Breakthrough Blade Designs

Drop Spinners

Putting a blade below a jighead isn’t new. Joe Hall of Blakemore has sold untold millions of Roadrunners. But until recently, upside-down spinnerbaits were mainly sized for crappie. Then, western bass whiz Aaron Martens used what he called a horsey-head jig to garner several top finishes, and the design has been picked up by TTI/Blakemore. The Rollin’ Runner is available in 1/4- and 3/8-ounce weights. Impale any fluke-style softbait on the double-barbed shank and you’re ready to fish.

The Fish Head Spin from Sworming Hornet Lures, brainchild of Rick Steckelberg, has a longer history, developed in stages over several years. The lure’s head is formed like a shad and balanced to run with the blade parallel to the hook. Hornet colors match those of Zoom Flukes and feature SPRO or Sampo swivels for free-spinning blades. Mustad Ultra Point hooks resist dulling in rough cover, an important feature since the hook isn’t protected by an arm and blade as in classic spinnerbaits. Steckelberg recommends working a Sworming Hornet over deep flats early in the Prespawn Period and around brushpiles and timber during summer. Reel slowly and steadily, with an occasional twitch.

These lures are versatile, nabbing schooling bass near the surface and working deep ledges beyond the range of crankbaits. Aaron Martens fishes horsey-heads along bridge pilings in summer and fall and through deep, standing timber during winter. He favors a super-slow retrieve for both scenarios. They promise good things when fished across reefs and rocky flats of the Great Lakes and northern natural lakes for big smallies.

Bryan Russell of Genesis Lures has taken a different tack in spinner-softbait combos. His Fx Spinner Hooks include a patented hook design, with screw-style lure keeper at the eye, a lead body at the hook bend, and a spinner blade on a swivel below. Several sizes of Colorado and willowleaf combos, as well as hook sizes, are available.

He rigs a fluke-style bait on the keeper, texposing the hook on top of the softbait. In-Fisherman contributor Gregg Meyer reports success on several species with these rigs, and I’ve made good catches of river smallmouths on the Fx. Russell says they’ve been hot sellers at Lake Fork, where anglers wind them slowly among deep timber and stumps, or along submerged roadbeds.

Another novel rigging that places a spinner at the tail is the Bladerunner from Lakeview Lures. Johnny D. White developed this bait for fishing deep smallmouths in Kentucky and Tennessee. He offers a 1/8-ounce model for crappie and Bladerunners up to 3/4 ounce for working deep with large tubes. The jighead slides into a tube and the Colorado blade trails as a stabilizer and attractor.

Meanwhile, in Nebraska, Al Patterson of ReelBait Tackle Company designed the Flasher as a walleye lure but has found it deadly on bass, as well. Available in long- and short-shank hooks to match various plastics, it features a balanced jighead that holds the bait horizontal, and it also glides over rocks easily. Flashers have a trailing willowleaf blade in weights from 1/8 to 3/4 ounce.

The E-Chip Advantage

Cliff Liddy of Persuader American Angling has added one more dimension to spinnerbait attraction, setting an E-Chip onto the hook shaft. Erratic movement or vibrations cause this tiny electronic device to emit a low-voltage charge said to be similar to that produced by baitfish. Within the E-Chip, a tiny BB contacts a ceramic crystal, which discharges the electric impulse. It requires no batteries and doesn’t wear out. Liddy says field testing has demonstrated advantages over normal spinnerbaits in numbers of bass caught per hour.

Since Shannon Twin-Spins revolutionized fishing in the 1920s, spinnerbaits have been fooling bass and leaving anglers wondering why. With today’s new wrinkles, this magic relationship is sure to endure.