Heavy abuse: Roostertail vs. Bangtail

S
SmallStreams
0
I've been really banging up some of my spinners lately and figured I'd share some thoughts:

Roostertail - the epoxy paint body cracks and peels off in chunks when whacked into the rocks on miscasts (or snag recovery <ahem>). That means your colorful yellow & black fancy pattern becomes a dull grey (but it still catches fish). The blades, particularly on the 1/4 oz models, need to be tuned to operate consistently in all water flows otherwise you'll get a stuck blade that acts like a wobbler. If wedged in a crack, the shaft will bend and needs to be straightened. 1/6 oz models are a nice in-between size.

Bangtail - my 1/4 oz example is a few years old and the color pattern is no longer made (sigh). No 1/6 oz models. The all-brass body wears well, though a coat of touch-up paint is inevitable at some point. The blade is heavy and starts consistently. If wedged in a crack, the shaft will bend and needs to be straightened. There is perhaps too much length in the shaft, so the body sometimes pops over the loop holding the hook. The "holograhic" sticker on the blade has held up well and seems to give a little more flash than the Roostertail.

So in practice, while it felt like the Bangtail was a cheap imitation of the Roostertail, I've found it to be slightly more durable and reliable. Roostertail has many more sizes and colors available. In terms of fish caught, body color has sometimes made a difference, but mostly just having a nice flashy thing to follow and a fluffy fly to bite are the essentials and both lures do nicely.
 
I have a fairly nice collection of Rooster tails, and possibly 1 Bangtail. Black/White Orange hairs.

I agree I have bought more Defective Roostertails then any other Spin-bait. Most won't even spin, right out of the box. I too don't quite understand why fish still love to eat Beat-up roosters, chunks of paint missing, bent wobbley thing with 1 hair attached to the Treble, and Fish still go after it...

I have some really old Roosters I kept descent over the years. After using them I dab Reel grease on them, seems to do the trick.

What Colors have you found most Effective? I find Black, White, Brown, Yellow, Orange to be my best Colors.
 
>What Colors have you found most Effective? I find Black, White, Brown,
> Yellow, Orange to be my best Colors.

Hmm, that leaves out green, purple, blue, and grey? :)

I tend to like a blackish body with reddish tail. However, beyond liking it and it catching fishing fish, I don't honestly think it matters except when switching works.

The one that wasn't catching trout for me was the frog-colored one (usually they'd follow it, but not bite) and then even that worked on the Middle Santiam.
 
Sweet! I never catch anything on Green or Red. I fish White/Black dots a lot, and all white/silver. I went fishing the other day on the Nehalem 2 out 3 spinners I bought were defective, and did not spin, nor could I get them to spin for the life of me. I wish Wordens/Yakima bait; would make a better product.

I have been trying out PM's more. They seems to do the trick, tad more expensive, but spin everytime and very durable.
 
They have a pink bangtail that is gold for Coho, though I've never caught anything else on them, not for lack of trying however.

Brown and gold rooster tails are effective, but, like has been said, seem to require a little more tuning and loving care, not fans of abuse.
 
I may sound crazy, but I've found some of my trout spinners just get better at catching fish the more beat up they get.
 
GoneFishin2134 said:
Sweet! I never catch anything on Green or Red.

That's crazy, if i'm not catching anything my go to lure is a green roostertail. Especially for stocker trout. I also noticed the more beat up my lure gets i think I catch more. maybe my minds playin tricks on me though.
 

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