Best Spinnerbait: Bass Fishing Spinners, Colors, Types, and Techniques

The best spinnerbait for bass consists of one or two flashing “blades,” a jig head, and a skirt to cover the hook.

This lure is beloved by tournament bass anglers everywhere, and even though they don’t have a natural baitfish appearance like swimbaits or crankbaits, they’ll clean house at any freshwater pond. 

Choosing the best fishing spinners comes easy when you have decades of experience fishing the water, and you’ve put hours of research into cherry-picking the best of the best lures.

That’s why we brought you this guide, and by the end of it, you’ll be ready to grab one (or two) for yourself.

Anglers.com Community Coordinator Wesley Littlefield tested several top spinnerbait brands and offers his comments on each in this YouTube video.

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In-Depth Reviews Of Our Favorite Spinnerbaits

Booyah Colorado Blade Spinnerbait

BEST SPINNERBAIT OVERALL

Specs

• Type: Colorado/Indiana Blade
• Number of Blades: 2
• Weight: ⅜ ounces
• Color: White/Chartreuse

FEATURED SPECS

• Comes with a 55-strand bio-flex silicone skirt for durability and longevity.

EXTRA FEATURES

• Uses .037 gauge stainless steel wiring, so you don’t have to worry about bent wires.

BUYING ADVICE

• Fishing this spinnerbait for bass in murky water is a great choice because of the bright color and impressive action.

Pros

• Extremely durable
• Great color
• Double bladed

Cons

• Blade color fades
• Little variation in size and blades

Booyah is one of the most popular names you’ll hear of when it comes to spinnerbaits. They make a high-quality bait that not only gets the attention of the bass you’re trying to catch, but it lasts a long time as well.

Strike King Bleeding Spinnerbait

BEST COMBINATION BLADE

Specs

• Type: Colorado/Willow Blade
• Number of Blades: 2
• Weight: 3/8 – 3/16
• Color: White with a red belly

FEATURED SPECS

• The color of this spinnerbait skirt is meant to mimic a dying baitfish. Bass are opportunistic predators, so this works well.

EXTRA FEATURES

• The bait uses premium materials like stainless steel wire, durable skirt, and two blades.

BUYING ADVICE

• One of the best spinnerbait trailers to go along with this is a minnow.

Pros

• Great color option
• Made with premium materials
• Highly recommended brand

Cons

• Price

Another popular company is Strike King. These guys share the majority of the audience when it comes to spinnerbaits for bass. The best spinnerbait color will help mimic a dying fish, and this one does exactly that. Cast this guy along dense cover and vegetation in all types of water.

Goture Spinnerbait Fishing Lures (5-Pack)

BEST SPINNERBAIT COMBO PACK

Specs

• Type: Double Willow Blade
• Number of Blades: 2
• Weight: ½ ounce
• Color: 5 color options

FEATURED SPECS

• This multi-pack features five different spinnerbait options.

EXTRA FEATURES

• Comes with a double willow blade, stainless steel wire, and a 3/0 hook size.

BUYING ADVICE

• These willow blades have a 360-degree rotation from the swivel, so it creates a great bright action if you’re fishing midday.

Pros

• Great action from the blades
• Multiple colors
• Durable design

Cons

• I wish they would offer more variety besides color

My favorite feature about these is the wire arm design makes it easier to maneuver through cover. When you have a square arm on the spinnerbait, it catches a lot more weeds. These are a great option if you’re fishing mucky water with a lot of vegetation.

Booyah Moontalker

BEST SPINNERBAIT FOR NIGHT TIME FISHING

Specs

• Type: Single Colorado Blade
• Number of Blades: 1
• Weight:: ½ -⅜ ounce
• Color: Black/Blue

FEATURED SPECS

• Booyah Baits are highly durable with a sharp hook making it easier to set the hook.

EXTRA FEATURES

• The color of this lure makes it an ideal choice for fishing in dim lighting when the moon is shining on the water.

BUYING ADVICE

• If you’re not having a lot of success fishing with spinnerbaits, consider giving this one a try at dusk when the bats start coming out.

Pros

• A great alternative to bright colored skirts
• Durable and strong hook
• Weed reducing arm

Cons

• Single blade creates less reflection (only a drawback during the day)

I always say, if you’re not having success with spinnerbaits, it means you’re not using the right ones. (I think I’ve said that before) Anyway, the Moontalker is a unique option that you can bring out when the sun goes down. 

Bass don’t feed as much at night, so they’re not looking for a fight. This spinnerbait lure will create less vibration and noise, which will mimic an injured fish, so you have a better chance of catching bass at night.

Booyah Buzz

BEST SPINNERBAIT FOR LARGEMOUTH BASS

Specs

• Type: Buzzbait
• Number of Blades: N/A
• Weight: ⅜ ounces
• Color: Black with red eyes

FEATURED SPECS

• This buzzbait is made using 55-strand bio-flex silicone in the skirt with a 4/0 ultra point hook to help the lure stay together and catch more bass.

EXTRA FEATURES

• The clacker hits off the blade on this buzzbait, creating a loud vibration and noise in the water that bass can’t resist.

