Blade baits

[YpsiBass]

Anyone have any luck fishing these in the late summer/fall?  Anyone have a favorite brand or size/weight?  Just picked up a couple Damiki Vaults to try in the Thursday Belleville tournament.  Smaller profile than a spoon I figured it would be worth a shot.

[djkimmel]

I really like blade baits. Won two tournaments in the fall using only blade baits on Cass Lake back when I still fished tournaments somewhat regularly. They work anytime of the year but are most deadly in the cold water seasons when fish are more bunched up deeper. Other lures are more efficient usually in the warm water.

Did you see our video of Scott Dobson on Lake St. Clair in November? He does a pretty good live seminar on blade baits in that video and we really whacked a bunch of them that day. I caught my biggest smallmouth bass ever on a blade bait - about 5 /12 pounds - earlier that same week on St. Clair. Check out the video on www.greatlakesbass.tv - Smallmouth in the Fall.

I usually get my butt kicked when I'm with a real blade expert like Dobson, BryanP, Brian Spear and some other really good blade bait anglers. Still, I've caught lots of bass and other fish on blade baits in the spring and especially in the fall as late as December up in our North country in waters down into the 30's. I've caught fish in quite a few states and Canada on them mostly in the spring and fall. I've messed with them in the summer but other lures usually work better. Blade baits are actually one of my top 3 or 4 confidence baits for bass in real cold water.

I have used several brands and they all seem to work. A friend makes some customized homemade models I use a lot now because I have a bunch of them. I mostly use 1/2 oz but I probably should try other sizes once in a while. I mostly stick to silver though I've had a few good days in the past on white and on chartreuse. I should probably experiment more with that too though most of the experts I see use silver a lot.

I've seen bass caught on just about all of them but some do seem more consistent. Scott Dobson mentions the Poor Boys blade baits and I know a number of the really good blade bait anglers use them. Another one I know is real popular with Great Lakes blade bait experts is the VIB"E". GreatLakesBass.com sponsor MikesRxBaits.com sells that one in a number of good colors along with the ever popular silver and gold.

[YpsiBass]

Thanks for the video tip.  Completely forgot those were there.

edit: Well, I've wanted to fish LSC for a while now, but that video made it like 100x worse. Now I really, REALLY want to hitch a ride in someone's boat.  Crazy.

[cameraguy]

...Did you see our video of Scott Dobson on Lake St. Clair in November? He does a pretty good live seminar on blade baits in that video and we really whacked a bunch of them that day. I caught my biggest smallmouth bass ever on a blade bait - about 5 /12 pounds - earlier that same week on St. Clair. Check out the video on www.greatlakesbass.tv - Smallmouth in the Fall.

Plus, you get to see Dan's big smallie in that video. He caught it while I was putting away my video gear. The camera was already in it's bag. I had to power back up to record Dan landing that blade bait smallmouth. Good thing I did or I would probably have gotten tossed in the drink.

[Mike Martin]

Thanks for the video tip.  Completely forgot those were there.

edit: Well, I've wanted to fish LSC for a while now, but that video made it like 100x worse. Now I really, REALLY want to hitch a ride in someone's boat.  Crazy.

comming during the summer...its less addicting, spring or fall...you just wont wanna leave

[YpsiBass]

Yeah there were a lot of jaw dropping moments from that video.  Would actually have a chance at a master angler fish there.

[djkimmel]

It was so good at times that day it was stupid! That was Thursday. We fished a lot closer to the ramp Tuesday late afternoon / evening and still caught over a dozen to 15 bass with 3 toads and all nice ones. We are so spoiled in the Great Lakes region. Thank goodness!

That week was the best blade baiting for numbers and size I've ever had but blades have saved me on many a late season trip for largemouth and smallmouth bass!

[Skulley]

I got some old Silver Buddies and Cicadas.  They work great in the early spring and late fall when the water drops below 50 degrees.  I also use them in the summer when jigging in the deep river channels right over the top of structure.  The fish nail them. 


BD