April 2014 Fishing Blog

Spring has officially gotten here but “old man” winter is hanging on for everything he can find.  Water temperatures are still below 50 degrees F, which is my favorite temp to start trying to key in on pre-spawn smallmouths.  However, the warm weather is upon us and the fishing for lunkers is eminent — the only problem is that it is going to be a shorter window before they spawn and head elsewhere.  There are many reports of some good fish being caught on jigs and tubes on the days that the fish are willing to cooperate and the minnow bite is just around the corner.  What I mean by the “minnow” bite is that these fish will soon be willing to go after a crankbait, spinnerbait, fluke, or senko.  So, let’s focus on the spinnerbait in this month’s blog post.

Assorted blade styles and wire forms on some spinnerbaits

There is no question as to how valuable a spinnerbait is to a lake fisherman in the spring for largemouths and the river smallmouth will react to this bait in much the same way – you just have to be willing to deal with a few issues.  One issue is that the spinnerbait is fine around a log with no current but when stream current gets factored into the equation things can get a little touchy.  You have to realize that you are going to lose quite a few before the day is over.  I have found that the ones without the twist for the eyelet are a little more forgiving on the river.  Another issue is the weight of the spinnerbait – this is totally dependent on where you are targeting your fish.  If they are up tight to the bank behind boulders in less than 5 feet of water you could get away with a 1/4 ounce bait but if you are fishing for bass in deep wood you will need to go to 3/8 or 1/2 ounce baits.  A third issue is to decide as to what type and quantity of blade that you want on the wire form.  Personally, I prefer a single willow leaf.  My thoughts have always been that the willow leaf provides less drag than a colorado and looks more natural as a small minnow being chased by the bigger baitfish.  It will also get deeper quicker than other blade styles.  The biggest drawback of the willow is that it takes a little more water to turn the blade over but you already have the current helping you out on that scenario.  A real big issue is the color.  Natural colors are a great place to start but there are times that a chartreuse or a black bait are very effective.  I have seen chartreuse “come on” in the middle of the day on clear water conditions for no known reason and have seen the black or the black/blue spinnerbait become very effective right at dark.  One last consideration is whether to fish “with” or “without”.  This is like ordering a hamburger at the old Roanoke establishment called the Texas Tavern – you either got it with or without all of the “fixens”.  Some bass will go crazy if the spinnerbait is doctored up with a good sized trailer on the back but then there are those times that they will be turned off to the trailer and want to short strike everything. 
Whatever your curiosities or inclinations are, be willing to give a spinnerbait an honest try and you might surprise yourself, as I certainly learned years ago, that the spinnerbait will catch decent and even lunker sized smallmouths.  Finally, remember to be considerate of others on the river (the warmer weather will bring about lots of other boaters), be careful, and practice “catch and immediate release” – this will ensure that you or your partner will have some more good luck next time.   Until next time, thanks . . .


Richard Furman, Twin River Outfitters Fishing Guide


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