I have heard that spring is the best time to throw spinners baits. I can't catch them on spinner baits. What am I doing wrong. Guess I don't throw it long enough...

Spinnerbaits are probably the easiest bait for bass to become educated to. They are great lures and do produce a lot of fish annually, but if you are fishing heavily pressured water you could struggle.

I throw one in heavy cover, around salt cedars, rocks, grass, stumps and logs, anywhere I can't get a squarebill through. That's where I have the best luck with one.

No expert here by no means, but here are some tips that I always try to apply to a spinner bait. I know a spinner bait can be worked at depth, but for 90% of us, it's a bait that is thrown in 4 foot of water or less

*NEVER just reel it in! You gotta make that skirt flare and dance at different speeds.
*As soon as it hits the water, make it flare (pump the bait 2-3 times). A lot of strikes come at this point.
*The more wind, the better! You can catch em in no wind, but I believe it's more effective when the surface ripples break up the image of the bait. Lets face it, a spinner bait does not exactly look like anything a bass eats, so the more ripples, the better.
*Keep it high in the water column.
*Break the surface often, make it flutter on the surface to mimic a thrashing bait fish.
*Pumping it up and down can be effective. Example- Break the surface, let it fall a foot or two, pump it again. Lots of times, fish will hit it on the fall.

As I said, no expert by no means. We all have days where nothing works. Hope this helps

To me, a spinnerbait is something you have to throw when the conditions are right for it because as mentioned above, bass become educated to it. Throw it in low light conditions (early, late, cloudy) or on a windy day. A spinnerbait is at its best when you have some wind, and the more the better. If you're throwing one when its sunny and dead slick calm, its going to be much harder to get bit on it.

Truth here especially on Lake Fork. They've seen so many spinner baits on Fork they can tell you the brand, where you bought it and how much you paid for it. I've done ok with one on PK and Broken Bow unless the water is flat then I go with Jigs/craw worms and shakey heads w/Grande Bass Baby Rattle snakes.

I find retrieve speed to be the most critical and many bring it in too fast. I normally keep it just fast enough to be able to make out the blade thump and keep it barely visible.

For me, spinner baits are awesome on wind blown structure. I don't throw it without wind. And just like a square bill, bounce it off every piece of wood that you can.

Windy points, cloudy days and stained water are when I throw them. Cloudy and windy being optimum for me

Spinner Baits are just like any other bait. Somewhere on your lake you can catch good fish on any of them. If you are not in the right place at the right time they are not going to bite it. The variable is having fish in your area and many of them will bite plenty of different baits that you have confidence in and know the techniques as mentioned in the other post to make them work. Another variable is they will bite one specific bait better than others on different spots on the lake. If you have done your work and you are an avid spinner bait fisherman you have your 3 or 4 spots on your lake that the bait will shine on any given day. If the conditions are not right for the spinner bait you will know those facts. Now do you find those spots? You fish and fish some more until you learn where those spots are and the conditions that makes the spinner bait the right choice for the day. When you locate what you believe to be the best spots for your spinner bait and start your day with no bites in your best area; something is not right about the bait. It is either the blade combination, color of the skirt or you are using the wrong trailer. Time and time again because of water clarity, weather conditions or a rise in the lake; it will call for a change in the spinner bait to one of my 5 different combinations for those different conditions. Once you make that right change then the bite will be on target again. It is not easy and it is not simple. It takes years of throwing experiences under all conditions to be a great spinner bait fisherman.

A spinner bait and a crank bait are my two best search baits to find these spots. I will have mapped the lake finding areas that I believe the best shallow water bait will do the best because of the contours leading into that shallow area. I work the spinner bait through the heaviest cover that is there. If there is no cover at the spot I have selected I simply leave and go to the next one. As soon as I catch a couple of fish I switch to the crank bait to see what they thank about that presentation in the area. Take notes all the time on what is working and what is not.

My other two baits that I use to search the shallows with is the Spook and a short 1/8 oz Crig with a Fluke. Again, changing baits as soon as I locate fish in the area. This learning curve is shortened when there are two fisherman in the boat using the two different baits. Fish do become acclimated to different baits; so you must be willing to go far away to find areas that others will not take the time to get to. These areas are excellent for all your search baits and you will come up with a couple of new areas that will basically be yours when the time comes.

I�ve got questions...

What type of blades are you throwing on these spinners?
What color blades?
What color is the spinner?
What color and clarity is the water you are fishing?

I�ve been throwing spinners in cloudy/windy conditions and sunny/calm conditions since first of March and they are responsible for probably 75% of my bites since then. But the makeup of your spinner bait absolutely matters.

I hate spinner baits.

Like most lures, if you're not hitting the cover with the bait you will have a hard time getting bit. This may be brush or grass or docks pilings. Don't just throw the bait close to a bush, throw it into the bush. Just after the bait clears a limb or rips free of the grass is when you are most likely to get a strike.

Most public lakes are getting pounded this time of year so you have to do something different than the previous angler that just came down the bank in front of you.

Geofisher & Don Harper above gave some great pointers.

It absolutely matters if you are not getting bit on you best spinner bait hole on the lake. That is why I have 5 different spinner bait tied on and on the deck. I am going to quickly find the one they want.
- 5 different blade combinations.
- 5 different blade colors.
- 5 different skirt colors.
- 1 is my tournament spinner bait that has worked in all water conditions. Not because it is the best; but because I go to the water to make it work the best and I have more confidence in it to get the job done. 2 is for stained water and 2 are for clear water.
- All are for windy conditions.

If the lake is calm I am going deep with other baits and will at some time during the day stroll a spinner bait in 20 ft. of water on the contour.