Spinnerbait sends off good vibrations. Blade shape (inset) influences the depth lures flutter through the water.
In very deep water, anglers may employ the “stop-sink-and-go” or “helicopter” technique. With this method, pull the spinnerbait a few feet and then allow it to sink several feet and repeat. The blades continue turning as the bait sinks.
Browning and his partner, Jeff Coble of Manson, North Carolina, won a Redfish Cup tournament in Kemah, Texas by fishing a harness-style spinnerbait around rock jetties in about 10 feet of water. To get deeper, they increased the size of their jigheads to a half-ounce. Using the free-falling, helicopter method, they caught redfish that swallowed the baits while they fluttered down in the water column.
Around jetties, deep canals or other open water, anglers may use in-line spinners, or even heavy tail-spinners such as a Little George. These lead-bodied spinners generally sink more quickly than other spinnerbaits. Toss them toward the rocks or shoreline and slow-roll them just off the bottom.
“Most of the time, we use in-line spinners when we go really deep or if we are fishing jetties,” Hartsell said. “We throw them toward the rocks and let them drop into deeper water. On the jetties, we use 30-pound fluorocarbon leaders just in case we get snagged on the rocks. Fishing around rocks, the line will get bounced around and nicked a lot.”
Most in-line spinners come equipped with treble hooks. Anglers can use these baits in relatively snag-free shallow water near shorelines with the same retrieval methods used to work other baits. However, some baits have single hooks. With these, anglers may Texas-rig soft plastic trailers to them for working through thick weeds or other cover.
For years, bass anglers proved the fish-catching versatility of spinnerbaits in diverse situations. Redfish anglers can take a few tips from their bassing brethren and take fish in weedy or discolored water when all else fails.
