Modifying Big Spinnerbait For Waking?

[blazt*]

I found some big musky spinnerbaits (strike king) on sale and bought a few, changing the skirts or cutting them back (they were like 5" long off the rack). They have very smooth BB swivels but I have had mixed results when burning them just under the surface. Sometimes they run straight but they usually roll regardless of the fine tuning I give the wire arms. I even tried bending the upper arm just behind the line tie so that the wire was inline with the line tie (2 or 3 bends, much like the offset on a TruTurn worm hook). Not only that but sometimes they roll left, sometimes right. The roll is not severe, but enough to ruin the retrieve. The have a twisted line tie, sadly, rather than an R - bend.

Head size is 1 oz.

The back blade is willow, probably a size 7, front blade midsized colorado. I have tried changing the rear blade to a 6 with no change in performance. On one I removed the colorado , leaving the big single willow. This was a little better but I still got a bit of roll.

Would converting it to a tandem willow make it more stable, and is there a best front/rear size combo to achieve good stability at full burn?

Are there other possibilities? I definitely want to keep the big blade.

[smalljaw]

What you're experiencing is what got me started making my own tackle many many years ago. My favorite lure is a spinnerbait and one of the most exciting ways to fish it is to burn it just below the surface so that it bulges the water, then half way back to the boat there is suddenly a big swirl and a splash and your rod buckles as a huge smallies tries to pull the rod from your hands as you hold onto bring the big fish to your hand! There is nothing like it! Sorry about that, I kinda got carried away thinking about it but on to your problem. First thing is you were on the right path, downsizing the blades,for a 1oz head I'd go down to a #5 or #6 but a 5 is more likely to work, also go with a double willow configuration, you like the big blade as it moves a lot of water and makes a bigger wake but the torque it creates on the wire causes it to rollbut you can still get the big wake by using the double willows plus it will even out some of the torque on the end of the wire. Finally, bend the blade arm back and make sure it is straight and in line with the hook, if it is a little left or right it will roll, this is hard to do with a twisted eye lure and 1 last thing, bend the blade arm down to make a steeper angle so that the blades end up a bit closer to the hook, this stream lines the bait a little better reducing drag which will also help keep the bait from rolling at high speeds. Good luck and I hope I was of some help.

[Musky Glenn]

It is the weight of the head that holds it up right. The farther apart the blade and head are the more leverage the head has to stay on the bottom. The truth is that if you want to burn #7-8 blades, you will probably have to go to a heavier head or slow down a little. When you are up to that size spinner bait the head doesn't make the lure look much different. These are common sizes for Musky fishing. Check out some of the musky heads on www.lurepartsonline.com . Are you catching fish the way it is working? Musky Glenn

[RayburnGuy]

This technique used to work really well for me in the pre-spawn fishing for bass. Only difference is I used a large Colorado or Indiana blade instead of a willow leaf. Closing the bend and getting the blade closer to the body helped in making the bait track true. If that doesn't work your really only left with 2 alternatives. Go to a smaller blade or a heavier body.

good luck,

Ben

[blazt*]

Thanks guys. I will try bending the wire closer to the hook, and I'll go ahead and convert to double willow with a #6 main blade. Stability wise, is there a best blade size to go in front of that #6? And how much overlap between the two blades?

Musky glenn...in over 20 years of bass fishing, I have never caught one on a sideways running spinnerbait. When the model we're talking about runs nice and straight, it definitely catches 'em under the right conditions. (low light + wind)

I'm afraid you can't covert me to anything smaller bladewise for now....it's fall.

I guess I'll use some plastic vinyl tubing with a bead at either end for the spacing. If you want to chime in on this please do, before I buy anything.

[smalljaw]

Thanks guys. I will try bending the wire closer to the hook, and I'll go ahead and convert to double willow with a #6 main blade. Stability wise, is there a best blade size to go in front of that #6? And how much overlap between the two blades?

Musky glenn...in over 20 years of bass fishing, I have never caught one on a sideways running spinnerbait. When the model we're talking about runs nice and straight, it definitely catches 'em under the right conditions. (low light + wind)

I'm afraid you can't covert me to anything smaller bladewise for now....it's fall.

I guess I'll use some plastic vinyl tubing with a bead at either end for the spacing. If you want to chime in on this please do, before I buy anything.

