Section: Ontario Bassin'
| Best Bass Baits
Spinnerbaits© Bill Rivers |
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| The most versatile lure in bass fishing, a spinnerbait will account for good catches all season long, in shallow or deeper water. With only occasional exceptions, simply cast it out and reel it in, preferably near / along some kind of cover - deadfalls, pad beds, weedlines, breaklines, sunken weed, clumps / beds. Weedless and as snag-free as lures get, yet still assuring excellent hooking percentages, spinnerbaits are tailor made for anglers who prefer casting approaches. | |
 | When it comes to colour (skirts), only three or four are really necessary - white (for general duty and clear water), chartreuse (for stained / murky water), crawfish / orange-brown (for deep / bottom "slow rolling" presentations) and black (for low-light / nighttime fishing - if you do any). Willowleaf blades are all the rage right now, but Colorado blades, which generate a distinctive "thrum" as they rotate, still are the best choie. A plain or hammered-finish nickel blade will do the job, but in stained water or low-light periods, a brass or copper blade might get a little more attention from bass. Willowleaf blades, which offer more flash but less vibration, are best for clear water, fast retrieves and midday spells. |
| Although there are other considerations (e.g. wire diameter, blade size, hook shape, etc.), only two are really of much consequence to most anglers - the length of the wire, spinner blade arm and the use of a "trailer". For the sake of simplicity, choose long-arm spinnerbaits for most of your fishing and always use a pork chunk or other trailer (e.g. pork chunk, plastic twister) on spinnerbaits. In shallow water and around cover, retrieves are generally slow, steady and parallel to the cover (e.g. weedlines, fallen trees, docks). Occasionally, "killing" a spinnerbait (i.e. stop reeling, allowing the bait to flutter downward) near a piece of cover or gap in the weeds triggers strikes from bass. In open water, faster retrieves are the norm, but some experimentation will be required to determine the best pattern (steady, stop & go) and speed / depth (shallow "burn" or deep "slow roll). |  |
| Some anglers live and die by the spinnerbait, thinking that, because it is the most versatile and easily fished bass bait available, it will always produce fish. To a point this might be true, but many times, under less than ideal conditions, bass will not chase down a fast moving bait. At those times, other approaches are needed. |  Rattlebaits |