Blade Baits: Everyone should use them!!

[andrewlamberson]

I have always been a Blade bait fan and when I started making lures it was one of the first Do-it molds I purchased.

My love of Blade Baits was reinforced yesterday while fishing in a backwater of the Mississippi. The largemouth were chasing bait (shad) and I out on the small size Do-it Blade bait painted white and in an hour (it then started to rain) I landed 8 really nice largemouth (2-3 lbs average).

They were swallowing that bait!

Here is a great article and video from Partycrasher (Marc)  that is a must see/read !

http://thelureofthefish.blogspot.com/

I really like to use the double hook put on with the points pointing backward. The river is full of wood and this makes the bait very snag-resistant and I don't think it negatively affects hook up (it sure didn't yesterday!). I put them on "direct connect"....no split ring. I normally don't add hooks until I fish them so I can keep a bunch in my box by size and color without tangling.

I'm going through my box and taking the hooks off all of them! I keep the hooks in the same box, the new Plano Edge boxes with rust stop inserts (and desiccant insert which is under the bait). The boxes are SUPER!



https://barlowstackle.com/Do-It-Vibrating-Blade-Lure-Molds-P289/


By the way.... a silver blade with some Sally Hansen's hard as nails over the lead so it doesn't oxidize are DEADLY!

[alwrenn]

Nice Andrew. You have convinced me that I should purchase one of these molds.

[efishnc]

Actually chasing or just schooling around them?... we were on the Tremplo lakes two weeks ago, doing fairly well feeding them jerk baits and wacky worms, and they seemed a long way from chasing... also, what were the relative water stats where this was happening?

[andrewlamberson]

Chasing...big time! The water temp today was 42. I would think the water in the backwater area was in the mid to high 40s because it was 55 and sunny and moving through a shallow backwater area. The shad were schooling on the surface. The water was about 3' deep.

Today a different deal. We fished for about 3 hours and landed 9 bass and 2 Northern Pike. Scott landed 2 over 5ilbs! Mine ...well....2lbs or so. All on lipless cranks or blade baits. Nothing on a slow roll chatter bait or even the good ole black and blue Arkie jig. North wind and cold!

[21xdc]

Me love blade baits.... Ice off to 60* is good blade bait temps.... But 39-55* is awesome.

[andrewlamberson]

Tomorrow I'll be fishing them in deep water kind of like an Arky jig. Watching for a hit on the drop, pulling them off the bottom and letting them fall back and rest on the bottom for a count of 20. I get a number of hits with the bait on the bottom. I like to "pull it" off the bottom vs a jerk so I don't spook fish.

Normally super deadly just before the water ices up. It was also the hot technique during early ice fishing (for the skinny guys).

Here is a good video on fishing blade baits in cold water (39 degrees in this case!) :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyX4SwCeRL8

Andy

[21xdc]

I like blade baits that stand up on the bottom... 

[WALLEYE WACKER]

Blades are a must have all year.

[efishnc]

Me love blade baits.... Ice off to 60* is good blade bait temps.... But 39-55* is awesome.

Well, I use traps from the mid-40s on up, so I guess I can see the blade baits working then as well.

[efishnc]

Tomorrow I'll be fishing them in deep water kind of like an Arky jig...
Andy

What kind of depth (and depth changes) are you talking?

Lake Onalaska has dredge lines that go from 2ft to 20ft in an instant, a great spring spot, where I have beat 'em up for decades with a variety of lures, but I cannot recall any action deeper than +/-10ft (with most being 6ft and shallower) once the ice is off...  plenty of good fish (with virtually no dinks) on the upper portions of these dredge lines, so I've never looked elsewhere once I found this pattern.

[efishnc]

My back went out last Wednesday, I struggled through Thursday, and begrudgingly went to the chiro on Friday... he darn near broke me, so I'm really limited in what I can do, but I wish I was out there lip-jacking some of those swamp trout like you are!

[21xdc]

Well, I use traps from the mid-40s on up, so I guess I can see the blade baits working then as well.

These are not fished like lipless trap type baits.... More like a jig or worm.

[21xdc]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOLSAKwK1oI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcSMPRFJlMY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fZUtFIS2vI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzWGXf3sXpE

[andrewlamberson]

That last video is exactly the way I rig my double hooks. 

With the points face backward so the bait and run into wood and bounce right off!

Thanks for the videos. That kept me busy for a while!

One of the other videos mentioned that these baits cast a country mile! That was key because I needed I needed to make a long cast from the bank to get the far side of the slough and over the current feeding in. It let me fish both sides of the current seem. Even the smallest/lightest of the baits can be cast a long way!

[21xdc]

I use VMC 9908 Limerick hooks in black nickel...