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Stack Blades: Flash & Crash
Tail-spin for Fishing Success
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Spinnerbait Fishing Tips and Techniques

The tips on this page came from the personal experiences of Secret Weapon Lures staff, pros, and prostaffers. Many were contributed by customers and spinnerbait anglers who frequent the YumaBassMan forum. E-mail us with your tips and techniques so we can share them with others.

For a succinct and practical spinnerbait primer, go to the Tips Archive at TennesseBassGuides. Professional bass guide Rick McFerrin will help you get the most out of your investment, not only in money, but in your precious time on the water as well.

After-market Buzzrbait Clacker Blade Project — Add a little clatter to your Buzzrbait retrieve with homemade clacker blades. Follow these step-by-step instructions to make your own.

Pimp My Bait — Secret Weapon Lures’ Quick-clip Blade Attachment is ideal for anglers who modify their baits, making good lures even better and catching more fish because they present looks and vibrations that fish have never encountered. Learn how a lipless crankbait can be upgraded in seconds, without tools.

Stack Blades For More Flash & Crash — King George, Virginia angler Pete Baumgartner came up with a creative way to reconfigure Quick-clip Blade Attachments so that one blade is stacked above the other. This “double-deck” arrangement not only creates a smaller, more dense profile in the water; it provokes fish to strike the twirling blades click and flutter on impact with each other.

Keep Your Blades On! — Have you boated a hefty smallmouth, released the fish, and then discovered as you prepare for the next cast that your Sidarm is missing its blade bar? The metal sleeve can slide down during a fight or in the net allowing the R-bend to open. Prostaff members use three methods to secure the metal sleeve:

1. Crimp the metal sleeve in place for a permanent solution.
2. Apply a drop of contact adhesive and then snug the sleeve in place.
3. Use needle-nose pliers to adjust the R-bend as shown at right. Figure A is how the Sidearm comes from our shop. Figure B shows a bend right at the base of the curve that increases the tension and the amount of force required to move the metal sleeve.

Tail-spin for Fishing Success — Another way to enhance the effectiveness of spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and jigs is to convert it into a tailspinner. Illustrated instructions and tips from SWL Prostaff Jack Dalzell of Amherst, Ohio.

Willowleaf... Colorado... Indiana... Turtleback... Which blade should I use? With Secret Weapon, you have the ability to switch out blades to produce the perfect lure, but... how do I decide? Bob Rickard offers a few tips and a simple chart that helps you understand the performance of each blade shape.

Does color mean anything? — The answer is yes. But for reasons you may not have considered. Bob Rickard explains why here.

Closing the Loop — Richard Naber of Monroe, Ohio suggests a way to prevent your fishing line or leader from escaping the line-tie R-bend: “If you slightly pinch the wires together from the lure head and the spinners you can place a "split ring" over the R-bend and when you release the pressure the "split ring" is held in place. This way when you attach the spinnerbait to your ball bearing Duolock snap or similar snap, when you cast, the snap can not slip out of the R-Bend.”

Red: A 50-year test report — Bob reminisces a bit about growing up, and discovering the attracting power of red on baits.

Trailer Trash — The plastic tubes that come with trailer hooks are intended to cover the trailer hook eyes and keep them from falling off, but they restrict hook movement. If you want the trailer hook to swing freely, use a paper punch to produce plastic tabs from a soft plastic coffee lid. Punch a hole in the small, round plastic discs with a nail or awl, and store them in a film canister. Use two with each trailer, sandwiching the hook between them.

Double Duty — If you intend to use both a split-tail trailer and a trailer hook on your spinnerbait, you can apply both together. Take the trailer hook and thread it into the split tail eel, bringing the hook point out between the two tails on the eel. Pull the hook down until the eye of the hook is totally inside the trailer. Now thread the spinnerbait hook through the trailer and the trailer hook eye at the same time. This helps hold the trailer straight as well as holds the trailer hook to the spinnerbait securely. Make sure the tails on the trailer are on either side of the hook to ensure freedom of movement.

Multiple Trailer Hooks — SWL Prostaffer Warren Wolk uses a trailer hook rig that has improved his open-water smallmouth hook-up ration enormously — even those that just slap the bait, which other anglers usually miss. He starts with a heavy (5/8-ounce or 7/8-ounce), all-chartreuse spinnerbait with size 3 & 5 willowleaf blades.
    Wolk uses heavy-duty surgical tubing to cover the trailer hook eye and inserts the bait’s hook through the tubing and trailer eye. This results in a rather rigid and adjustable connection between the two hooks. The trailer should be adjusted so that it rides directly behind the first hook, with the hook point below the skirt. One or two more hooks are added in line behind the first, always alternating point direction up and down.
    The finishing touch is a #2 treble added to the end of the chain. Warren believes using all red hooks is drawing extra strikes too.
    Wolk burns this heavy bait at rocket speed just under the surface and over cover. Don’t try throwing this rig into any kind of cover; it is likely to get snagged.
    The clearer the water the better, and a very light chop is ideal. Long casts are preferred. You’ll love it when those bronzebacks rise up from the depths and crash the lure!

