Next obsession: blade fishing

[Senkosam]

Now that I've posted many photos of soft plastics that have caught all kinds of fish, I've found another fish-trigger lure type I want to investigate:
blade baits.
A month ago I restarted using the Beetle Spin which I've kept photos of with fish caught since 2017. (Good reason for keeping a photo journal!)
A few weeks ago I happened to find a Micro-Chatterbait on the ground, replacing the skirt with a 5" Kut Tail plastic worm and catching bass and crappie on it. Here's a reposting of the lure's photos:

Today, I put the silicone skirt back on and watched its swim/action. It was attacked twice - the second hit from a bass that got hooked near where I was standing. This was a wakeup call!
Every blade-bait ever made produces certain vibrations other lures don't - including crankbaits. Pulsation is the main attraction, whether from the blade(s) alone and/or from the vibrations the blade imparts to the skirted trailer, whether silicone, fur or feather. The Kut Tail Worm in the photo vibrates like crazy, accounting for very strong hits.
The Beetle Spin also imparts a vibration to straight soft plastic worms or sticks. Curl tail grubs add another pulsation to the blade's.
Straight no-tail worm Straight thin tail grub Curl tail grub

So now I'll be investigating various blade baits, making my own. In-line (i.e. Mepps type) will be fitted with a straight plastic worm just to see and feel the difference with other blade pulsators, No one ever thought to add a plastic worm to a Mepps as far as I know, but by adding a large #4 Colorado blade to an in-line, it should produce a pulsation to it similar to the Micro Chatterbait. It did well coming through the weeds and creating a nice surface wake retrieved near the surface, which a bass followed, producing its own wake not far behind! It was an uh-oh moment just knowing the strike was imminent!

The post is about another lure type that catches fish - one that pulsates & flashes vs others that have a more subtle.
Variety is the spice of fishing and methinks it's time to explore and compare pulsation to the silent wiggles of soft plastics.

BTW, it bears repeating - this forum's design it the best ever!!!!

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[bass]

What is the last fish on the right? It looks like a big golden shiner or something?

 

[Senkosam]

It's a white perch - no relation to yellow perch.

The white perch is not a true perch but rather a fish in the temperate bass family. the same genus as striped bass.
White perch is an invasive species whose infestations cause recreational, economic and ecological damage. They are voracious eaters, competing with native fish for food and habitat.

The lake I fish has many that can be caught in a day. So far, their presence hasn't affected the numbers of other fish species in the lake.

 

[Senkosam]

F/u on the Micro Chatterbait.
I used only the skirt rather than the worm.
I went fishing for a few hours and my first fish was a 2.5 lb bass taken on the one shown in the pads.

The skirt was shortened and no trailer was used. The second fish caught was a 1.5lb bass - same cover.
Man, am I going to have fun with this lure!

 

[Snopro]

I've found another fish-trigger lure type I want to investigate:
blade baits.

We should probably clear up vocabulary. Most people call this a blade bait.

What you are talking about people call a bladed jig. A few examples.

No one ever thought to add a plastic worm to a Mepps as far as I know,

Mepps did and people have been running different types of spinner/soft plastic combos for decades.

 

[Snopro]

Man, am I going to have fun with this lure!

I always have one of some type tied on. They are killers.

 

[Senkosam]

I should have characterized the two lure designs individually starting with the Micro Chatterbait: an underwater, non-spinning, non-inline/non clevis flat-metal blade with swinging-jig-attached that produces maximal vibration to a skirt or trailer and moreso than bladed baits in general including Mepps and most spinnerbaits that use cupped, in-line revolving blades or the Gay Blade in your photo that uses no wire.
The Beetle Spin should have been defined as an L-shaped wire attached to a swivel-attached cupped blade and a swinging jig with soft plastic, fur or feather added.

Figured the photos would pretty much illustrate all of the above without going into detail the various lure deigns that use flat metal or cupped blades or no revolving blades. The post title would have read like a book,

 

[Chromatose]

Does this have a name or is it a modified?

 

[Senkosam]

Looks like a Mepps combo Comet Spinner that can be rigged weedless with a wide gap hook.

