Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Sweetwater-Impoundments-Brackish » Power Fishing Spinnerbaits
Power Fishing Spinnerbaits
By Keeghan Painter
The humble spinnerbait is a lure that has been on the scene since 1951. Tried and tested, the spinnerbait has proven itself time and time again to be a bass fishing powerhouse of a lure. I’m Keeghan Painter, Tackle Tactics Pro Staff, and tournament angler, competing on the Australian Bass Tournaments Pro Circuit. In this article we are going to dive into the world of power fishing, in particular with a spinnerbait… and what better spinnerbait than one from the comprehensive Tackle Tactics range.
A spinnerbait is a type of reaction style lure that is comprised of a few different parts. Up on top of the lure there is generally a willow blade. This is a longer and slender style blade that spins, creating a level of vibration but mainly assisting in creating flash as it passes through the water column. Under that, we have a secondary blade called a Colorado blade and this blade does indeed add flash as well. Sporting a rounder shaped blade, this also creates most of the vibration as it spins through the water. The wire frame running from these blades extends down to a jighead, fitted with a silicone skirt in various colours, that pulses and moves to attract the fish that you are targeting.
Being a bass angler, I primarily use the TT Vortex range of spinnerbaits with their more compact design, however the extensive range that Tackle Tactics have to offer covers your needs from bass, golden perch (yellowbelly) and sooty grunter to Murray cod and barramundi. For more info on the full range of TT Spinnerbaits, jump onto tackletactics.com.au and have a look at the Vortex, Striker, Tornado and FroggerZ spinnerbaits.
Power fishing would have to be one of my absolute favourite styles of fishing. What is power fishing you ask? Power fishing is a style of fishing that with fast, accurate casts amongst structure filled banks of dams or rivers, allows you cover large bodies of water to maximise hook up rates of your target species. By covering water and hammering structure you cause the fish to bite out of reflex and aggravation, often instead of a feeding response. The TT Vortex spinnerbait is my favourite power fishing lure as it’s a nice heavy presentation to cast and you can retrieve it fast, while keeping it sub-surface and in the strike zone in the water column.
Mixing up the available weights of spinnerbait wills greatly enhance the chances of hooking up, based on the depth and structure that you are fishing. For example, if you are fishing a rather weedy edge or point, with only a foot or two of water above the weed, then maybe using a 1/4 or 3/8oz weight spinnerbait would be the right choice. Being lighter in weight will help to keep the lure above that weed and attract any bass sitting deep in the weed bed or grass that you are fishing. On the other hand, if you are power fishing or fishing deeper structure, such as treetops sitting in fifteen feet of water, then the 1/2oz weight option may be a better option as this will sink quicker and stay deeper in the water column as you roll it past the target structure.
The TT Vortex spinnerbait is also a great option for highly timbered or snaggy areas. Having the wire frame riding in front of the jighead allows the spinnerbait to bounce and bump off nightmarish structure that would see most other lures hung up.
The final place, and one that may seem a little strange to throw a spinnerbait, is in fact school fishing. Sometimes throwing something different at schooled bass, especially if they are sitting close to the bottom, may trigger a reaction bite. By throwing a 1/2oz TT Vortex spinnerbait amongst a school of bass, letting it hit the bottom, then slow rolling it back to your boat, you are enticing the bass with a lure that will stay in front of their faces as it passes through the water column. Hopefully the flash and vibration will entice a strike.
Now to my favourite part, colours! The colour range in the TT Vortex spinnerbait range is comprehensive. From natural colours, such as whites and browns, all the way through to greens and my favourite, Chartreuse. Choosing a colour is all dependent on water quality, food source and just finding out exactly what those picky fish want on the day. Some of my favourite colours in the range would have to be Baby Bass, Chartreuse Olive Scale, White Bony and Fire Tiger. However, like I said, bass can be picky, so sorting through colours on the day will help determine what colour they prefer at the time.
Hopefully this little insight into the world of power fishing and spinnerbaits gets you jacked up to grab some spinnerbaits, go down to your local dam or creek and chase those little green monsters. A word of advice though, once you feel that brutal strike and scratch the itch of catching bass on spinnerbaits… you will be addicted forever.
For any more information about the Tackle Tactics range of lures or just fishing tips in general, you can catch me on all the socials - Keeghan Painter Fishing. Facebook, Instagram and Youtube, make sure you drop a like, follow, and subscribe to my channel and keep up to date with all my fishing adventures. Don’t be scared to shoot me a message if you have any questions about what I have covered here today or anything else bass related, I am more than happy to answer any questions that come my way.
Tight lines guys!
Keeghan