Now reminded that I still wanted some double skinner H&H spinnerbaits, I ordered some black and yellow, yellow, and white.

Once upon a time, when I was a kid in NE Louisiana, I’d borrow a flat bottom boat and fish the “borrow pits” along the Mississippi River. Just me, a boat, and a paddle. The banks and shallow water areas were lined with willow trees. I’d bounce an H&H off a tree trunk and let it drop into the water, and the bass would just kill it. Those bass had likely never been fished, so they weren’t skittish. Since I left that part of the world, there’s a really good chance that the distant offspring of those fish are still there and have never been fished.

I have been throwing a spinner bait nearly 50 years and I always have at least one tied on and ready to go.

We went to my HS Reunion last Fall and stopped in a gas station in my old hometown and there was a "fishing section" like most all small towns have or had at one time!

There were several different H&H Spinner Baits in different colors and my wife said I need some of those Purple ones so some Purple Ones she got!

Stanley Jigs / Hale Lures came out with a special edition LSU National Championship color so I ordered her several of those for her as well.

There was a fellow in Independence Ks. that made some called them "Hawg Jaws" . Don't know if he's still in business but great spinner baits, Only have 2 left.

My favorite production type spinnerbait was the original Terminator Stainless, they changed them and I'm no longer wild about them. Have tried a couple custom mades and they are alright. Santone makes a pretty good one. My favorite color is the white shad with double silver willows in the 3/8. Someday I'm gonna order some of Donald Harpers. Chatterbaits have their place but so does the old spinnerbaits.

I’m one of those guys that loves an Indiana blade most of the time. But the rest of the time I like a double willow and most sizes are 3/8 or 1/2 ounce. Colors are pretty basic but I have had Mr. Harper work his magic on probably 30 of my spinnerbaits. He did wonders with them

I am so sorry that the spinner baits have just been left behind. Many of the techniques have been lost in time. For 20 years all I had on the deck was 12 rods with spinner baits tied on. I caught more fish than I could ever catch today. Today you just cannot find a place on a lake that other fisherman have not educated those fish and our lakes are full of other species that eat the Bass Fry. This is why Mexico is so good. The netters take all of those evasive species out of the lakes.

Jimmy Houston has a bunch on a spinnerbait as well as Kevin Van Dam before he switched to crank baits.

Hank Parker is another spinnerbait master.

The original Terminator I believe started as Horizon spinnerbait if I remember correctly. Terminator came out with same in a titanium wire

A spinnerbait is a very efficient tool for drawing strikes from bass and also to use as a search bait. Spinnerbaits are extremely versatile and most productive when the water temperature is in the 50 to 70 degree range. They can be productive in both shallow water and in deep water. They can be fished both quickly and slowly. My favorite times of the year to fish spinnerbait are throughout the Spring in shallow water using 3/8 to 1/2 oz sizes, during the Summer offshore using 1 to 1.5 oz sizes, and especially during the Fall when bass are heavily feeding on shad. During the Fall I will often use 1/2 - 3/4 oz spinnerbaits and will generally be using a faster retrieve and larger willowleaf blades to mimic the size of the bait fish.

Choose the types of blades you will use depending on both water temperature and clarity. In cold water conditions a slower-moving lure often times will get more bites therefore a colorado bladed spinnerbait typically works better than a willowleaf or tandem bladed spinnerbait. In regards to water clarity the clearer the water is the faster that I want my spinnerbait to be retrieved as I do not want the bass to get a great look at the lure to determine that it's not actually a shad. In very clear water conditions I like to use a double willowleaf bladed spinnerbait, in stained water conditions and the vast majority of the time I like to use a tandem leaf spinnerbait that will produce both flash from the willowleaf blade and a bit of vibration from the colorado blade. In very muddy water conditions where bass are feeding less using their site and relying on their lateral line more to detect vibrations in the water a colorado bladed spinnerbait is always my first choice simply due to the amount of vibration it produces.

I like to choose my skirt colors based on two things, the size of the predominant baitfish and water clarity. If I am fishing in extremely clear water lake I'm more likely to use a white or even somewhat transparent colored skirt so that it appears more natural to the bass. In dirty water conditions where visibility is less than 1' I prefer a chartreuse and white or solid chartreuse colored skirt. When fishing in stained water and on most fisheries in Texas a solid white colored skirt can be quite hard to beat. Make sure to try and match your skirt size and blade size to the size of the forage you're trying to replicate. Typically early in the season I would prefer using smaller willow leaf blades than I do during the fall when the shad are generally a bit larger in size. I will also trim the skirts on some of my spinnerbaits to give them a smaller profile in the water if I think the bass are feeding on smaller sized baitfish.

Fishing a spinnerbait slightly above the depth of water in which bass are located in will also help you to draw more strikes. Whenever I go fishing a spinnerbait in shallow water I will almost always gradually slow my retrieve speed as my lure comes closer to the boat since it is coming into deeper water. One of the best times to throw a spinnerbait is during windy and cloudy conditions when the light penetration is cut down quite a bit. During these conditions you typically have bass that are feeding more often and chasing shad therefore spinnerbait is a great lure to use on those days. When retrieving these lures I like to make the skirt of my spinnerbaits flare which often will convince a bass to react. I often do this by jerking the rod a bit or slowing down then speeding up my retrieve to give a spinnerbait a more erratic action. Another great tip for fishing a spinnerbait is to always use a trailer hook, even around heavy cover. By doing this you will be quite surprised at how many fish will swat at or short strike your spinnerbaits and with a trailer hook you will hook up with many more fish. I hope this helps, good luck fishing and to see more about how I like to use a spinnerbait later in the year check out the video below.

The best fisherman that I've ever fished with won more tournaments than I could keep up with following him....a good buddy of mine from Okla. Do you know what his primary go to was at all times and all conditions? You guessed it, a spinnerbait. So if it isn't in your arsenal, you'd better figure a way to get it back in there. It generally is always on the deck of my boat.

Most of you'll don't remember the Bass Caller, Bomber's twin spin, Virgil Ward's Scorpion ,Small Okie Bug and Tom Mann's big single spins,i think they were called Wooly Bullys. But they were all great baits. Back in the day when Hubbard Creek was awesome and PK was a bass factory, I was either throwing one of those spinner baits or an Arbogaster deep diver.
I think the bladed jigs, chatter baits , took a lot of that business away. Too bad, I have thought about designing some of my own spinner baits. I know what I want, just haven't seen them in any store. I know one thing, all of mine would wear rubber skirts, much more action that way. I'd also figure out how to put a rattle in the head somewhere. Just a thought

Well thank you Tom, that's very kind of you.
My biggest Kentucky, smallmouth, and largemouth have all been on a spinnerbait.

I've never really had much luck with spinner baits. Caught a few but i'm more confident with a lipless crankbait. But....after reading these comments I may give spinners another shot this year. Kinda have to force myself to tie one on and stick to it I guess...:) But I'm mostly a self taught bass fisherman so I've kinda learned thru reading stuff here and watching videos. I'm hoping to go on a guided trip this year and see if I can pick up a few tips and tricks.....:)

Use to make my own and catch plenty of biggun's on them. I would make a batch with extra's and sell them to every Mom and Pop store between Houston and Gibbons Creek. Paid for my lures, trip and other expenses. Got lazy and now buy them but still catch some good ones on them.

Love it...you know when you're good!