| Careful bass fishermen, those who think about | | | | as they seek the disturbance in muddy water. |
| what they are doing and why, know that they | | | | |
| can use the lures in their tackle boxes to | | | | Try a big cupped Colorado style blade when |
| work for them and that each one has an | | | | you seek to make the most underwater noise. |
| optimum range of service. | | | | On the other hand, when vibration isn't too |
| | | | important but plenty of flash is, try a |
| Each kind of lure has certain times and | | | | willow leaf blade. The most popular sizes of |
| places in which it is most effective. Some | | | | willow leaf blades are No.4 to No.8. Since |
| lures work deep and some stay on the surface; | | | | you'll be fishing a spinnerbait mostly around |
| some baits should be retrieved slowly and | | | | heavy cover such as weeds and wood, be sure |
| others should be burned along. So when the | | | | to knock the lure into the cover regularly. |
| fish are deep, don't (in most cases) go with | | | | That is, bump a stump or tree trunk with the |
| a surface lure. And when the bass are | | | | lure and then let it settle a foot or so. |
| lethargic, don't make them chase a speeding | | | | |
| bait. | | | | Strikes from ambushing bass often will occur |
| | | | just after a spinnerbait hits a piece of wood |
| Choose The Right Color | | | | then tumbles down. Too, you can slither the |
| | | | lure over snags that are out of the water and |
| As each lure has a job to do, each color has | | | | let the lure slip quietly into the water |
| a purpose, too. While some research indicates | | | | below the tangles to sneak up on lurking |
| fish respond better to some colors than to | | | | bass. Spinnerbaits and crankbaits are |
| others and that water clarity has a lot to do | | | | generally used to cover water quickly. |
| with what color lure might work best, it ia | | | | Generally use a spinnerbait if the water is |
| beyond the realm of most fishermen to obtain | | | | shallow and a crankbait if the water is deep. |
| a device that indicates the best hues to use. | | | | |
| | | | When To Use Crankbaits |
| So stick with crawfish colored lures when | | | | |
| working close to the bottom around rocks, | | | | Crankbaits are especially productive on |
| stumps, and willows. Use a fish colored bait, | | | | active bass that are willing to run down a |
| such as one painted chrome or silver or gold | | | | meal. When the crankbaits are working to |
| or like a shad, when working around deep | | | | their potential, they are digging their big |
| points or around schooling baitfish. | | | | plastic bills into the sand, gravel or rocks |
| | | | on the bottom, deflecting themselves off |
| Try bright colors such as hot pink or | | | | objects and bouncing tantalizingly in front |
| chartreuse when the water is stained to the | | | | of hungry bass. They should be used when you |
| point that visibility is less than 18 inches. | | | | want to quickly prospect for bass along an |
| But chartreuse also works well in water that | | | | underwater hump or reef, down a steep or |
| is fairly clear, and it is an excellent | | | | tapering point, along the sides of a road bed |
| choice in spinnerbait skirts. | | | | or around a launch ramp. |
| | | | |
| Some bass anglers prefer chartreuse | | | | Some expert bass fishermen use crankbaits in |
| spinnerbaits around weed beds (and many like | | | | heavy cover such as trees and stumps, but |
| black there), while others go with white | | | | those are places where a beginner should take |
| shirted lures around wood structure. | | | | considerable care. Because they mostly are |
| | | | floaters, crankbaits will bob back to the |
| When To Use Spinnerbaits | | | | surface if you stop retrieving them; but if a |
| | | | hook is stuck in a branch, the lure will be |
| These are the most versatile of bass lures. | | | | stuck and perhaps unretrievable. |
| They can be worked deep or shallow, slow or | | | | |
| fast and in a number of motions. They are | | | | Try a crankbait in heavy wood only after |
| generally snagless, which makes them a top | | | | you've had lots of practice in walking one |
| choice around weeds and submerged trees and | | | | along a lake bottom so you can learn how the |
| willows. Use spinnerbaits generally this way: | | | | lure works. Many fishermen use three color |
| | | | patterns in crankbaits: chartreuse or |
| Try the inline models only in fairly open | | | | firetiger, shad or chrome, and crawfish or |
| water, although they can fished among rocks | | | | reddish orange. These colors will mainly get |
| with only a slight chance of snagging. Stick | | | | the job done whenever a crankbait will do it. |
| with the safety pin spinnerbaits around | | | | |
| trees, willows, weeds, of all varieties, boat | | | | Another selection of many anglers is the deep |
| docks, stumps, flats, and long tapering | | | | diving models over shallow runners because |
| points. | | | | the big plastic bills on the deep diggers |
| | | | serve several purposes. They deflect off |
| A spinnerbait is one of the absolute best | | | | snags and they dig puffs and furrows as they |
| baits to use if the water is very dirty, | | | | nose down into the lake bottom. The result is |
| especially in the summer and spring. The | | | | an added attraction that might draw attention |
| blades on the lures send out a lot of | | | | of a hungry bass. |
| vibration as they rotate through the water | | | | |
| and the action gives fish something to key on | | | | (to be continued... |