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THE IN-LINE SPINNERS
The Mepps Aglia: This in-line spinner is without peer in the
fishing world. There are two that I have had particular luck with.
The first is the plain silver blade size O that has a red plastic
collar on the shank of the triple hook. This baby is a go to lure
for trout in the streams of western Virginia.
The second is the size 2 or 3 silver blade squirrel tail. This
is an outstanding lure for smallmouth bass. I've caught hundreds
of smallies in the upper James and Shenandoah rivers. It's not
a question of if you are going to catch some fish, just how many.
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Blue Fox: This is another brand of in-line spinner
that a well-prepared angler should have in the tackle box.
Its blade is quite similar to the Mepps Aglia, but the
body is very different.
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The body is shaped like a bell and there is a knurled brass
bead inside the bell. The combination gives off an attractive
vibration that entices fish. The Blue Foxes come in a variety
of colors and sizes in plain hooks or with buck tails.
| The Joe's Short Striker: Back home in
the Valley we began to use a locally made in-line spinner
for stream trout. I don't know if Joe still makes them, but
Hildebrant puts out a line of them. |
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They feature a small Colorado spinner blade and fly combination.
The dirty little secret about these lures is the tiny little treble
hook that is affixed to the back of the main fly. Trout are notorious
for coming up and nipping at the tail end of a lure. Many a trout
in my creel has felt the sting of the Short Striker.
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The Rooster Tail: This the final in-line
on my happy list. This spinner features an elongated one-piece
body, a triple hook fletched with filaments and a willow leaf
blade. |
They come in a variety of sizes and colors and are good for
trout, bream, crappie and bass. While it isn't my first choice
for any of these fish, you can't go wrong by having a few in your
box.
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THE SAFETY PIN SPINNERS
The Beetle Spin: Some products become the standard
by which all other similar products are measured. The Johnson
Beetle Spin is one of them. Others might copy, but none
can exceed the catch abilities of the Beetle Spin.
They are the go to lure for crappie, bream and bass. Just
the other day I went fishing in a private pond down near,
Surry, VA. The water level was low and the perimeter of
the pond was choked with weeds as deep as three feet.
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My buddy, Wayne, and I started off using live shiner minnows
for bait. We were, of course, after largemouth bass. Nary a bass
hit our minnows, so I tried a top water lure with no better luck.
The next move was to a medium size safety pin spinner with a white
curly tail grub trailer. After a hundred casts and two hours,
I scored only two bass. In desperation and relying on previous
experience, I tied on a 1/8 ounce Beetle Spin. It had a black
headed jig with a white split tail grub on the hook. In the next
two hours I scored six bass, two bream and a yellow perch on a
day that otherwise would have been a bust.
THE SPINNER BAITS
This is a category more than a particular lure. There are so
many variations in size, color and configuration that it would
give you a headache reading a listing of all of them. The principle
difference between these spinner baits and a Beetle Spin type
lure is that the Spinner Bait has a fixed head and hook on one
leg of the lure rather than a snap to hold on a jig like the Beetle
Spin. Several brand names that come to mind are Strike King, Terminator
and Hawg Caller. There are dozens of others..
There are single spinner blade baits and double blade baits.
The blades are small, medium, large and huge. I have a Roland
Martin Big Bass spinner bait with a huge willow leaf blade and
a small hammered copper Colorado blade. l think I have only caught
one bass with that monster. A characteristic of all spinner baits
is that they use a rubber skirt on the jig head. Some skirts are
one directional and others are two directional where the front
half folds back over the hook during the retrieve.
Jig-n-Pig
While a spinner bait with just the rubber skirt will catch fish
as is, I usually put on a curly tailed grub for added attraction.
I suppose a twin tail grub like you use on a Jig-n-Pig would work
as well, but I've never tried it. The bottom line on spinner baits
is that you should have a good variety of sizes and colors in
your tackle box.
THE BUZZ BAIT
Buzz baits came on the fishing scene a couple of decades ago.
They're a variation of the spinner bait with distinct differences
in the configuration. First of all, the jig head leg is typically
twice as long as the spinner bait's leg.
Buzz Bait
Secondly, the spinner bait's blade or blades are replaced with
a propeller blade. The propeller blade gives it a unique buzzing
sound as you reel it swiftly across the surface of the water.
Knowledgeable anglers will bend the propeller blade leg so that
the tips of the blade will tic-tac on the jig head leg as it spins
during the retrieve.
There is no getting around it, shipmates, it is better to spin
and win than to shrug it and chug it. Chuggers are another story
for another time. In the meantime, keep your spinners handy and
tie them on when other baits don't catch the fish.
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