Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Pro-Lure-Fishing-Tips » Into A Spin
Into A Spin
Cameron Cronin
From the moment I first tied it on, the TT Lures Jig Spinner has become an irreplaceable part of my bass fishing arsenal. Although not a lure itself, the Jig Spinner consists of a Colorado blade that spins on a swivel, to create flash and vibration, that is then attached to a spinnerbait style wire frame so that a jighead or lure can be connected via a small clip. The Jig Spinner is available in two colours (Gold and Nickel (Silver)) as well as three different sizes, accommodating for almost any bass sized lure.
Before I first trialled the Jig Spinner, I was admittedly doubtful of how this attachment would catch me more bass. I was more than satisfied with soft plastics, rigged on a standard jighead, and as a result my small collection of Jig Spinners spent a lot of time sitting in my tackle box, waiting for the day where I would finally put them to use.
The time finally came on a routine trip down to Shoalhaven River, above Tallowa Dam on the NSW south coast. The month was April and a bout of unusually cool weather and heavy rain had dirtied the water, leaving the bass shutdown and very difficult to catch. After an hour of chopping and changing lures for no results, I came across a gold, size one Jig Spinner, attached to a 1/6oz weighted ZMan 2.5" GrubZ, at the bottom of my tackle box.
With nothing to lose, I tied it on and sent it hurtling towards the same snag that I had just peppered with a small soft plastic. Believe it or not, I barely had time to wind the handle before the lure was crunched by a healthy bass. By the end of the session I had managed around 15 bass on this combination, while my brother fishing other 'go-to' lures beside me failed to produce a single fish. Needless to say, I was blown away by the difference such a simple attachment could make in such difficult conditions, and I was excited to have a new technique under my belt to try in some of the smaller creek systems back at home.
Since that day I have spent many successful sessions throwing Jig Spinner rigged plastics around my local creeks. Out of all of these sessions, two particular sessions stand out as the best demonstration of a Jig Spinner's ability to turn on a shutdown bass bite.
Arriving at a small creek system that we had never fished before, we scrambled down the bank at the first sight of water and began to throw around cicada topwater lures. The water was murky and cold, but cicadas hummed noisily and anticipation was still high. An hour passed with only a single fish landed and doubts began to creep into my mind as to whether we had chosen the right creek to fish.
After switching to a ZMan GrubZ and landing a few fish, we came across a large pool on a sharp bend and decided to sit down and have lunch. As I fumbled through my bag looking for some food, my hand closed around a packet of Jig Spinners and instantly I remembered my success in similar conditions back at the Shoalhaven River while using this lure. I quickly cut off my Motor Oil ZMan GrubZ, clipped it onto the gold, size one Jig Spinner and pitched it deep into a shady undercut on the opposite bank. After a few cranks of the handle I was hit by a wave of deja vu as my Jig Spinner was slammed by an energetic little bass. Once again this simple lure change marked the start of an awesome session, with our handful of Jig Spinners accounting for double hook-ups at almost every pool and totalling over 80 bass by the end of the session.
Returning for another session the following day, we trialled crank baits, soft plastics, surface lures and hybrids like Bent Minnows, for next to no result. More than once we were amused by bass smashing a fouled up Jig Spinner, spinning clumsily across the surface, while a top of the range cicada imitation worked only a metre away received not a touch. By the end of the day we had totalled another 81 bass and once again I had been blown away by the sheer fish catching ability of a Jig Spinner rigged plastic.
The reason I believe that Jig Spinners are so effective, is that they allow you to present a lure that is essentially a miniature, lightweight spinnerbait. The wire frame rapidly decreases your snag rate, while the metallic blade adds flash and vibration to the presentation, triggering an aggressive reaction strike from inactive fish in dirty water.
Fishing the Jig Spinner is a fairly simple matter. Using it on the lightest jighead possible, cast in tight to structure, allowing the lure to flutter down into the strike zone. Just before the lure hits the structure / bottom, commence a slow rolling retrieve, adding in the occasional pause if the depth permits.
Although without the exciting surface strike that accompanies many popular bass lures, the noisy, flashing action created by the Colorado blade lends itself to drawing a brutal strike from native fish, which I reckon is just as exciting in its own right. When I first started using the Jig Spinner, I was initially worried about the thin wire giving way with the strikes I was receiving from larger fish, but this is not the case. On the trip mentioned above, I used one Jig Spinner for an entire day and landed over 50 bass, without signs of breaking, despite locked drags and constant strikes all day. ?Although Jig Spinners are designed to be used with plastics, clued in anglers are beginning to use them in conjunction with a variety of popular bass lures, with lipless crankbaits and small vibes being particularly effective.
With winter coming up and bass beginning to get harder to catch, Jig Spinners will become an increasingly effective option for those looking to finish the bass season with a bang. Although they aren't the 'be all and end all' of bass lures, let me end by saying this. If you love your bass fishing (or any freshwater native fish for that matter) and haven't used a TT Jig Spinner, grab a few different colours and sizes, head down to your favourite bass spot and give them a shot. If you're anything like me, you'll probably end up wondering how you had ever fished without them!