Conference wahoo::fishing

>>    I'd like a discussion on why the pro's like Jimmy Houston or Roland
>>    Martin use almost exclusively Spinner baits and never lures like
>>    Rapalas?  

Because they both sell spinnerbaits with their names on them!  

And just because they're fishing them all the time on their repsective shows, 
I'd bet my boat they do not use them anywhere near as much in tournaments.
  
You *will* find Roland "pitching" Rapalas because he is one of Rapalas 
advisors (salesman).  I don't think Roland is as bad as Houston though,
Houston's show is one big commercial.  Roland isn't quite as bad. 
Bill Dance is pretty bad in this respect as well.

As fas what's better; a spinnerbait or a minnow type bait. I think the
spinnerbait is better more versatile - meaning the spinnerbait will 
be more productive under more circumstances - but they both have there 
time and place.

Geez, where's the expert - Keith "Spinnerbait" Dilsworth???

    donmac

Before I learned to fish worms and grubs, almost 90% of my bass fishing was 
with Rapalas.  As I recall, it was a very effective bait, especially when 
fished erratically (ie. twitch and retrieve).

I think one of the biggest reasons why so many of the pros advocate
spinnerbaits is because they cover a lot of water.  Once they've located
bass, they generally use a slower-moving bait (like worms) to work the area
more thoroughly.  A Rapala could also be used under the proper conditions.  
Just cast it out next to a log, pads, brush, or whatever, let the ripples 
disappear, then twitch it (twitch...sit...twitch...sit...BAM!).

Although I've used spinnerbaits and have caught fish, I can't say that I've 
developed a lot of confidence in them yet.  I KNOW they catch fish ... I 
just need to use them more often.  The funny thing is, I've probably got at 
least 15-20 of them in my tackle box!

-HSJ-

    re to .1
    
    you mention you catch lots of trout on rapals crawdads 
    
    can you expand that more    how, where, when etc.
    
    
    ED

    The spinnerbait is more vertically versatile.  You can let it sink
    and jig it or blaze it across the top or count it down and retrieve
    it through the mid-depths.  It does cover a lot of water fast so
    it makes a good scouting lure.  With a single hook and especially
    with a pork or plastic trailer, it is weedless.  Because you keep
    it moving, I think hookups are easier.
    
    Am I prejudiced?
        
    -SSS-_although_none_of_the_S's_stand_for_spinnerbait
    
    

    
    spinnerbaits catch fish, its that simple!!!! when the bass are on,
    anything will usually catch them, but when you are using a spinnerbait
    and they are on LOOK OUT. just my .02$ worth
    
    also they are extremely weedless
    mark 

    Ed
    
    I use the Rebel 2 3/4" 1/4 oz natural brown crawfish for bass fishing.
    In early spring when I fish Watchusetts I have nailed a couple of nice
    Rainbow's in the coves while fishing for Bass.  This happend on the
    Watchusetts early in spring when the water was cold and the trout in
    shallow.
    
    I have caught trout in the rivers of NH and last week went with my
    brother up to a small Private lake up in NH and caught a 1.5 lb Rainbow and
    1.5 lb Brown. 
    
    I found that most Bass and trout eat a heavy diet of crawfish, which
    can be found in almost any lake or stream around here.
    
    The thing I found works best with Bass and Trout is a slow retrieve.
    I caught a 5 lb Smallmouth while retrieving almost a crawl.
    
    BACK To SPINNERBAITS
    
    As far as the spinnerbaits go, what works best fast or slow retrieves?
    I have yet to catch something on buzzbaits is there a secret to these?
    What about skirts and colors do you spinnerbait fans recommend white, 
    chartruse, black?  single spoons, double spoons, laser spoons? erratic
    retrievals, jig techniques, I am all ears.
    
    Thanks
    
    Brian

    Favorite spinnerbaits include the Blue Fox Roland Martin Big Bass
    model with dual blades as well as the Big Crappie miniature which
    I use with spinning gear.  At night, I like two blades and a black
    skirt.  I'll use white >75% of the time up until 1/2 hour after
    sunset (I almost never fish before 8 am).
    
