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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | What do you guys throw the most and why? I am looking to stock up on a couple spinnerbaits this year for some shallow slop work. A lot of the stuff I fish is grass, almost like narrower marsh grass. I know NOTHING really comes through that stuff clean, but what are my best choices?
Single colorado, willowleaf, tandem something, etc? I can't handle most of them before buying either (need to order), so what weights/sizes would best suit my needs?
curleytail |
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Posts: 376
Location: Lake Vermilion Tower, MN | Ducktail lures makes a great weedless spinnerbait, that goes through grass like butta.
check them out!
www.ducktaillures.com
"Ace" |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | For the worst of the nasty slop I use a Violent Strike Mag Willow. It's as weedless as any I've ever thrown. Single Willow blade.
My Son Keith builds the baits, just a few at a time. |
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Posts: 154
Location: Appleton, WI | I would agree on single willow leaf spinnerbaits for grass. |
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Posts: 2089
| The Raddog single is BY FAR the most weedless spinnerbait I've used.I change the #7 fluted that comes standard,to a #7 or #8 Colorado or willow on some . Steve |
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Posts: 20218
Location: oswego, il | For slop, stay away from a tandem, the extra stuff on the shaft will pic up crap. They are however my prefferred spinnerbait for most everything else. For burning, i really like a willow with a small colorado which gives you a combo of speed with some vibration. |
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Posts: 85
| I agree on single, I cut the 2nd blade off of many of mine. I like the sinlge blade thump.
What's the best leader option to keep the crap from getting caught a foot above the lure itself where the line is joined to the leader? That seems to be half my battle.
Thanks |
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| I mix 'em up.
Big single spins for lift and vibration.
Tandems for visibility and ease of retrieve as well as slow rolling them deep.
Beav |
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| Forgot the rest of the post....if you are talking about fishing what sounds like fine eel grass, you'll have trouble no matter what you throw. I know when I bass fish, I'll add a bullet sinker to the line tie of the spinnerbait to help come through the grass, but I'm not dealing with leaders when I do that.
Between eel grass and that curly weed, I can't find anything to get the lures to come through unscathed.
Try a buzzbait.
Beav |
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Posts: 37
Location: searchin for the first legal. | i like buchertail slop masters. my dad has caught a ton of fish with these lures. i havent had very good luck with them but i like them. these are single blade baits. sometimes tandem sometimes single blades work better.
Edited by First Legal Hntr 3/19/2007 4:54 PM
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| It's a love/hate relationship with me and Slopmasters.
I bought 3 buzzbaits, and only one worked the way that it should, and unfortunately it was all bent up by a pike and never ran well again.
The singlespins were a different story. They were easy to get to the surface quickly, and I could bulge them and get them to gurgle very easily. Unfortunately, the design made it impossible to work them in the type of water that they lead me to believe that they were created for. With both lures, there were many wasted casts. I have some bass buzzbaits that I've caught muskies with, and just might start throwing them for muskies. What the heck, they have that saucer-type head that I love, a sharp hook and the wire is buried in lead.....it should hold up to muskies, because I've caught a 42"er on this "bass lure" with no leader and 30# Fireline. Most important, they come through reeds, weeds and more without hanging up or trailing a mess of junk along with it.
Slopmaster needs firmer, smaller diameter wire....perhaps this could be a candidate for titanium. It also should come with a bullet-shaped "deflector" on the shaft to protect the business end of the spinner or buzz blades. It's a good lure, just poorly made......in my opinion.
Joe, put down the guitar and do some R&D instead of R&B.
Beaver |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | The new Cyco spinner bait by the "Cowgirl" bucktail makers is a very nice bait.
Lots of thump, flash, and noise..... Just like the cowgirl....... 1 big #10 blade and a smaller blade that works great.
Jerome |
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Posts: 697
Location: Minnetonka | I agree with Steve... had a lot of real good luck grinding those Rad Dogs. I like the tandems for night fishing... they give a little more noise and flash with the extra blade. Can't wait to use my R&H Concussion, and definitely one of those Cycos this year! |
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| Slop, Rad Dogs are best |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | What makes a Rad Dog 'best' in the slop?
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Posts: 3867
| I'm a single Raddog guy, too, for weeds. They just seem to get thru the stuff. Great for reeds. |
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Posts: 2089
| Obviously, "best" is personal opinion, but there are a few features I really like on the Raddogs for slop fishing.First, the shorter overhead arm allows the bait to ride "higher". The angle of the wire comming out of the head to the loop is closer to a straight line, similar to a Stump Hawg(Fudally) which is another great slop bait.The head design is also instrumental in sliding through and aroung the green stuff. And last but not least, the guy making them is one of the nicest guys I've met in this often crazy business.Mike was selling baits at the Blaine Show for $10.He was also doing "customs" for the same deal.Very rare today.Oh, I almost forgot about construction.These baits are built like a tank and use good quality components including metal beads. I may change blade configuration (personal preference) but that's it. Steve |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | Thanks for all the feedback guys. If anyone has more to say keep it coming! Sounds like I might have to try some Rad Dogs.