2 Blades... 4 Blades... How about 8 Blades? Nothing was working for Craig Baugher as bass were concentrating on the big schools of shad, so he decided to experiment. Taking a 1/2-ounce Firetiger the blades off all the rest, he clipped them together (smallest to biggest — mixing the blade colors — one gold then one silver) and attached them to the bait. That spinnerbait had a trail of blades over a foot long. He threw it out and started working it back (It looked damn good with all those blades turning).
    On the second cast a bass struck at the blades but nowhere near the hook. So he added a stinger treble hook that trailed out about 3 inches behind the main hook. Sure enough it was the trick that helped him to catch a lot of those bronze beauties that day.
    Even with 8 or 9 blades, they only fouled a couple of times, mostly because of the stinger hook. It may not be something one would use all the time, but on that day, under those conditions, it worked out great.
    The point is... get inventive. Secret Weapon supplies tools — and capabilities — no other spinnerbait does. How creatively you put them together is up to you.

The Skinny on Bulky Skirts — You’ve read the claims.... “Our baits are better, ’cause our skirts are fuller, with fifty (or sixty, or even more) strands!” In reality, when it comes to spinnerbait skirts, more is not necessarily better. This article explains why....

Skirting With Success — A supply of extra skirts increase your color options, take up much less storage space than additional baits, and are far lighter to carry. Put them and couple of stinger hooks in your blade attachment box or pouch.

How to Change Skirts — You may want to use a high-contrast skirt color like Chartreuse/Blue Back for stained or murky water and then switch to a more subtle pattern like Blue Herring with translucent strands that are better suited for clear water. SWL kits include several skirts that permit users to customize their baits in seconds.Putting on a skirt is fairly simple:

*Note: Be sure the skirt is rotated so that the darker strands are toward the spinnerbait and the lighter colored strands are away from the bait. In this way, after the skirt is attached, the lighter strands will end up on the bait’s belly and the darker colors will be on the back, as is typical of baitfish.

Remove the skirt as follows:

1. Hold the bait by the head with one hand, and push the skirt collar backward with the fingers of your other hand. (Don’t pull the skirt down by tugging on the strands.)

2. Feed the skirt around the bend of the hook. When you get the skirt up near the barb, pause.

3. Position the spinnerbait the way it comes through the water, with the hook point horizontal and its barb pointed downward. Shake the skirt strands loose so none are caught behind the hook barb.

4. Squeeze the skirt collar between thumb and forefinger and pull downward, stretching the latex band so the it and all the silicone skirt strands clear the barb. Then slide the collar and skirt forward and off the hook point.

This should result in the skirt having no broken or looped strands. When it has dried, it’s ready to put back in the tackle kit with the other spare skirts. Once you get the knack of it, you won’t hesitate to pop one skirt and slip another on. The whole replacement process takes about fifteen seconds — a lot less time than finding and tying on another spinnerbait.

Does this skirt make me look fat? — Short-striking fish? You may need to trim down — your skirt, that is. Shorten and thin the skirt with a pair of scissors. For clear water, remove skirt strands to reduce the profile, create a subtler look and action, and make the strands flow more naturally.

Confused by all the blade choices? — Let us help. Even with close to a quarter million possible combinations at your fingertips, choosing the right blades for the situation doesn’t have to be a crap shoot. Here is a spinnerbait color chart to help narrow down your options.

Reduce Blade Flash and Glare in Clear Water — In clear water, blades that scatter light or emit a prismatic flash may be more productive than normal gold or chrome blades. Adhesive, waterproof prism tape added to the convex side of the blade will reduce sheet glare on sunny days, producing a more subtle look. Buy it pre-cut or trim it to size before taping it to the blade. When conditions favor this modification, also switch to a translucent skirt.
    Many anglers swear by white or chartreuse blades in the same conditions. Painted blades scatter light, reducing sheet glare that repels fish in gin-clear water.

Modify your blades — Twist, flatten, or put a small kink in the blade to alter the flash, change the sound, and displace more water for increased vibration. With heavily pressured fish, this can trigger more strikes. To flatten a blade, lay it on a flat surface with the convex (outward-curved) side up, and press down hard with your thumb. To increase erratic vibration, use needlenose pliers to put a small kink in the edge of the bottom portion of the rear blade. Another way to produce erratic flash is to lay a willowleaf blade at an angle along your forefinger and press down both ends at the same time to creates a corkscrew appearance.

Go Deep — Spinnerbaits are often most productive when fished just outside the light penetration zone. In very clear water this may require heavy bait. The rotation of the blades will cause the bait to rise. By changing the size of the blades to a smaller size than what would normally come on the bait you can fish the bait deeper and at a faster speed.