    I vary my retrieve speed with conditions (temp, depth, season).
    
    -SSS-

    	I fall into the same boat as Joe on this one. I have spinnerbaits
    and have caught fish with them but my confidence in them just isn't
    there yet. 
    
    	They do seem to lend themselves well to tourny fishing as you
    can cover a lot of water quickly and pick up the aggressive feeders
    quickly. It appears that a popular opinion in tourny fishing is
    that you want to fish as much water (1st hand) as possible before
    going over an area someone has already worked. The thought being that 
    the aggressive easy pickin's fish will already be gone if someone has 
    already been though an area. This is not to say that you can't pick up 
    fish where someone has just fished. 
    
    	Pawtuckaway Lake during the NH state open is a good example of
    this. You'll see quite a few people hustling through area's as quick 
    as possible with spinnerbaits. These seem to most often be the same
    people that like to motor up in front of you to work the area your
    heading in before you get there. Fortunately, these are not always the
    same people in the money at the end of the day. 
    
    	As someone else had said, spinnerbaits are also fairly weedless so 
    they become a little more versatile than other lures for the above purpose.
    They also have (usually) good weight for use on windy days. Other than 
    that, they only see very occasional use from my tackle box.
    
    	RAYJ

    Ah, Spinner Baits.  I think I have 2 or 3 dozen at least.  I can never
    pass up a good looking Spinner Bait.  I like my spinner baits because I
    can use them in almost any situation.

    In weeds, you can use a light tandom blade across and through the weeds.

    For deeper work, you can use a larger single or willow leaf at a
    reasonable speed.

    After a front, a small single worked slowly will get down and get
    strikes.

    They are a must for the stumps.   Bring em along a log and let em drop
    at the end.  Bounce em across a sunken log or whatever.

    You can buzem, dropem, slow rollem and anthing else you want to try.

    The only thing they wont do is a deep high speed retrieve.  That's why I
    own a � dozen Bomber 6As in FireTiger and Shad.

    keith

  A more diffcult question to answer is "What ISN"T great about Spinnerbaits?"

	o CATCHES FISH

	o WEEDLESS (especially out of trees, brush, and stickups)
	o INEXPENSIVE (not worried about losing one, or three)
	o VERSATILE   (swim it, buzz it, hop it, with or without trailers. You
			can't fish it wrong.)
	o MODIFYABLE (different color skirts, different color/size blades)
	o NOISY (a big blade will almost vibrate the rod out of your hand
			 on a slow retrieve)
	o INDESTRUCTABLE (well almost)
	o COVERS A LOT OF WATER QUICKLY

  Without a doubt if I could only take ONE bait to fish with for black bass it
would be a 1/4 oz single spin with nickel blade and a white living rubber
skirt.  Because they are relatively inexpensive and almost indestructable, you
can throw them into thickest cover you can get near without worrying about
losing or breaking your $5 lure. 

Al

    
    
    	Just to show my versatility...in lure selection...:-)...when I
    	tire of throwing the 'ol namesake...I will use a spinnerbait and
    	retrieve it fast and just below the surface.  I found that in
    	the mudhole we fish....this can be a magnet for smallmouths.
    	Chartreause with tandem blades seemed to be the right combination
    	for the times I used them.
    
    	Gitzit'
    
    

    
    
    I used to fish the mighty SPINNER BAIT exclusively.  Now that I know 
    about and have bought all kinds of other bait, I've found that I'm not
    nearly as productive a catcher as I used to be......HMNMMMMM!
    
