With all the innovations made to bass lures and techniques over the last century, many anglers wonder if it can be productive to use inline spinners like Rooster Tails for bass fishing. The short answer? Heck yeah.
While often overlooked in favor of crankbaits, jerkbaits, soft plastics, and large spinnerbaits, there’s no doubt that inline spinners can slay bass — especially smallmouth.
Testing the spinners we make here at Top Strike Fishing has proven this to me. I’ve pulled plenty of smallmouth out of New York reservoirs and in one instance I’ve caught a few 3-4 pounders with nearly back to back casts.
In listening to the experience of other anglers, it’s been interesting to hear seasoned vets like Randy Blaukat say that inline spinners such as Rooster Tails may just be “the most underrated bass catchers of all time.”
Of course, there are better and worse times to sling a spinner, and that’s what we’re here to discuss.
When Should You Use Inline Spinners for Bass?
One of the prime times to use inline spinners for bass is when you’re fishing cold, clear water. You’re likely to encounter these conditions during spring months (March-June) as the water temperature begins to climb through the 50s, especially throughout northern and mid-western states.
Likewise, inline spinners make a good choice as the water temperature begins to drop into the 50s again toward the end of the year. Randy notes that he has probably seen the most success with using Rooster Tails for bass when fishing for spotted bass in the Ozarks around mid to late November and early December.
Between those two seasons, inline spinners can still be effective for smallmouth in particular, but you’re likely to have more productive days with other baits as the water warms up, especially if you’re targeting largemouth in lakes that have a lot of fishing pressure.
You’re more likely to find success targeting largemouth with an inline spinner if you’re fishing in smaller, less pressured water like a pond. Case in point, Jim over at The Next Cast caught a three pound largemouth on the first cast while testing our spinners in one of his ponds.
The effectiveness of inline spinners on spotted bass falls somewhere between its ability to attract bites from smallmouth and largemouth. Randy suggests using them in a similar way that you would for smallmouth, casting around rocky main lake points, particularly if you have low light conditions with some wind.
Beyond the reduced ability to generate strikes from bass during the hottest months, spinners can be more of a hassle to fish through heavy vegetation. Granted, they’re less prone to snags than bulky spinnerbaits, but inline spinners can still get snagged easily in thick vegetation compared to totally weedless soft plastics or hollow bodied frogs.
Another factor to consider is that although anglers underestimate the ability of inline spinners to draw a large number of bites from bass, Frank Racz says the ones that do bite are likely to be a bit smaller on average than if you were casting something larger such as a glidebait or spinnerbait.
What Spinner Is Best for Bass Fishing?
Opinions will vary here so we’ll give it to you straight: The best spinner is probably the one that’s already in your tackle box. In other words, the one you have confidence in, and the one you don’t have to buy.
That said, one of the perks of using inline spinners is that they’re generally less expensive than other bass lures.
If you’re looking to browse through some new spinners, we have a page dedicated to curating the most popular and unique inline spinners we can find, complete with descriptions that explain the distinct features of each design.
Many anglers swear by Rooster Tails for smallmouth, but you can rest assured that bass will bite other brands as well. Naturally, if you ask us, we think our spinners are the best around…
Consider the presentation and action that you think will be effective on the bass in your local water and conditions. As mentioned, one of the reasons inline spinners are effective on bass is that they’re more understated than the larger spinnerbaits which bass might not be as willing to bite early in the season.
If you’re aiming for the most subtle option available, the Strike King Bitsy Spin or Blue Fox Vibrax might be a good pick. Panther Martins have a similarly small profile but with more thump to their action.
If you like the Panther Martin’s clevis-free inline blade, French Tackle Company’s Mojo Morpho might be an interesting choice for folks planning to fish heavy cover such as laydown trees. It’s designed to fall backward in the water, drifting away from you and underneath the cover where bass are likely to be holding.
Taylor Man’s Kaiser Blade or KMDA’s Lil Wacker might be good picks if you’re after something with a larger profile that blends the designs of a full size spinnerbait and a small inline spinner. The former has a minnow head and a custom wire-tied skirt, while the latter has a five-inch body with a long tube skirt.
We would aim for an option that comes in 1/4oz or 1/2oz at the largest. Those sizes are heavy enough to get good casting range and sinking speed so you can cover a lot of water quickly without presenting something too bulky. As for colors, our preference is those with plain metallic gold or silver blades, though chartreuse is probably a safe bet as well.
How to Catch Bass With Inline Spinners
One of the major benefits of using an inline spinner versus something like a crankbait is the range of techniques that are available to you. You can reel them fast or slow, you can burn them just below the surface of the water or let them sink to the bottom before you begin reeling, and anything in-between. You can even do vertical jigging with them.
If you’re fishing rocky banks and points on a lake where the water temps are in the upper 40s or low 50s during early spring, we would let the spinner drop to about midway in the water and give it a slow roll. Warmer water with less sluggish fish might warrant faster retrieves and jerking motions to trigger a reaction strike.
Inline Spinners for Bass Fishing: Overlooked & Underutilized
Although inline spinners might not be the best choice if you’re after the biggest bass you can catch, largemouth in highly pressured lakes, or mid-summer conditions when the water temps exceed 60-70 degrees, spinners like the classic Rooster Tail are a versatile, effective, and affordable option that should not be overlooked by bass anglers, regardless of their skill level.
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