 

[Chromatose]

I learn something new every day....................Never knew Mepps made such a Gizmoe. Looks Feeeshy

 

[Senkosam]

Define feeeshy (or fishy). It is not a lure I would carry or cast seeing as how there are far more versatile - feeeshy if you will - lures that have better strike-triggers-by-design. The Micro Chatterbait is one of many. The old fashion Beetle Spin is another.

 

[Chromatose]

Define feeeshy (or fishy)

It is a word my Grandson used that has stuck with me. And it is spelled as it was said to me. To bad you seem to have a problem.

 

[Senkosam]

No problem except:
A lure that looks feeshy doesn't say anything about a lure - your adjective not mine.
If you mean the spinner's design looks like it may trigger fish strikes, I get it. I assume you have way more experience than your grandson and know the difference.

 

[Chromatose]

A lure that looks feeshy doesn't say anything about a lure - your adjective not mine.

Feeshy most certainly does say a lot about a Lure.
If you were to read what I wrote, you would notice that the adjective was my Grandsons. I just stole it from him and for some reason you can not or will not see the humor in the word, but humor is a mark of intelligence. So I completely understand why it is that you don't. Sad when all you can Senkosam is run from one forum to another to another with your pseudo intellectual attitude, bantering about the physics and dynamics of lures as they relate to fishing.

I am done. Go Feeeshing Senkosam.

 

[Senkosam]

Feeshy most certainly does say a lot about a Lure.

I can't imagine what......

Sad when all you can Senkosam is run from one forum to another to another with your pseudo intellectual attitude, bantering about the physics and dynamics of lures as they relate to fishing.

Talk about ignoring facts when it comes to lures! I guess someone is a bit sensitive when it comes to criticism earned, refusing to make the simple connection why some lures do very well based on consistent catches of fish as proof.

I bet your grandson could make the connection and he's only a toddler! At least he is capable of considering the possible validity of the premise that: a combination of factors determines what fish strike and what they ignore. All I ask of anglers (other than you) that read my posts, is that they consider looking at lures and lure choices from a different perspective and not because some lures are deemed 'feeshy'.

Good luck fishing - you'll need it....

 

[Snopro]

I learn something new every day....................Never knew Mepps made such a Gizmoe. Looks Feeeshy

Mepps makes crazy stuff with mojo. Like Feeeshy, Mojo is impossible to quantify but you know it when you see it.

 

[Senkosam]

you know it when you see it

That's what observing lure action in the water is all about. Once a lure catches fish, how a lure moves labels it. The Micro Chatterbait with plastic worm attached is now the extreme forward action lure that pulsates a 4-5" no-action-tail worm. The label is in the details and details always matter when it comes to lures.

Many lures like a Mepps have no other action than a straight, steady retrieve similar to may spinning blade lures. A curl tail doesn't need a forward spinning blade because of its action tail but the skirt in you photo pulsates & flutters - a BIG fish strike-trigger! Fish stike triggers come in all shapes and actions. IMO, many lures trigger strikes when fish are sedentary while others may be used when fish are more irritable/active. This 3.5 lb pickerel caught Wed. in shallow water most likely wasn't in a chasing mood. Note the pink and chartreuse Crappie Magnet rigged on a 1/24 oz jig, 8# test braid.
.

That lure caught another dozen pan fish on a bright calm day better than others I tried in the same area.

Yesterday this clear plastic mini-stick and the Crappie Magnet above caught a bunch of sunnies and yellow perch for a total of 40 fish. Fish blasted both in 4' or less! (Note: the water was murky due to recent heavy down pours, but lure color didn't matter - lure size and action did.)

Spinners and the Chatterbait with worm trailer didn't work nor did small crankbaits and larger soft plastics.
The bite last Sat. was amazing for buds of mine that won a tournament catching +200 fish! Lure variety was big but location only at one area in the lake. They used mostly the lures I gave them.
Conditions on the water dictate what lures to cast and how to retrieve them. The right lures call out, here feeeshy feeeshy.

 

[Senkosam]

BTW, this is one of many posts on different forums expressing appreciation for my posted tips and ideas:

Senko Sam is probably the most innovative person currently on the boards concerning soft plastics and their modifications. At least, he’s one of those rare innovators willing to share what he’s learned during his exploratory journey…..at most, very articulate and precise sharing a wealth of discovery.

I could post web site addresses for more examples, but you get the idea.