Blind Fishing Boat

By Lawrence Euteneier

After losing my eyesight and the ability to read fishing magazines, I was pretty-much cut off from learning about fishing innovations.  For the most part it wasn’t such a big deal, as with most people who love fishing, I had already accumulated several life-time supplies of tackle which saw me through the next 25 years.  When the internet and talking computers came along I got “plugged back in”.  The biggest surprise for me was the spinnerbait.  I had always enjoyed using my in-line spinners, but a spinner that you could throw into any junk, bump off any structure, cover water quickly, and catch fish to boot, it blew my mind.

My first choice when I pull up to a new location is a spinnerbait.  Not only does it catch fish, but spinnerbaits allow me to explore the entire water column for a 200-foot  radius around my boat.  It’s the quickest way I know of to both learn the composition of the underwater environment, and to determine if fish are in the area. 

Origins of the Spinnerbait:

The “safety-pin” or overhead blade style spinnerbait was invented in 1951.  It differs from the in-line spinner through its incorporation of a metal wire bent 90 degrees.  The main line is tied to the point of the “V” in the wire bend, with spinning blades situated at one end of the wire and a single hook with weighted head and skirt at the other.  The bait is intended to mimic one or more fleeing or dying baitfish, and is extraordinarily snag resistant. 

Rod, Reel and Line:

Several types of retrieves can be used with the spinnerbait and all can be executed using the same basic set-up.  A 6-7 foot medium to medium heavy, fast or extra-fast, rod equipped with a higher-speed reel and 12-15 pound monofilament line is ideal.  It’s important to use a rod with considerably less parabolic flex than what one would normally use for retrieving reaction baits.  Whereas crankbaits come with finer-wire treble hooks that pretty much set themselves, spinnerbaits have a single thicker-wire hook that takes more effort to set.  My favourite spinnerbait combo is a Shimano Curado E7 loaded with 14lb monofilament line and a Shimano Crucial 7’ medium-heavy, fast action rod. 

Reels with higher gear ratios are needed for retrieving spinnerbaits just below the surface.  Baitcast reels are preferable because of their strong drag systems and functionality that allows the fisher to control the amount of line leaving the reel.  Eliminating slack line during the cast will keep the spinnerbait from sinking before commencing the retrieve.  Spinning reels, on the other hand, allow excess line to leave the spool during casts allowing extra time for the spinnerbait to sink; reducing the total distance the spinnerbait is retrieved at an optimal depth. 

To compensate for the stiffer fast or extra-fast action of the rod, monofilament line is recommended because of its ability to stretch.  Using low to no stretch line such as braid will result in fewer positive hook-ups as the fish won’t have the opportunity to turn without the spinnerbait first being plucked from its mouth. 

Hook-Sets:

When fish are focussing their energy on pursuing and capturing a spinnerbait, they aren’t thinking about crushing the pray which they assume to be one or more fleeing baitfish.  They also aren’t expecting their pray to have the strength of the human who’s holding the other end of the line.  Thus, Fish need to have the opportunity to turn before pressure is applied. 

Setting the hook when a fish is face-on to the fisher also seldom works due to the natural torpedo shape of the fish causing it to be pulled forward through the water, scaring the fish enough to cough up its meal.  Waiting for the fish to turn before setting the hook means the body of the fish is now perpendicular to the fisher, resulting in greater resistance and a solid hook set. 

 In situations where fish are nipping at the spinnerbait just short of the hook, the addition of a trailer hook can sometimes assist with hooking up.  Place a single J-hook with the point facing up or in the same direction of the main hook when fishing cover, or with the trailer hook opposite to the main hook when fishing open water.  The down side of stinger hooks is the problem they can create when releasing deeply hooked fish that have struck aggressively. 

Finally, when bringing larger fish near the boat It’s always a good idea to back off the drag as the reduced length of shock-absorbing line between you and the fish means less give, making it easier for the fish to tare free with a strong head shake. 

Colour and Size:

Matching the hatch is always a good rule to follow to a degree, but not necessarily to the point where your lure is a mirror image of the pray.  Natural bait takes on coloration to blend in with their environment and avoid detection, which isn’t what a good lure should be doing.  However, having elements of the pray’s colours represented in your spinnerbait makes sense if you are going to fool fish into striking. 

