Spinnerbait Problems

[morefuninajeep]

I built a few using the ultra minnow body and twisted wire shafts in the 3/8 size. I cant seem to get more than a couple casts and they wont track right. I have 2 combinations that I tried. one was #5 willow and #3olorado the other was a #4.5 willow and #2 Colorado. I have tried lots of bending to tune it but after a few casts have to re bend.

[mark poulson]

Maybe use a stiffer or heavier gauge wire.

When you twist the wire you may be removing some of the temper, too.  Bending wire heats it.

[smalljaw]

For me those blades are about the biggest I would use on a 3/8oz bait, in fact the #4.5 and #2 is what I use on my "all purpose special". I think I know what may be causing your problems, the wire form could be the culprit. I make my own wire forms but I do use pre-bent ones as well from time to time but they are the "R" bend type, I've had too many problems and actually lost a big fish while using the looped or twisted wire form. If you are making a couple cast and the bait is running fine then all of a sudden it is fouling, look at the line tie, a lot of times the line gets caught in the loop and it may be happening to you. Also, if you are using a snap then look for a problem at the line tie, specifically you want to look for nicks in the line as it may indicate that the line is getting hung up on the loop. While the first set of blades is a little large for my style, it isn't so big that it would cause tracking problems, the only thing that happens with oversize blades is the bait will roll to one side or the other if you reel fast, if you are talking about the roll issue then it is directly related to the blade size and depending on the wire diameter you may have to go down on the willow to a #4 but it all depends on what the bait is actually doing in the water so a little more specifics would be helpful.

[Curt - NC]

I purposely stay away from twisted loop wires for spinnerbaits. As mentioned above, they can and will nick your line and cause break-offs if you don't check the line religiously.

 

And the #5 willow is a bit large for a 3/8 bait and will definitely cause rolling on anything but the SLOWEST of retrieves. Definitely drop down a size.

[smallmouthaholic]

I'll throw my 2 cents into this discussion-

 

1-Close the distance between the upper arm wire and the lower wire attached to the head and hook when you want a faster retreive. Open the distance for slower retreives.

 

2- i only use Worth willow blades since they have the best"tight to the shaft '' revolutions and start faster then other willow blades. A wide,wobbling rotation of the willow blade may throw your bait off balance.

 

3- Looking from the end of the hook to the line tie eye, make sure the wire is straight exiting the head ( in line w/ the hook) to the  line tie eye.

 

4-Looking down on top of the spinner bait- make sure the top wire is in alignment w/ the bottom wire- directly underneath

 

5- Use a Worth or Sampo ball bearing swivel.The much cheaper ,foreign made B.B. do not rotate as well. You get what you pay for.

 

6- Make sure any plastic trailer is straight and not too big for the spinner bait.

 

7- Use .040 S.S. wire diameter for best,sustained results.

 

I have no problem w/ #5 Willow blades on a 3/8 oz. spinner bait

 

Edited for spelling

Edited August 22, 2013 by smallmouthaholic