How to Fish a Spinnerbait

A spinnerbait combines a lure body with one or more spinning metal blades. Wikipedia explains that the blades create turbulence, noise and flash: the vibration is picked up by a fish’s lateral line, the sense that lets fish feel movement in the water at a distance, and the flash can be seen from far off in clear, calm water. Spinnerbaits are used mainly for freshwater fish such as bass, pike and perch. New York DEC lists a white 1/4-1/2-oz. spinnerbait as one of its effective rigs for bass. This guide covers blades, frames, retrieves and trailers.

Two kinds of spinnerbait

• In-line spinner: a blade turns around a straight wire, usually with a weight behind it and a treble hook. Wikipedia notes it twists the line, so a swivel helps, and that it isn’t good in heavy weeds or for very slow or vertical presentations. In-lines come from small trout and panfish sizes up to six-inch musky and salmon lures.
• Safety-pin spinnerbait: a wire frame bent about 90 degrees, with a lead head, skirt and single hook below and the blade on the upper arm. Wikipedia calls it probably the most popular spinnerbait among US bass, northern pike and redfish anglers, and says it can fish the whole water column.

Blades

Wikipedia describes the two main qualities of a blade as flash and vibration:

• Colorado: round and cupped, made for maximum vibration, which fish can detect at long distances and the angler can feel through the rod. Favoured in murky water, at night and in deeper water. It spins with less speed, so it suits slow retrieves.
• Willowleaf: long and narrow, with the most flash and very little vibration, so it imitates baitfish. It needs the most speed to keep spinning and is used for fast retrieves and through vegetation, and when visibility is good.
• Indiana: a hybrid between the two and a versatile middle ground; the main blade on most in-line spinners.
• Tandem: a popular safety-pin setup with a Colorado blade mounted just ahead of a willowleaf.

Wikipedia adds that hammered blades reflect light at more angles than smooth ones, and that painted and fluorescent blades stand out more in low light.

Short arm or long arm

From Wikipedia:

• Short-arm baits fall better and suit vertical presentations: dropping along bridge pilings, docks or steep bluffs, “yo-yo” retrieves, and slow-rolling or dragging on the bottom. The short arm guards the hook less, so they snag more in weeds and brush.
• Long-arm baits suit multiple blades and need more weed resistance on a horizontal retrieve, and are typically preferred for waking. They tend to nose-dive when you stop reeling, and the arm can sometimes block the hook point.

Retrieves

• Steady, just below the surface: often how safety-pin spinnerbaits are fished (Wikipedia). DEC’s version for bass: in shallow water over or along the edge of vegetation, reel fast enough to keep the bait above the weeds, and occasionally pause and let it fall.
• Slow roll: keep the lure in contact with the bottom through the retrieve, like a skirted jig (Wikipedia). A Colorado blade keeps turning at low speed.
• Drop: stop reeling and let the bait fall; the blade helicopters above the body like a dying minnow. Wikipedia says the strike most often comes as you resume the retrieve.
• Wake or buzz: reel faster so the bait bulges the surface and leaves a wake, or faster still so the blades chop the surface.

If the bait rolls over on its side, Wikipedia notes oversized blades or too fast a retrieve are the usual cause; a bait that runs true, with the arm and hook vertical, hooks fish better. Our lure selector matches lures to conditions, and fishing a crankbait covers another reaction lure.

Trailers and trailer hooks

• Trailers: a soft-plastic (or pork) trailer on the hook changes profile, action and lift. Wikipedia: a split-tail eel adds little lift, a large curly-tail grub gives the most action and lift, and chunk trailers add the most lift. More lift lets you reel a little slower.
• Trailer (stinger) hooks: a single or treble hook behind the main hook can improve hookups and keep jumping fish from throwing the bait. Fix it in place with a short piece of rubber or silicone tubing over the trailer hook’s eye so it doesn’t fall off or catch weeds (Wikipedia).

What it catches

MDC’s bait guide lists spinnerbaits for bass, small spinners for bluegill and crappie, and bucktail spinners for muskellunge. See our largemouth bass and northern pike profiles for where those fish are.

Sources

• Wikipedia, Spinnerbait. Read 28 October 2026.
• New York State DEC, Fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass. Read 28 October 2026.
• Missouri Department of Conservation, Bait and lures. Read 28 October 2026.

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• Spinnerbaits - browse current options and reviews on Amazon.
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• Soft plastic trailers - browse current options and reviews on Amazon.

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