New Video Fishing Tip - Burning Spinnerbaits for BIG Fall Smallmouth Bass

[bassinman#1]

Alright Dan, Get some sponsers and a TV slot time, and your on your way. No kidding, your looked and sounded professional. So Bill Dance, Shaw Grisby, and Hank Parker move over!!!!!! Good Job Dan. Now do one at Kent and show us where they are, we got some good tourneys coming up soon. Benny

[djkimmel]

Thanks Benny! Actually Kent Lake is on our list of lakes we are working with and we've done a little bit out there already for prep work, but after seeing that big largemouth you caught earlier, I would think we'd be calling you for hot spots!?!

[bassinman#1]

Its called "GETTING LUCKY" every now and then.

[matt]

Good stuff!

[BrianB]

Dan
     Looks real good, Looking forward to seeing more.
Brian

[djkimmel]

Thanks Brian. We will probably use other people in the future and portray how to stuff from general to advanced. And I'm always interested in any tips any of you have to share!!! You are all a wealth of information.

[Mike S.]

Nice video, Dan.  I've never been much of a spinnerbait guy, but it looks like time to give it a chance.  Cy told me to watch it, and it was worth it.

[cameraguy]

Thanks for the kind words.  As far as the footage NOT seen in the video...somehow it all has mysteriously disappeared...unless enough cash can be drummed up.  D. Kimmel, do you want to start the bidding? 

[djkimmel]

Sure... but I will just cut to the chase and give my money to Uncle Cleaner. He will know how to handle this travesty.

[Mojo]

 

I like that -"he's 92% the reason for the video" all engineering ish Danny !! lol. What rod do you have ? That first 5 lbr really beat up your lure so close to the boat. You and that rod just wore him down. You guys take note, that took good mono, rod and fisherman that didnt lose that fish. Nice work guys - I REALLY HOPE to see more of cameraguy and you producing AND yes - your calm voice Dan is the perfect teaching voice for TV, then when they pound your lure your voice cracks and everyone can hear the weight of the fish in your voice !! Rare ! So consider it bro.

I picked up the Fenwick Elite Series Spinnerbait rod - 6'10" med - its the new hybrid that has the second half being fiberglass and Ive haven't missed a hookset on a spinnerbait or buzzbait yet !!  True. Worth every penny with 10 - 14 lb mono.

[djkimmel]

I was looking for the new great spinnerbait rod for that type of fishing at the time and was trying out an old crankbait rod. It worked, but was too heavy to use tossing big spinnerbaits all day without feeling like I got an unnecessarily hard workout.

I found the perfect rod for me and long-casting spinnerbaits for big smallies early this year when I picked up a Grandt Rods All American Series C10 - {Med-Hvy / LineWt. 10-17} casting rod. Very light. Perfect action for all around spinnerbait use in open water or weeds, particularly when you consider that it is a very sensitive rod. Graphite and made in the US, much nicer rod than the previous brands I've tried.

I made a mistake (something I do about 2 times a year every year seems like) and broke off the top 8 inches so I'm returning it for a replacement. I miss it already now that I'm trying some of my old choices. Noticing the big difference in less weight and much more sensitivity.

[ub2m4]

New to spinnerbait fishing. Great video. Why a white spinnerbait? What other colors would you use and why would you use them? Are there some spinnerbaits better than others? Why painted vs unpainted baits? Thanks in advance for any tips.

[djkimmel]

I've found over the years from my own experience and talking to many accomplished bass anglers that clear water smallmouth bass respond very well and aggressively often to painted spinnerbaits. Especially those not fished for real hard, but spring and fall, I always start with painted baits unless I already suspect the bass are real finicky. Then I go with natural.

I start with all chartreuse in the spring and all white in the fall, again from experience. I'll switch to the other or chartreuse/white combo if I don't get a good reaction.

Always felt that with smallmouth bass that a lot of time it is just a matter of getting their attention and reaction first. Painted spinnerbaits do that real well.

During the summer, for pressured bass, for less than ideal conditions like bluebird cold front skies, I'll usually start with more natural and even smaller spinnerbaits.

I've been using War Eagle brand for quite a while now more than the rest put together. They are mostly made out of stiff piano wire and have a very nice action. I really like their skirt shape and colors. For natural, green shad or mouse is really good.

They use decent hooks. Keep them sharp. They will bend on a big fish and even get wire rust if left wet after the plate finish starts peeling off the wire. I can usually catch a pretty good number of bass, even big ones on them before they start to rust or get bent too many times. They will break if bent too far or too often in one spot.

Because I have a lot of confidence in their attraction to largemouth and smallmouth bass, I just use new ones for tournaments (which I don't fish much right now) and real used ones for fun fishing or practice.

I round nose pliers to keep them in the shape I want. I believe the vibration in the wire gets me more bites from all kinds of fish so I accept and prefer that action over a brand with a much stiffer wire. I've tried a few titanium and other flexible brands, but I have a lot of confidence and experience with the War Eagle so I don't stay away very long.

Some people say titanium never breaks and others I talk to say they break them all the time too so I can't say for sure if they are better due to not using them myself much. I have seen a definite difference in the reaction quite often I get to more flexible wire than stiff wire over many years. Over time, more bites and fish with a more flexible wire. Too flexible and you may lose a lot of fish. War Eagles work for me.

I have tried many real light wire spinnerbaits and they can work, kind of like a finesse bait, but for the big spinnerbait burning for big smallies up north, you want something that will hold up for a while but still have enough erratic action to trigger those light biting followers that might just turn away from a spinnerbait without any extra action. Smallies are notorious followers and I do believe little differences will greatly increase your hookup rate over the course of a season.

[djkimmel]

This is along the same vein that on many days, particularly in the fall, keeping your spinnerbait right at the surface may increase your strike ratio 400 or 500% over someone who slacks off a little and lets their spinnerbait fall a foot or two down before reeling it in.

These little things make a big difference more often than not from my experience and from watching the top level bass anglers do their thing.

[t-bone]

I once saw a segment with KVD on Spinnerbaits and he claimed that stopping or killing a spinnerbait was a good way to attract bites. He'd burn it, stop it, jerk it, flutter it - varying things up. Is this something you've tried, did it make any difference?

[djkimmel]

Definitely. The 1st big one when we taped this kept nipping until I did a quick kill flutter. All it took. Watching the bait is fun and important to turn more bass. Keeping in tune with the lure, what the lure is doing is also important.

I try to read the bass' reaction by feel and/or sight.

Like any technique burning has its place as do other variations. Experimenting is always good.

[otis]

That is a great video.  Thanks for sharing.

[Jighead]

Personally, I didn't care for this video.  It was just a brutal reminder that another fall season is upon us and I STILL haven't planned a late season trip to Mullett Lake! 

Seriously Dan,  I can only echo what others have already said.  One question though - Do you have a problem with pike on Mullett with that all white blade?  I've turned away from all white on Clair just because of that.  May have to re-think that now....

[djkimmel]

Just this one pike on this one spot...

Not a lot of pike on Mullett in the spots I fish most.

Painted spinner baits are great up north especially spring and fall but also great anywhere for smallies spring and fall or when you need a kicker fish.

[fishlady]

I will definatly be trying this method in the spring. nice fast way to draw their attention. Thanks for the tip