    TBDW

    
    
    		Well I'd have to say they are the most versatile lure
    in all of my various tackle boxes.  I've caught a number of Browns
    and Rainbows on the Super Rooster Tail made by Yakima Bait Co. 
    Also the Walleyes in our rivers like a smallish s.bait slowly retrieved
    along the bottom.  They are pretty snagless so you don't lose a
    lot of them to the bottom like crankbaits.  If the fishing is a
    little tough on certain days we do alright with the little Bomber
    Mini-Whacker.  
    	All in all if you aren't catching many fish on these deadly
    lures, it's probably because you aren't fishing them often enough
    or long enough.  No lure will catch many fish if you aren't soaking
    it enough.  Check some back issues of Bassmaster to see just how
    many big tourneys have been won by dudes who know how to fish
    spinnerbaits properly.
    	Another thing I like about 'em is that fish are usually hooked
    in the upper lip area, which makes it a lot easier to release your
    catch without a pile of damage like you get with most treble hooked
    lures.
    
    
    	Long live blade baits!!
    
    ::Larry::
    

    Several years ago when I was still bass fishing I had the fortunate
    luck of watching a much younger and somewhat less commercial Jimmy
    Houston fish a BASS tournament in Virginia.  While he did throw other
    lures during the tournament, his primary choice was the spinnerbait.
    
    At the end of the three day affair I had the opportunity to talk with
    him as to why he favored this type of lure.  He put things into
    perspective by sharing his tournament strategy and that strategy is to
    accumulate the most poundage over the three day period.  Seems pretty
    straight forward and not difficult to understand.  He went on to say
    that he felt that more large bass are caught on worms than just about
    any other lure around, which is fine if your fishing for fun.  When
    your fishing for money he feels that his overall chances of winning are
    better with a limit of two pound fish each day than with a few big
    bass.  In other words he is simply playing the percentages.
    
    His style is to fish close to cover and get in as many casts per day as
    he can.  To watch him fish shows many short underhanded casts during
    the fishing hours.  He says that big fish also hit a spinnerbait but
    his large tournament fish come when he sees them swirl at a
    spinnerbait.  At that point he picks up a rod rigged with a worm and
    throws back to the same spot.  Also the versatility of the spinnerbait
    plays an important part in fishing cover that is not uniform or has
    different depths of water around it.  He also said one thing that is
    probably as important as all the other reasons. He said he has
    tremendous confidence in the spinnerbait and feels that every time he
    tosses one he's going to catch a fish.
    
    In trying out his theory in club tournaments and other events of less
    stature I found it to be very successful.  I went to using the short
    underhanded toss and even went so far as to buy all lefthanded reels so
    I wouldn't have to waste the time of switching the rod from my right
    hand to left hand after each cast. It feels awkward at first but in
    about 2 hours you can comfortably make the change.  If you have any
    doubts try the method next time your out. You might surprise yourself.
             

    Thanks guys
    
    Based on all this talk about the value of spinnerbaits I am definitely
    going to increase my selection.  I guess the long an short is, I tended to
    try these types of lures for a short time only.  I usually just cast
    them out and reel them straight back in.  Based on many of the comments
    I should go longer and try fishing from top to bottom until I hit the
    combo that brings them in.    I like the concept of baiting up the
    second rod with a worm for the rises that don't hit.  I have seen that
    many times especially with the big ones, they seem to chase the spinner
    once and then ignore it.
    
    I'll let you guys now how the new spinnerbait strategy works next
    spring in fact if it wasn't supposed to snow flurry tommorrow I'd give
    it a try then.
    
    Brian
                                

    Brian, I'm sure it'll pay off for you.  The spinnerbait is most
    effective around structure, wood and reed type vegetation especially.  
    Try and give the bait a soft presentation right in the strike zone.  
    You'll often get hits right on the fall.
    
    I took 1st overall in my club this year and probably a third of the
    bass I weighed in were caught on spinnerbaits.
    
    tight lines, donmac

    Donmac
    
    What is a soft presentation in the strike zone?  It's my ignorance
    showing through but I am not sure what that means.
    
    Thanks
    
    Brian

>>    What is a soft presentation in the strike zone? 

