spinnerbaits

I know it's winter but I need to talk about fishing. I fish rivers alot
up here in Michigan and have yet to use a spinnerbait, I don't recall
ever seeing anyone around here use one, most people use tubes, senko,
and jig & pig. How many of you use spinners and how good are they in
rivers?

I only have used them in lakes. They are great when bass are chasing
shad around in the lake here..

big fish 2003 wrote:
I know it's winter but I need to talk about fishing. I fish rivers alot
up here in Michigan and have yet to use a spinnerbait, I don't recall
ever seeing anyone around here use one, most people use tubes, senko,
and jig & pig. How many of you use spinners and how good are they in
rivers?

"big fish 2003" wrote in message
...
I know it's winter but I need to talk about fishing. I fish rivers alot
up here in Michigan and have yet to use a spinnerbait, I don't recall
ever seeing anyone around here use one, most people use tubes, senko,
and jig & pig. How many of you use spinners and how good are they in
rivers?

Living in Florida, I don't fish rivers very often... but I have used
spinnerbaits quite often. Actually I just got done watching a rerun of a
Bass Masters competition in which one of the Pros was using a spinnerbait on
a river. IMHO, you should fish it around some type of structure. Logs,
weeds, docks, etc. You can also find an eddie (spelling?) where the faster
water curves around an object and fish it there. This is where bass like to
ambush smaller fish.

Personally, I break out the spinnerbaits when fishing grass and other areas
like lily pads were most other lures will get hung up.

I fish a river system, and spinner baits are often used int he current,
although I tend to fish them in the backwater lakes of the system through
the tops of submerged weeds and grass.

On the other hand, I have had some good days throwing spinner baits in the
canals when bass are chasing minnows up against the banks. Of course when
that is happening topwaters will also produce as will swim baits.

--
Spinner Baits Tips & Tricks Contest
featuring
Secret Weapon Lures
in December

** Public Fishing and Boating Forums
** www.YumaBassMan.com


"big fish 2003" wrote in message
...
I know it's winter but I need to talk about fishing. I fish rivers alot
up here in Michigan and have yet to use a spinnerbait, I don't recall
ever seeing anyone around here use one, most people use tubes, senko,
and jig & pig. How many of you use spinners and how good are they in
rivers?

"big fish 2003" wrote in message
...
I know it's winter but I need to talk about fishing. I fish rivers alot
up here in Michigan and have yet to use a spinnerbait, I don't recall
ever seeing anyone around here use one, most people use tubes, senko,
and jig & pig. How many of you use spinners and how good are they in
rivers?


I fish northern Wisconsin quite a bit and do fish river systems.
Spinnerbaits have been a very effective lure for bass, at least for me. I
like to use them in and around cover especially, finding that the upturned
hook can come through some pretty hellacious cover without a snag.

Also, most rivers are not as clear as lakes and impoundments, so lures that
have flash and vibration work well. I love to fish downed timber and stumps
with spinnerbaits. When fishing stumps, I always throw way beyond the
location and bring the lure past it, trying to bump the stump with the lure.
As it hits and bounces off, I'll momentarily kill the retrieve and let the
lure flutter a bit. Often the strike comes when the lure is falling or just
starts back up.

I've found that brightly colored models seem to produce well, such as
firetiger and chartreuse. On the flip side, black has been a consistent
producer as well. I like to use Secret Weapon spinnerbaits because
sometimes a single blade model with a big blade really THUMPING will get
results, other times, smaller blades, in tandem, run faster get struck.
That's where the versatility of SW lures really shines, no constant cutting
and retying.

If you're not throwing spinnerbaits part of the time, you're missing fish.
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com

I fished rivers like the Wolf in northern Mississippi quite a bit using
spinnerbaits, and I found them to be very effective. Especially when runoff
had muddied the streams, going with a 3/8 ounce, black spinnerbait with a
larger Colorado blade seemed to attract more attention than soft plastics or
the usual lighter-colored lures.

In one creek that flowed into Arkabutla Reservoir near Coldwater, MI, there
were scooped-out holes and pools in the creek bends. In the colder months a
heavy 5/8-ounce, short-arm spinnerbait (red or lead head, chartreuse, with a
single Colorado blade) was deadly when it was dragged/hopped from shallow
down into deeper water around cypress trees, laydowns, and log jams. This
was not unlike a jig presentation, and it was critical that the lure be
fished as slowly as you could stand it.

Bob Rickard has described to me several times the years he spent fishing the
Gasconade and other crystal-clear rivers of Missouri, where spinnerbaits
were very productive. In fact, it was for river fishing that he came up with
his own lure design, which combined the snag-resistant qualities of a
safety-pin spinnerbait, but with the sound of an inline spinner.

For fishing current, I would recommend that you start with downsized
spinnerbaits -- 1/8 or 3/16-ounce usually, with smaller Indiana blades. Look
for structure that breaks the current, and run the lures alongside lay-downs
and log jams, as you might on a lake. Where the current sweeping around an
obstruction is strong enough to carry the lure back under a log (where you
risk getting hung up), it's probably too strong for a bass to be sitting
right in the flow; however, just in front of and behind the log or rock
there should be calm water where the bass wait for prey to be swept past.