Get Down to Business! To increase retrieve depth and casting distance with small spinnerbaits (1/8- and 3/16-ounce), wrap a couple Storm suspend strips or a length of solder wire around the spinnerbait hook shaft under the skirt. This adds weight while maintaining the bait’s small profile. A great tip for fishing in the current.

Make Your Bait a Heavy Hitter — To add even more weight:
a. Take a 6- or 7-inch length of light wire and make a few initial wraps about hook shank near or on the collar.
b. Slide an egg weight, up to 1 ounce or more, onto the wire.
c. Align the weight under the hook, and wrap the wire tightly around the shank below the weight 6 times.
d. Make the few last wraps above the weight before trimming off the excess.

Richard Naber offered this advice on adding weight to your Secret Weapon: Clamp on a barrel weight: “...you can place whatever weight you desire and this way you can troll the spinnerbait at whatever depth you desire.”

Brush Up on Bass — In springtime, well-known brush piles receive lots of pressure. Back off about 3/4 of a cast, and let your spinnerbait drop to the bottom. Then crawl or yo-yo it back to the brush pile. Bang and tick it off the wood, fishing over and around both sides. Then move your boat and try again from a different angle.

Rock on! Bass prefer spinnerbaits on the rocks. Bang your lure off structure. Cause a commotion that suggests something is in trouble, struggling, and begging to “get et.”

The award for best supporting actor goes to.... Bass will blast through a school of shad, then circle back to pick off the wounded. After a short strike or slashing blow, kill the retrieve and let the spinnerbait flutter down. If that doesn’t draw a strike, cast out again and hop or drag it along the bottom, like a struggling, injured baitfish.

Fishing tonight? Don’t forget to pack a Snack! — Love the nightlife? So do bass, feeding aggressively through the wee hours between dusk and dawn. Secret Weapon serves up a tasty-looking treat sure to entice prowling fish in the mood for a late-night binge.

Why Secret Weapon® spinnerbaits do not have titanium frames — Titanium frames in spinnerbait manufacturing are all the rage today. Why doesn’t Secret Weapon use them?

Working Laydowns — Cast your spinnerbait back under the fallen tree trunk, near the bank. Swim it out to where the trunk enters the water. This is a prime ambush point. Guide the lure alongside the trunk, allowing it to drop over branches and flutter down into any forks. Bass attempt to trap baitfish up against barriers like tree trunks and rock walls that block their prey.s escape. The closer your bait is to the trunk, the more tempting a target it presents to Mr. Bass.

Steer Your Bait — When fishing brush, stump rows, or rocks, move your rod tip to retrieve the spinnerbait in a path that will crash it into cover, often triggering a strike.

“What is the best lure?” —A 16-year-old angler once asked this question. I had to admit there is no single best lure — not even a Secret Weapon. A lure is a tool, and the longer a craftsman plies his craft, the more tools he or she will usually own and use. Each tool has its proper situation and technique for effective use. No one tool is “best” for all jobs.

Erratic Retrieves — When bass don’t respond to a steady retrieve, vary your depth and speed. Then try an erratic retrieve.
    The following technique is especially effective in summertime: Cast out and let your spinnerbait sink for a count of 10 or until you feel it suspending on the weeds. Now pop the rod tip up, about five times, bringing the lure closer to the surface. Reel in the slack, and then repeat the pattern all the way back. The erratic blade flash resembles a wounded baitfish. Low-stretch line makes this technique easier.

Cold? Get Hopping! In cold-water months, cast out and slowly hop the lure back to you, lifting the spinnerbait only about 18-inches to two feet with each hop and letting it flutter back to the bottom on a semi-slack line. Pause briefly between hops. Most strikes will come on the drop, so pay attention to your line and follow the lure down with your rod tip as you reel in to keep slack out of the line. If the blade stops turning, set the hook, even if you can’t feel a bite!

Make Sense of Scents — Fish attractants...? don’t count on it. Although bass have a well-developed sense of taste and can detect chemicals dissolved in the water, it’s unlikely that they use scent to home in on fast-moving baits like spinnerbaits. The advantage of amino-acid compounds is that they induce fish to hold onto lures a bit longer once they taste them. This factor is much more important for slow-moving plastics than for reaction baits like spinnerbaits. On the downside, petrochemical-based scents dissolvea the oils of the latex spinnerbait skirt bands so they dry out and fail prematurely.
    Popular wisdom holds that sunscreen with PABA is a fish repellant. We tested that theory on Okeechobee by liberally coating plastic worms with PABA sunscreen. Florida bass must not have read the latest fishing magazines, because we caught as many or more of them on well-greased worms as other anglers in our group did with baits slathered in fish attractants or with no scents at all.
    One expert angler and fishing author convinced us he could soak his baits in gasoline and fish them with absolute confidence. We believe him. So if you’re seeking a spinnerbait edge, you might want to look in another direction than scents.