I think what Don is referring to is that when you cast to a weed pocket, 
log, stump or any structure, let the spinnerbait "flutter" or drop slowly 
down to the bottom.  Often times a bass will hit it on the drop.  The 
slow-rolling technique uses the same principle but allows you to fish much 
deeper.  BTW, Colorado blades will "propeller" down much better than 
willowleaf blades.  Also make sure that you watch your line closely.  As 
with any bait that's allowed to free-fall on a slack line, hits are 
sometimes difficult to detect.  Be sure to set the hook the moment you 
notice the slightest movement (i.e. tap...tap) in your line.

How'd I do, Keith?  I say the right things??

Actually, knowing the right technique is one thing...using it is another.  
As I mentioned earlier, I have yet to develop a high degree of confidence in 
spinnerbaits, although I do use buzzbaits a lot and have done real well.  
Afterall, a buzzbait isn't much more than a topwater spinnerbait, right?

This year I concentrated on learning how to fish grubs and jigs ... and with 
great success!  Next year I'll work with spinner and crank baits.

-HSJ-

(aarrrrrgggghhhhh!  The boat gets winterized this weekend!)

    
    	Just one last $0.02er....place a plastic grub onto the hook.  Gives
    	the spinnerbait a little more "exiting" look.
    
    	Gitzit'
    
    

    >>Donmac
    >>What is a soft presentation in the strike zone?  It's my ignorance
    >>showing through but I am not sure what that means.
    
    Brian,  sorry it took ao long to respond, I've been out of the office
    for the better part of a week and a half.  Anyway, by a "soft
    presentation" I was suggesting to let the bait fall gently into the
    water as opposed to a lunar module splash down 8^).  With a baitcaster
    this can be done by thumbing the spool as the bait approaches the
    water.  Additionally you can lift your rod tip to remove excess slack
    in the line. 
    
    The softer the presentation the less likely that you will spook fish.
    
    By "stike zone" I was referring to the location where you think you
    will most likely get a strike.  
    
    For example if you think there may be a bass holding on stump, cast 
    directly to the stump, landing the bait gently and let it flutter down 
    to bottom (as Joe mentioned).
    
    donmac - who has lots of confidence in spinnerbaits!

    re. "strike zone"...
    
    Don, why not cast past the stump,with a soft presentation,retrive to the
    stump slightly excelarated,then let it helicopter down. The bass  --
    may be on the back side of the stump,and with a retrive,then a flutter
    might make it (the bait) more desirable...Plus by not casting directly
    on the basses cover,soft,or lunar splash down,this takes away any
    chances of spooking the fish.
    
    This is just an added thought,not saying your way would be right,or
    wrong.... 

I agree....cast past the structure.  Casting to it with anything short of a 
worm or jig flipped gently would probably send a bass for cover.

BTW...while driving in to work this A.M., I saw a die-hard fisherman on the 
Merrimack in Hooksett!  Damn cold....but I was still jealous!

Happy Bird Day to all.

-HSJ-

    Both will do.  I'll often cast far and retrieve tight to cover, but 
    I'll also often go directly to the structure - especially the thick stuff 
    - brush, downed trees, etc. - casting right into it and try to not worry 
    about getting hung up.  
    
    donmac 

	Don Mac I believe the reason both ways work is the already mentioned 
vesatility of the spinnerbait. I just started fishing with them and haven't had 
much success till the end of this year. They worked real well right before the big
Fall cold fronts moved in. I think the Bass were more agressive this time of year.
	Anyhow I feel a Bass strikes a spinnerbait purely on reaction. It's their
instinct to hit anything that messes with their turf. So if you happen to get the 
soft presentation right on him or darn close,he'll nail it before it hits bottom.
Then if he's hiding in tight,you can cast by the structure,if your position and the
geography permit it,and reel right up along and hit the structure,the Bass will nail
it again out of reaction . 
	One thing I've found is I usally get a strike within the first few cast on a 
spinner bait. This leads me to believe that postioning and presentation is critical,
because if the fish has time to look at a spinnerbait a couple of times before it gets
to his strike zone,he won't touch it. So when you get to a new spot I feel those first
few cast are the most productive and probably more in the same area are a waste of time.
Other baits like rubber worms,crankbaits,Gitzits,ect,ect,try to imitate something a Bass 
is custom to seeing so he'll take more than one look.
	But again I'm sure someone else out their has had good luck with Spinnerbaits doing
entirly the opposite of what I've mentioned. That's wht makes fishing some much fun and makes
me glad the fish can't read to know how we think they should react.