Nickel blades work best under clear conditions, with gold blades performing well in slightly stained water.  However, metallic blades become invisible in heavier stained water since there’s no light to reflect, which is when painted blades come into play. 

Water Clarity and Retrieval Speed:

In clear or lightly stained water use natural colours and slightly smaller profiles.  As water gets murkier, increase bait size, use brighter colours, and slow down the retrieve. 

Blade Shape:

Blade shape relates to retrieval speed, flash and sound.  To make faster retrieves easier use willow shaped or smaller Colorado blades.  When fishing more opaque water it’s necessary to reduce your retrieval speed which renders willow blades ineffective.  Instead, use Colorado blades to produce a strong thumping sound at slower speeds.  Indiana and Turtle blade shapes are variations of both the willow and Colorado, and Are ideal for mid-speed retrieves.  Also, keep in mind that twin blades will produce more flash, but a single blade will create more sound as two blades always spin at different speeds and will cancel out their respective sound waves.  The length and stiffness of the spinnerbait’s wire arms also differ widely with longer arms offering greater lift, vibration and snag resistance, and shorter arms being preferable for fishing vertically or when bouncing a single-blade Colorado spinnerbait along the bottom. 

Skirt Size:

Skirt size is also linked to water clarity.  Thinner skirts for clear water as they move through the water with less resistance allowing for faster retrieves, and thicker more bulky skirts to offer a bigger target at slower retrieval speeds when fishing heavily stained water.  Bulky skirts also provide for a slower descent when fishing vertically. 

The key to fishing spinnerbaits is to show the fish just enough flash, movement and colour so that they think the spinnerbait is fleeing pray, but not too much that the fish is able to take a good look.  You’re looking for a reaction strike, not setting the table for dinner. 

Retrieval Styles:

There are three primary retrieval styles when using spinnerbaits.  The first involves retrieving the spinnerbait quickly just under the surface.   This is commonly referred to as “burning” or “waking”.  This tactic is also ideal when the water’s surface has a slight chop or the sky is overcast as fish are more likely to be looking up when light levels are lower. 

Predatory fish will use the surface as a “wall” of sorts to pin their pray against, knowing the baitfish has nowhere else to flee.  Thus, when a predator sees a spinnerbait bulging the surface, it thinks a feeding frenzy has commenced and wants to get in on the action.  It’s this style of retrieve that makes spinnerbait fishing so popular because it allows for quickly covering significant amounts of territory. 

The second most popular style of fishing spinnerbaits called “slow rolling” is used primarily when fish are holding deep in cover, in a more neutral mood, or when water clarity is significantly reduced.  It involves retrieving the bait slowly and making frequent contact with the tops of submerged weeds or bottom structure.  Spinnerbaits with bulkier skirts, larger painted Colorado blades and brighter colours are generally preferred.
The idea is to create as much commotion as possible so fish become curious about what they hear, then visually locate and strike the bait.  This style of fishing also serves to inform the fisher about water depth and structure.  Since spinnerbaits are almost impossible to snag, they are ideally suited for searching out holding structure such as rock piles, submerged weed lines, timber and drop-offs. 

The third style of fishing a spinnerbait is more akin to jig fishing.  Simply allow the spinnerbait to descend to the bottom on a natural fall, and after reaching bottom, impart several twitches with prolonged pauses in between.  Sometimes this can be just the ticket for triggering strikes from lethargic fish hunkered down deep on bright days.  The presentation is slow as are the ferocity of the strikes, so prepare to set the hook on mere resistance. 

Conclusion:

I once asked my good friend Charles Sim, FLW touring pro, what was his favourite spinnerbait, and he said, “I like them all as long as they are white”.  White is always a good starting point when fishing any species as it represents the belly colour of most baitfish when viewed from below.  Mix in some silver flash and it’s no wonder this combination is such a favorite.  It’s also not surprising that many anglers never think about switching up colours since what most fishers are doing is using the spinnerbait to conduct an initial survey of the water.  The challenge is to maintain a balanced approach to using spinnerbaits; one half exploration, and the other half fishing.  A truly dual-purpose bait that almost makes you question whether any other bait is even necessary.