Steve, what are the chances of me being able to order a Violent Strike from your son? What does he charge?
curleytail |
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Posts: 358
Location: London, England | Grinders and raddogs come through reasonably firm weed well, as would any short armed single bladed spinnerbait. A willow blade helps too as it spins in a tighter arc. Soft clingy weed will be a nightmare with any spinnerbait though. A jig like a "jig a beast" would be a bit better, but even then not much. |
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Posts: 52
| I like the single colorado slopmasters cause they blow out of the water so easily. ANything will get weeded sometimes, but when the slopmasters do you just give them a jerk and they blow out of the water and shuck the weeds off. If I could only have one lure it would be a black and orange single bladed slopmaster. |
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Posts: 1764
Location: Ogden, Ut | I like both Rad Dogs and Violent Strikes. The rad dogs seem to be built a little beefier, but the lighter wire on the Violent Strikes seems to allow for more vibration transfer. I tend to use smaller baits, so the rad dogs are about as big as I go. The VS spinnerbaits that I have are some smaller ones and they really slip throught he weeds nicely, yet they are easily sturdy enough to handle any fish I will encounter. Don't overlook going w/ a slightly smaller bait when trying to slide through the weeds. I have noticed that the Rad dogs (possibly due to the heavier construction) will clear tangled weeds more often w/ a good yank when fouled.
S. |
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Posts: 724
Location: Southern W.Va. | Got to agree ( what am I doing!!) with Steve J about the Rad Dog. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best on the market.
Mauser |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I like the Mag Willow so much it's hard to use another spinnerbait these days. Shorter arm, .051 wire, and 7/0 hooks. I did really well on that bait last year.
I'm going to try working a Colorado when I am moving alot of fish on the Mag Willow to see what happens. |
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Posts: 317
| I like the Grinder for grinding through vegetation and a slopmaster for buldging over vegatation.
Edited by MuskyStalker 3/21/2007 10:50 PM
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Posts: 1937
Location: Black Creek, WI | For slop fishing I like the Grinder for a faster presentation and the Rad Dog for slower presentations and literally crawling over junk.
I realize that this thread is targeting fishing in heavy WEEDS.... but I often wonder why spinnerbaits are neglected in more traditional locations. I think spinnerbaits excel over clean structures... yet most tend to only consider spinnerbaits when fishing heavy cover. Why is that? |
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| Jason,
I do throw them on classic structure...some, but for me, and it is just my opinion..on say a rock bar I'd rather have 2 big trebles working in my favor than 2 single hooks...imo single hooks can get thrown easier..maybe just cuz I lost a few nice fish on lac seul in years past on single hooks my opinion is tainted but that is just me..I do throw spinnerbaits about as much as bucktails...with the new Boo Blings I got from Kevin I'm sure I'll be tossing them even more on "classic" structure
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Posts: 28
Location: Sarell, MN | For me it's easy...Raddogs, for all the reasons already stated. These baits can go through anything and take a beating.
Sean |
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| Steve, you mean Mag Willow, like the not-so-long-pointy willowleaf, but the shorter, no taper but corners willowleafs? I believe the bass boys used them first and called them tortoise shell blades. If you are using those, don't even bother thinking about Colorados. The mag willow will give you as much lift, more vibration and flash, and I believe that since the advent of the Mag Willow, there is no need for a Colorado when it comes to spinnerbaits.
Double Cowgirls should try double mag willows and see what they get. The edges on that blade give it a lot more flash than any Colorado ever had.
Beav |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | Jlong, not really sure why people don't look towards spinnerbaits for open water situations. I think a lot of people just think of a bucktail as a traditional bait for everything, and use spinnerbaits as more of a specialty bait, even though they are more multi purpose. In my case, a LOT of my fishing is in cover, so I am looking for a bait that can either go over, or through weeds. I also think a lot of the spinnerbaits that are out there are designed for shallow slop type stuff. They are almost all touted as being super weedless. I don't think as many are made like yours, and don't lend themselves to being fished very deep or very fast, like some weighted bucktails are. Just guessing I guess!
Thanks for all the replies everyone. Sounds like Rad Dogs will be something I really have to try. Might also be interested in those Mag Willows Steve talks about if I can get my hands on one.
curletyail |
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Posts: 374
Location: Bemidji | Raddogs for sure get the go ahead for fishing the slop.
There are alot of missed opportunities by not throwing large profile spinnerbaits in other situations. Using them around sharp breaks and targeting schools of baitfish present excellent conditions to connect with fish. |
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