Vertical Presentations — On bright days, bass will suspend along the vertical portions of the old, standing timber. Position your boat directly next to the tree, and drop the spinnerbait down to the depth that the fish are holding. Then jig it straight up and drop it on a semi-tight line so the blades thump on the lift and then helicopter on the drop. By dropping the bait directly into the fish’s comfort zone, the bait should trigger a reflex strike just like you get when flipping to brush or docks — only in 20 or 25 feet of water. (With Secret Weapon’s in-line blade attachments, both blades will rotate easily on the drop.

Dress for Success — Plastic trailers and plastic or pork chunks add bulk, action, and lift to spinnerbaits. Summer, spring, and fall, use straight, twin-tail trailers. In early spring, switch to a curly-tail grub or trailer for more enticing action. Both permit a slower retrieve. Colors can either compliment or contrast with the skirt. Try chartreuse, yellow and/or white trailers for light-color skirts, and red, black, or purple for dark skirts. As with spinnerbaits, go darker for dark days and muddy or stained water, but lighter colors for sunny days and clear water. A black trailer at night bulks up the bait for a higher profile.

Make Bass See Red! Make any bait resemble a wounded baitfish. Thread a red strand into the skirt with a darning needle, or streak the skirt and/or head with a red permanent felt-tip marker. Or better yet, clip a small red Colorado or willowleaf blade on the front of a tandem-blade configuration. Red light penetrates no more than a meter into water, so this technique is effective in shallow water and near-surface presentations.

Ring Their Chimes — Make a spinnerbait more attractive in lo-vis water by slipping an ordinary Christmas jingle bell onto the hook. Might seem kind of silly, but under water it sounds completely different. This also works well on jigs.

Bait Eye for the Bass Guy — In clear water, predators relate to baitfish eyes. If the spinnerbait you’re upgrading with Secret Weapon blades doesn’t already have eyes, paint them on, attach round pieces of holographic Mylar, or even small craft eyes. Craft eyes also add a rattle to the lure.

Extreme Spinnerbait Makeover — With spinnerbaits, a lower the line tie produces a more solid hookset. Look at any spinnerbait from the side, and note where the R-bend or line-tie loop is in relation to the hook point. Extend an imaginary line straight out from the point, and if the line tie point is above it, then bend down the wire coming out of the head until the bend or loop is no higher than your imaginary line.
    The reason for this is simple: When you tug on your fishing line, as in a hookset, the section of wire frame between the line tie and the spinnerbait head points straight up the fishing line back toward you. In baits having a line tie point above the hook, the high angle results in the lure rolling forward on the hookset so the hook is pointed downward. Imagine the lure is in a fish’s mouth; the hook is now pointed into the cavity where it is unlikely to get a good purchase on the fish’s jaw or cheek. If it happened to stick the fish, it sometimes rolls so as to enter and then exit, resulting in a shallow “skin-hook.” This accounts for many spinnerbait fish being lost during the battle.
    In fact, the optimum angle of wire frame emerging from the spinnerbait head is zero degrees; but due to the tendency of most spinnerbaits to roll over on retrieve, that angle is impractical. Still, get it as low as possible. Try flattening your wire angle lower, casting it a few times, bending it some more, and continuing until you get it as low as you can stand it.
    With Secret Weapon spinnerbaits, the wire emerging from the head is at a 15 degree angle to the hook shank, putting the line tie in line with the hook point. The reason we can make it so low (our original design was zero degrees) is that the free-floating blade attachments don’t tend to torque the spinnerbait over on a rapid retrieve.
    Many anglers buy Secret Weapon blade attachments to retrofit their collection of first-generation spinnerbaits. If you do this, modify the wire angles for improved hookset at the same time. Change wire angles, shorten the arm so the blades end up above the hook, and make a loop to connect the new free-floating blade attachments. Unless you’re equipped to make a perfectly round loop (as you find on the end of our wire frames), make the usual closed and doubled-over D-bend loop, but then attach a split ring and clip your blade attachments to that. This will reduce the tendency for the blade attachments to hang up, as they might for the D-bend loop alone.

Olive Drab Floater (ODF) Project — Folks who modify lures to better suit their needs rarely limit themselves to just tinkering with tackle; we tend to apply that same attitude to all our fishing gear and tackle. One of the early test-beds for Secret Weapon spinnerbaits was the Olive Drab Floater — a venerable, wide-beam aluminum Bass Tracker jon boat we converted into an excellent fishing platform with only a few simple and low-cost modifications. Want a comfortable, stable fishing platform for sheltered water, rivers, and shallow areas inaccessible to the bigger rigs? This article should provide ideas for your own jon boat conversion project.