of an expert, it is a versatile all year round bait, that can catch "HUGE" bass.