    An interesting note, I watched Jimmy Houston the other day and as
    always he was using a spinnerbait.  This time however, a large bass
    rose hit the side of it and swam off.  Houston reached down grabbed his
    Shimano Beastmaster and threw a rubber worm after the bass and
    proceeded to land a nice size large mouth.
    
    It just proved someones earlier point to start with Spinners but keep
    another rod loaded with the good old rubber worm
    
    Brian

    Can anyone give me a good rundown on blade types.
    
    I can see there are round ones, willow leafs, smooth , glittery, lazer
    cuts, big and small.  I assume they are for different water conditions.
    do tandem blades work better or singles.
    
    The Bassassin
    

    re. -.1
    Brian,
    	I'll try to give a run-down on types and uses.  HOWEVER (DISCLAIMER
    FOLLOWS) :-)  DON'T repeat me or I will DENY EVERYTHING.  In fact, I
    often stand on a fifth.  (Vodka, Jim Beam, . . . .)  Kidding aside:
    
    Type 	Use/action
    Blade	water type
    ========================================================================
    Colorado	Round Blade with cupped center.  Able to keep lures up in
    		the water easier due to lift of blade.  LARGE VIBRATIONS.
    		used in dirty/stained water.  Comes through reeds and grass
    		well.
    
    Tenessee	Cross between a Colorado and a Willow leaf.  It is more
    or 		elongated than a Colorado and more round than a Willow
    Indiana 	Leaf.  Less vibration than a Colorado.  More lift than
    		a Willow leaf.  Good combination lure when you don't know
    		which action you want from the blade.
    
    Willow Leaf A LONG, THIN blade.  Least vibration of any spinner blade.
    		Good in CLEAR WATER or (I have found) the SLOP due to
    		tracking straighter behind the lure shaft.  DEEP RUNNING
    		lure.  You REALLY have to BURN this bait to keep it on top.
    		Tends to make a longer, leaner profile than the other
    		blades.  Especially good to use in waters that have trout
    		due to thin profile. :-)  I HATE TROUT!!  therefore :-)
    		Also a good Pike bait especially with pork frog trailer.
    
    	As for size, I find I size the blade to the clarity of the water
    and the species of fish I am looking for.  Trout, Crappie, Bluegill,
    etc. I try to use around an 0 or 00 blade in still water.  I will step
    up to a 1 or 2 in rivers and currents.  For Smallmouth, someone else
    will have to help you since I have caught a total of 1 of them in my
    life.  For largemouth and pike, I tend to go BIG.  I usually start with
    around a 3 and go up to a #7.  For Pike exclusively, I tend to go to
    almost strictly a #7 willow leaf or #7 Colorado blade.
    
    	Tandem blades tend to send off less vibration than single blade
    spinners.  This is due to having the blades causing cancelling
    vibrations in the water at most times.  A tandem blade Colorado rig
    will be EASIER to keep up than a single blade, though.  So, you can
    buzz it with a wake SLOWER than a single blade bait.  So, use that as a
    rule of thumb when selecting baits.
    
    	Pounded vs. smooth.  Pounded surface (Tennessee blade) blades give
    off more flash for a longer period of the rotation than smooth blades
    due to the many faces that reflect the light.  Therefore, it seems to
    flash more and look bigger for the same size blade than a smooth blade
    (Indiana).  However, this can turn fish off, too, if they are slightly
    negative in their feeding pattern.  So, as you can see, you makes your
    pick and you takes your chances.
    
    	If you are using a spinnerbait as a drop bait, stay with a single
    blade (DISCLAIMER: personal choice) bait since most of the time you are
    fishing for slightly negative fish if you are having to drop the bait. 
    The extra vibration will trigger more strikes.
    
