Spinnerbait Smallmouth

[tociar]

Hey djkimmel where is the video of you catching smallmouth on SB on Burt Mullet lakes? I was going to show it to a friend of mine . Thanks Tony

[Jmeis]

I think this is what you are looking for.......http://www.greatlakesbass.com/vid/video/v2D6ua5nbcw/Fall-Northern-Michigan-Smallmouth-Bass-Tips-Mullett-Lake.html

[tociar]

Thanks

[Firefighter Jeff]

   The video's didn't help me.  I need Dan to show me himself.  lololol 

[djkimmel]

Thanks for asking, watching and posting. I also have a stickied post of some of the videos people ask me about on the forum under Bass Fishing Inland Lakes & Rivers - Mullett Lake Michigan Bass Fishing Videos

[djkimmel]

I like to watch the one of all the hooksets whenever I need a pick me up:


The original video cameraguy and I did way back in ~2008 maybe? still brings many fond memories. Though, thanks to our bass getting bigger and bigger, our Northern Michigan lakes and the Great Lakes are pretty good at adding new memories too!

[djkimmel]

   The video's didn't help me.  I need Dan to show me himself.  lololol 

I thought we already talked about the difficulty in helping some people!?! I sure hope I help myself to some more bass up there somewhere this fall! If you happen to be around...

Meanwhile:
1) 20 lbs test P-Line HALO or 20/25 lbs test P-Line CXX if we have a real good warm spell and you're using the big boy spinnerbait!
2) 7 foot Grandt Rods All-American C10 graphite casting rod
3) A nice, smooth casting reel 5 or 6 to 1 ratio with a spool big enough to hold 100 yards plus of the lines above
4) all chartreuse, white/chartreuse or all white double willowleaf spinnerbait (I've used lots of War Eagles in the past but others work well too) 1/2 oz if fishing is a little tougher and 3/4 oz big boy spinnerbait if you want to catch the big boy and girl smallies, especially after a multi-day warming, clearing trend in the fall - experiment until you seem to be getting a consistent bite
5) long casts over likely fall smallmouth haunts, engaging the reel immediately upon hitting the water, holding the rod up and reeling fast enough so the spinnerbait stays right at the surface - not 3 inches down or 6 inches down (especially not 2 feet down)
6) hang on to the rod and reel firmly while maintaining a secure stance in the boat - the strike may be a little violent, and we wouldn't want to go swimming...!!

So easy... I can do it.

[tociar]

These vides are great . Will they bite the spinner bait on lake Erie like that?

[spinnerbation]

They will bite them like that on St Clair, but Erie is a tougher lake to sell the blade bite imho. The Detroit River near Erie I've had good success on Chartreuse spinnerbaits though. But from the second week of Sept through 3rd week of Oct a white Spinnerbait is almost all I through on St Clair.

[thedude]

i've since switched out all my spinnerbaits to Red Dirt baits. I have a few war eagles laying around - they do work, but they break so easily. The Red Dirt baits are a titanium alloy that allows you to still tune/bend them to make them run faster/slower. You can catch hundreds of fish on one.

[djkimmel]

That's a good point. I loved the action on the War Eagles. The piano wire (not sure if they still make them that way?) gave lots of extra action but they can only bend so many times before the fatigue and break. I felt I was catching bass, particularly big bass, better on them but I can remember a handful of times seeing a toad leap and swim away with half my spinnerbait. Some of the War Eagle spinnerbaits would lose their wire plating and the wire actually started to rust thanks to my ability to draw lots of rain and the occasional big wave over the side.

Most of the time they took a pretty good beating compared to some brands in the past that sometimes didn't last 1 big Great Lakes smallie?!? I don't buy much new tackle but I'm getting low on good spinnerbaits. I've been experimenting with different brands the past few seasons when I can to come up with a new favorite. I actually haven't used much titanium in the past but I think I have 1 or 2 now.

[djkimmel]

These vides are great . Will they bite the spinner bait on lake Erie like that?

Anywhere you have schooling minnows (or some other high water column food source - mayflies, etc), fairly clear water, especially during the fall (spring too for prespawn usually on warming trends and postspawn feeding periods) burning a spinnerbait can fool big smallies and even largemouth bass into making the mistake of slamming your lure before it gets away.

The speed and the fact that they have to come up fast to get it can make them commit where other presentations fail. It was really Kevin VanDam during a federation tournament on Muskegon Lake who taught the initial significance doing this right makes long, long ago. KVD talks about this speed, reaction triggering quite often. I've seen him do the same thing with other lures and remember a period where other good Michigan anglers were burning other lures high in the water column to trigger reaction bites.