Adam Johnson Outdoors • Reading Outdoors

Spinnerbaits Where There is no Cover

By Adam Johnson

There are many anglers that consider the trusty spinnerbait their go-to lure when they're fishing in vegetation or brushy cover like downed trees and bulrush. The truth is, it's a great lure even when there is no cover.

Take a situation where you're fishing a rock or shale pile. This could be the perfect place for a jig, but you're going to lose a lot of lures when they get wedged in the rock or your line gets sliced by the shale. The spinnerbait becomes your next best option.

Where anglers go wrong is they don't get the lure down to the fish, especially on that deep structure. It's imperative that the spinnerbait run just inches over the top of the rock.

On the first cast make sure you count the lure down until it rests on the bottom. Then use an ultra-slow retrieve to get it back. Now you will know how long the lure can drop before it will be on the bottom; just knock off a second and you will be able to start the retrieve as soon as the lure reaches the perfect depth, and you don't worry, too much, about getting snagged up.

The retrieve should only be fast enough to get that blade moving. The bait must be allowed to run just over the tops of the rocks. If you're occasionally ticking bottom and not getting hung up that is a benefit. If you are getting snagged speed up the retrieve slightly.

I find this technique works as well on largemouth bass as it does smallmouth. It's amazing how many largemouths key on piles of boulders and cobblestones and at the base of dropoffs where piles of broken shale lies. These largemouth bass won't hesitate to hit that spinnerbait as it is slowly worked right over the tops of that structure.

We all know smallmouth love to hang near rock piles. They are likely chasing crayfish that dart from one spot to another. This is when it will add to the program to tip the spinnerbait with a plastic craw body. Now if you do this, make sure the addition of the plastic on the hook doesn't affect the way the spinnerbait runs. If this turns the spinnerbait on its side or causes the entire lure to spin, either replace the craw-trailer with something smaller or adjust it so the bait runs true.

Remember to keep two things in mind when using a spinnerbait where there is no cover. Keep the lure just inches off the bottom and use a slow retrieve. Do this and you may find the spinnerbait is your go-to lure even on the deep rock piles.