Fishing tip of the week: – 05/06/20

Fishing Tip of the Week

Wednesday, 06 May 2020 08:47

How to fish a spinner bait
by Mike Gerry

As we approach post-spawn fishing there is no presentation that survived the test of time like rolling a spinner bait during the post-spawn time. Bass become active, they chase and start to feed and heal from the spawn. The activity picks up and some of the best fishing of the year becomes front and center for at least four weeks in the south.

The key to fishing a spinner bait is understanding what you are trying to accomplish with this bait. What are you trying to emulate? How do you get the bass to react to it? What body parts play into the presentation? I know the easy answer is, I am trying a catch fish. Yes, this is true, but the real truth is you’re working this bait to get the bass to see it as a small group of bait fish pulling through cover and creating reaction from feeding bass. As you work your spinner bait you should always be conscious of the fact that you’re emulating a small group of bait. This will make it easier to get the bait to move and fall or drop in and around cover like stumps or grass.

Getting reactions now becomes easier as you start to consider what the bait must do to get the reaction bite. Groups of bait move irregularly. They stop, they hide in cover, they move quickly, slowly, and sharply around cover to avoid being a meal. This must be accomplished with a spinner bait by speeding it up, slowing it down, stopping it, dropping it, letting it kick off the bottom or move quickly over the top of cover.

Doing this requires you to be creative with your retrieve. You cannot just reel the bait; you must think of what it is doing and make it create a bite. This is accomplished with your wrist, most of the time, when fishing a spinner bait. Your wrist can easily help you create the movement just by moving your wrist back and forth during the retrieve. You can also do this by bringing your arms close into your body and letting the bait work through cover, like grass, by slow rolling it and popping it when it hangs in the cover.
Captain Mike