    Hope that helps

    Wayne
    
    As always your answers are great.  Much obliged
    
    Brian

    
    For anyone thinking about getting into spinnerbaits this year like me. 
    The spring Cabela's catolog is offering a 42 piece spinner bait blade
    assortment.  It has 18 styles of colorado blades (smooth, hammered,
    copper and nickel) and 18 smooth willow blades.  The blades are sizes
    three, four and five plus some snap swivels.  They are also offering a
    painted blade assort too.  The cost is only $5.99.
    
    Looks like a cheap way to get a big assortment of spinner baits.
    
    The Bassassin

I fish spinnerbaits alot!!!  IMHO save your $5.99 for the time being.  Changing
blades on a spinnerbait is not something I'd want to do with much frequency 
under fishing conditions.  The split-rings and swivels are not easy to handle
in my kitchen, let alone on a rocking boat (or with a hangover).  Generally
you'll get the 3,4, or 5 size blades when you buy the bait.  You may want to
rig a bait or two with size 7 blades or some specialty set up. If it were me
I'd buy 2 or 3 (depending on the cost of the baits) more spinnerbaits instead.

There is one exception to the above, and that's when I'm fishing out of my
fishing vest (i.e. walking the shoreline) and storage space is the prime
concern...


FWIW	Al

You can never have too many Spinnerbaits.  8-)


keith

    What kind of trailers do you guys like?
    
    I have tried Uncle Josh Pork rinds and am ordering the dri rind slow
    falls in the split tail pattern.
    
    What about the rubber trailers are they better or the same as pork.  
    
    Whats your favorites?
    
    Also do you put the trailer on your trailer hook if your using them?
    
    Brian 
         

    	Trailers are like scent.  If things are SLOW, ANYTHING for an extra
    fish (Within reason).  :-)

    	Usual trailers for me are rubber grubs, rubber worms, and rubber
    frogs.  Depending on HOW ACTIVE the fish are and HOW BIG a bait they
    want.  I DON'T use Pork on my spinnerbaits due to the fact that I don't
    like to FRY PORK and I'm TOO CHEAP to buy one of the HOOK-OFFS to get
    the pork off the hook. :-)

    	As for hooking with a trailer hook, I tend to use rubber worms for
    trailers in this case.  I will nose hook the worm on the front hook and
    then hook the trailer into the body like a SLUG-GO.  When using 3 inch
    rubber frogs, I tend to hook the frog so that the trailer hook is in
    the rear of the body and the front hook then goes through the body at
    whatever point is necessary to keep the body flat.  There is enough
    rubber in the frog body to keep it swimming straight when center hooked.

    If the fish want a smaller looking bait, I have been known to remove
    the skirt and rig with a grub on the hook.  This tends to give more of
    a streamlined trout look to the bait.

    	As for color, WHATEVER TURNS YOUR CRANK THAT DAY!!!!  Color
    selection for me consists of White, Charteuse, and Black.  Then, being
    the CHEAP SCOTT I am, I tend to buy a BPS CAN O' GRUBS and grab one at
    random.

    I once saw a tip on one of the fishing shows on how to remove a pork
    trailer without using a chain saw or scalpel and vice grips.  All I can
    recall is you invert the spinner twist the pork piece and off comes the
    trailer with no muss or fuss.
    
    Trouble is I can't figuire out how to do it.  Short of creating a
    larger hole than the barb on the hook I can't get these idiotic things
    off.  Anyone know an easy way to do this?
    
    Brian the frustrated spinnerbait I can't get the silly things off man.

    
      brian, open them up a bit before you put them on. a knife
      works best.
    
    
                                                             
    
                                                          kiv

    What a coincedence.  This weeks BASS Masters show the tip was, how to
    remove pork from the spinner.  Invert the spinnerbait so the point is
    pointed to the ground and the barb away from you.  Take the strip pull
    it down to the barb turn it 1/4 turn to the side and it just pops off. 
    I tried it and it really works.
    