I can't tell you exactly how to space your blades because I don't know the exact length of the blade arm but I can tell you that you want the blades spaced far enough apart that the blade on the clevis isn't revolving around the main blade swivel. For example on most spinnerbaits in the 3/4 to 1oz size the space would be 3 metal beads, 1/8" size but you could probably go with 4 as it won't hurt, the reason is you don't want to add to the torque from the main blade. If you're going to try with a #6 willow blade I'd go with a #5 as the bottom blade, normally for my 3/8 and 1/2oz spinnerbaits I go down only a half size with the bottom blade but becaue of the big blade you're using you will need to go down a full size so you don't have too much drag, even 2 sizes might help, it is pretty much trial and error but this will help get you in the ball park, good luck and let us know what worked.

[blazt*]

I tuned a couple of these with some good results. I bent the top arm straight down as suggested, and that helped. One thing I found out is that tweaking the upper and lower arms until they stand at slight opposition really helps, to a point. If you bend them too far the bait gets unstable and rocks side to side a little.

Visualize the lower wire arm, which begins at the head. This one is bent to the right with the bait facing you. Now the upper part of the arm is bent an equal distance to the left. I would start with about 1/16" or less of offset on each arm.

Remember, these are twisted eye baits and when seen from the front the upper arm will be positioned to the right before the mod because of the twist. Hence it is bent to the left to compensate. Lower arm is bent to the right to balance out the upper arm offset.

I went ahead and tandemized one of these using the ink tube from a ball point pen as a spacer. I was just kind of guessing, but the two blades are nearly nose to tip with only about 1/32" overlap. We'll see how it runs when I hit the water in a few.

For some reason the stock strk king blade (sz 7?) runs with less pull than the #6 worth blade I put on. I may go back to the big blade just because it is easier to burn and, producing less torque, theoretically should be easier to tune. The #6 worth is hammered; the stock blade had strike king's diamond pattern which I think is superior.

One thing that gets me about the waking tactic is that it usually doesn't work in really clear water without wind...but the chop pushes your bait sideways unless you throw into the wind!

Edited October 12, 2011 by blazt*

[smalljaw]

I tuned a couple of these with some good results. I bent the top arm straight down as suggested, and that helped. One thing I found out is that tweaking the upper and lower arms until they stand at slight opposition really helps, to a point. If you bend them too far the bait gets unstable and rocks side to side a little.

Visualize the lower wire arm, which begins at the head. This one is bent to the right with the bait facing you. Now the upper part of the arm is bent an equal distance to the left. I would start with about 1/16" or less of offset on each arm.

Remember, these are twisted eye baits and when seen from the front the upper arm will be positioned to the right before the mod because of the twist. Hence it is bent to the left to compensate. Lower arm is bent to the right to balance out the upper arm offset.

I went ahead and tandemized one of these using the ink tube from a ball point pen as a spacer. I was just kind of guessing, but the two blades are nearly nose to tip with only about 1/32" overlap. We'll see how it runs when I hit the water in a few.

For some reason the stock strk king blade (sz 7?) runs with less pull than the #6 worth blade I put on. I may go back to the big blade just because it is easier to burn and, producing less torque, theoretically should be easier to tune. The #6 worth is hammered; the stock blade had strike king's diamond pattern which I think is superior.

One thing that gets me about the waking tactic is that it usually doesn't work in really clear water without wind...but the chop pushes your bait sideways unless you throw into the wind!

When I'm bass fishing the best way to invoke a spinnerbait bite in ultra clear water is to burn it or wake it, the speed of the bait doesn't give the fish a good look at the bait plus it promotes a reaction strike as the fish has to commit to striking the bait right away. If the water is stained I will burn the bait also but it isn't required, I usually use a slow to moderate retrieve in stained or muddy water and I will use a moderate retrieve when there is a slight chop on the water. I make spinnerbaits to burn in current, it is how I got started because trying to find a bait on the shelf that you can burn without rolling over is tough to begin with, trying to get one that is stable in current is almost impossible but the difference is the baits I'm dealing with are smaller and have an "R" bend, the closed or twisted eye is something I tried and don't care for but in the toothy critter world is is needed for wire leaders.