Throwing upstream and keeping the bait moving faster than the current works
well at the head of pools, where rapids hit still water. Many times, though,
you can position yourself upstream, cast downstream, and very slowly work
the bait back up toward you. You may notice that minnows usually are fairly
still in the water, all facing upstream. Try to mimic that. The current will
give the bait lift and keep the blades spinning. You can swim it up to a
promising target and then just hold it still for fifteen or twenty seconds
while any bass in the area home in on the flash and throb of the blades.
Gently lift and lower the bait, to simulate a minnow holding it's position
against the current.

One other thing.... Mike Downs had an interesting day of spinnerbait river
fishing on the upper peninsula of Michigan that he recounted at
http://secretweaponlures.com/01081601.htm.

Joe
________________________
www.secretweaponlures.com
First real spinnerbait change in 50 years!
_______________________
"big fish 2003" wrote in message
...
I know it's winter but I need to talk about fishing. I fish rivers alot
up here in Michigan and have yet to use a spinnerbait, I don't recall
ever seeing anyone around here use one, most people use tubes, senko,
and jig & pig. How many of you use spinners and how good are they in
rivers?

I have fished spinnerbaits in the Huron River with good success. Actually,
this is a good application for Bob's SW and mepps style lures. I cast
upstream parallel to undercut banks, laydowns, and where the water boils
over rocks, and use one of two retrieves. The first reeling in the lure at
the same speed of the current, but allowing the spinnerbait to make as much
contact with the rocks as possible. Second, with Bob's SW, cast it, let it
sink to the bottom (reeling in just a enough to maintain good contact with
the lure - tight line), then just rip my rod up/sideways then let it flutter
to the bottom (again taking only enough line in to maintain good contact
with the lure), then repeat.

Actually discovered the second method by accident, after getting a slight
over run on the reel. After I pulled the excess line out, my lure appeared
to be snagged in the rocks. Ripped it and as I started to let it settle to
the bottom for retrieve #1, a nice 3.5 pound smallie nailed it. Ok, worked
once, let try it again, and it work quite a bit around the rocks. Now it is
standard operating procedure when fish rapids and rocks.

The Huron River in the Lower Metroparks is a great place to fish in the
winter because it rarely freezes over and typically where ice forms is
around the deeper holes, so you cast up on the ice and then slow pull your
lure into the water so that it falls almost straight down. Caught many a
nice smallies just as the lure falls into the water after dragging a to the
edge of the ice letting it sit there shaking it (so that it taps the ice a
few times - kind of like call the dinner bell).

Have fun and good luck!!!

Craig Baugher
Credit/Finance/Sales Specialist
(734) 218-3569 Direct Line
Bad Credit? No Problem!!!
You will be driving home in your new or used car Today!!!

Good suggestions, Craig. I'll try that rip-and-flutter technique the next
time I float the Duck or Buffalo Rivers.

I wondered who "Mr. Credit" was until I got to the end of your note.

Joe
_________________
"Mr. Credit" wrote in message
...
I have fished spinnerbaits in the Huron River with good success. Actually,
this is a good application for Bob's SW and mepps style lures. I cast
upstream parallel to undercut banks, laydowns, and where the water boils
over rocks, and use one of two retrieves. The first reeling in the lure at
the same speed of the current, but allowing the spinnerbait to make as much
contact with the rocks as possible. Second, with Bob's SW, cast it, let it
sink to the bottom (reeling in just a enough to maintain good contact with
the lure - tight line), then just rip my rod up/sideways then let it flutter
to the bottom (again taking only enough line in to maintain good contact
with the lure), then repeat.

Actually discovered the second method by accident, after getting a slight
over run on the reel. After I pulled the excess line out, my lure appeared
to be snagged in the rocks. Ripped it and as I started to let it settle to
the bottom for retrieve #1, a nice 3.5 pound smallie nailed it. Ok, worked
once, let try it again, and it work quite a bit around the rocks. Now it is
standard operating procedure when fish rapids and rocks.

The Huron River in the Lower Metroparks is a great place to fish in the
winter because it rarely freezes over and typically where ice forms is
around the deeper holes, so you cast up on the ice and then slow pull your
lure into the water so that it falls almost straight down. Caught many a
nice smallies just as the lure falls into the water after dragging a to the
edge of the ice letting it sit there shaking it (so that it taps the ice a
few times - kind of like call the dinner bell).

Have fun and good luck!!!

Craig Baugher
Credit/Finance/Sales Specialist
(734) 218-3569 Direct Line
Bad Credit? No Problem!!!
You will be driving home in your new or used car Today!!!

Thanks Joe!

--
Craig Baugher
Credit/Finance/Sales Specialist
(734) 218-3569 Direct Line
Bad Credit? No Problem!!!
You will be driving home in your new or used car Today!!!