    Brian

    I have had S*** luck with spinner baits.  This weekend the Kiver
    finally showed me what I was doing wrong. It wanst so much the method
    but the gear.  All my spinners are 1/4 oz.  and he suggest 1/2 oz. to
    get it to the bottom and slow roll it.  Well ole Murph  reaches in the 
    box and yanks out a big ole white one and hands it to me.  I tied it on
    and boy I could really feel the bottom with that one, then WHAM a nice
    two pounder.  
      I will now put in an order for some 1/2 oz. spinners, or I could
    climb a couple of trees and get them for a great price.  :>)

    Hey, maybe we should start a note on "the best lure you ever found in
    a tree!"
    
    I got a Rebel "Humpie" (yup, that's right!) crankbait, a Heddon
    Mini Tadpolly and a Mepps spinner that way!
    
    Ed
    

    re: -.1
    
    	HMMMMMM!  Let's see.  Last year with the Colorado drought, I ended
    up with 8 Rapalas, 6 Crankbaits, BUNCHES of bobbers, a few jigs, some
    daredevils, some spinnerbaits, one BUZZBAIT (how it ended up in the top
    of a tree in 30 feet of water is your guess), and TOO MANY RUSTED HOOKS
    TO COUNT.  Now, my BPS order has a lot of replacement treble hooks
    listed on it.  :-)
    

>>================================================================================
>>Note 1445.30                   I hate it when.....                      30 of 30
>>SEMIU5::MATTSON                                      12 lines  29-JUN-1990 12:32
>>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>	I'm fishing a spinnerbait or changing the blades, and my partner tells 
>>me to take those dam things and throw them all overboard, they don't catch
>>nothing but a cold,use RUBBER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. And he's 
>>right.  But they look so good in my tackle box.
    
    Gary, I'd be more than happy to graciously accept all of your unwanted
    spinnerbaits.... 8^)   Perhaps you should read this note again! 
    
    donmac          

    Gary 
    
    don't know what your doing but all of our 3-4 lb largemouths have been
    caught on spinnerbaits
    
    Brian

    Hey has anyone bought the new directional spinnerbaits?
    
    I saw them advertised in Bassmasters and in some of the fishing rags.
    
    It seems they have a blade over the middle that you angle and it causes
    the spinner to run right or left, just what you need to get the
    spinnerbait to move under a dock or along tree lines.
    
    Brian

     I've seen 'em advertized. I'm as much of a sucker as anyone for new
    lures, but when I saw this I said "Hey, enough is enough !" IMO, the
    next step is radio controlled boats, like the poachers use at
    Wachusett. I'm not only gonna pass on this gimmick (for better or
    worse), but next year I'm gonna shitcan all my current spinnerbaits and
    order and use only Zorro "Aggravators." It's one I used years ago with
    a lot of success. Again, IMO you can have all the Stanleys, willow
    leafs etc. ! I MIGHT make an exception for a 1/4 oz. "Hank Parker," but
    that's it ! Now, I wonder how long it'll take me to eat my words...
    
    --The Skoal Bandit

    Skoal
    
    I am suprised at your response.  I started this note because I never
    had any luck with spinners, now after all the work this year, I swear
    by these little babies and I go big 1/2 oz or bigger.  I also like the
    wide assortment of blades and use em too.  I found that a single willow
    hammered silver is really great for cutting though heavy weeds and have
    had great success using them.  At night an in low light condiditions I
    switch to a deep cup colorado in gold or brass and the vibration sets
    off some nice strikes.  When things have been really slow and none of
    the above has triggered strikes I move to a tandom hammered silver
    willow and that flash will trigger.  But casting a big lure like that
    feels like its going to break your line and the splash probably pisses
    the bass into hitting it.  As far as old Hank Parker goes, I am going
    to ask him for my money back because that lure has not caught squat.
    
    Brian

    
    
    radio controlled??? hmmmmm...when's the next tourney???
    
    
    "LT"