BUYING ADVICE

• Here’s another one I recommend fishing at dusk or right after it gets dark. The vibration is enough to get their attention.

Pros

• Loud clacker
• High-quality design and durability
• Sharp blade

Cons

• Can’t really think of one!

Okay, before you start yelling at me! I know this isn’t a spinnerbait; it’s a buzzbait. They’re in the same family of lures, and I think these clean up the best for largemouth, so I had to throw it in here at the end. 

The black is an ideal choice at dusk, and you can fish the murkiest of waters with this lure because it relies on sound rather than visibility. The clacker and blade do all the work for you.

What is a Spinnerbait?

So, you’ve likely seen these lures before and wondered, “why would I ever use one of those?” They look complicated, they don’t appear like a baitfish or shad, and it’s hard to understand how to get the presentation right. 

The good news is, they’re much easier to use than they look. A spinnerbait is called that because of the spinning rotation of the blades on the top of the lure. These create a vibration and flash in the water that drives bass crazy. 

If you understand why bass strike, much of the time it’s not even because they want to eat or they’re feeding, it’s because you’ve aggravated them enough to get them to bite. 

Another characteristic of a spinnerbait is the skirt that hangs off. This cover is supposed to help imitate a fish, and it covers the hook to make it look less suspicious. Underneath all the smoke and mirrors is a standard jig head (usually).

Types of Spinnerbaits for Bass Fishing

When it comes to the design of a spinnerbait, most of the variety will come from the type of blades you have and how many. 

You’ve got: 

Willow – Sharp points on both ends, creating a fast but limited range rotation.

Colorado – Oval-shaped blade with a slower rotation but brighter flash.

Indiana – Oval shape with a point on one end. Moderate speed and flash. 

Let’s break each of these down in more detail. 

Willow

Willow-leaf blades are long and narrow, and they’re designed to move through the water quickly. This is a great choice when the bass are active in the early morning on a hot summer day. It also makes them a great choice for fishing deeper clear water because they’ll sink faster to your desired depth. 

Colorado

Colorado blades move much slower than willow, and this has its advantages and disadvantages. The blades make colorado spinners a great topwater spinnerbait because they don’t sink as much. If you’re trying to fish right below the surface, you’ll want one of these blades. 

Since they spin slower, they create more vibration in the water, which is why you’ll see these blades used on spinnerbaits recommended for nighttime fishing. They also work well in low visibility water right after a rainstorm when there is a lot of runoff. 

Indiana

This blade is the middle ground between the two, so it works well in both scenarios. If you’re unsure about what depth you’re fishing or what you’re going to run into on the water, you could use an Indiana bladed spinner and get the best of both worlds. 

Combination Blades 

You might see that many of the spinners we recommended above have two different style blades. This strategy is a great way to hone in on what you’re trying to accomplish. The different types of blades allow you to create both the flash and vibration you want. 

Trailer Hooks 

Before we dive into spinnerbait fishing techniques, I wanted to talk about trailers for a second. In many cases, spinnerbaits are retrieved too fast, so bass end up missing them. Having a trailer hook on the end of the lure is a great way to prevent that from happening. 

A trailer hook is basically just another hook that you’ll run through the existing hook on the jig head. It will hang off the end and offer a little more real estate for the bass to strike so you can set the hook easier.

Spinnerbait Fishing Techniques

Learning how to use a spinnerbait is much simpler than most people think. It’s one of the easiest lures to fish with because it doesn’t require any special presentation. You simply cast it out and retrieve it. The lure itself does all the work and creates the presentation for you. What kind of blade you have will determine how fast you need to retrieve it. 

Spinnerbaits work their best when you have a slight cloud cover and ripples on the water. You’ll always want to cast these along and near structure or cover. 

Let’s take a look at three techniques you can use if you’re trying to get fancy.

Reaction Bites 

All you need to do is give the rod a little jerk every so often as you’re retrieving it. Whenever the lure is passing by something like a stump, you can change up the presentation and provoke the bass to strike. When you keep the motion the same all the time, the bass might be curious, but they won’t bite. 

Sub-Surface 

The way that I’ve always preferred fishing spinnerbaits is just beneath the surface. The strategy is a bit more challenging, and it requires some finesse, but it works. Keep the rod’s tip pointed up and make sure you have a Colorado blade to disperse the weight. 

Fishing beneath the surface is a great method when you’re fishing shallow water along the shore when there is a lot of greenery. 

Yoyo Method (not the illegal one) 

The yoyo method works well if the bass aren’t biting, but you’ll want to use a willow blade for this. You’ll let the lure sink to the bottom, lift the rod up, so you jump the spinner off the bottom, then reel in the slack. Keep repeating this, and it will create a lot of noise and vibration in the water.

Final Thoughts

By this point, you should see that having the best spinnerbait is nothing without the right spinnerbait tips to go along with it. You need to know how to fish these lures if you expect to have success, but luckily, they’re very easy. 

Make sure to check out some of the options recommended above and keep your fishing style in mind while you do. Understand the different types of spinnerbait blades and how they impact the presentation. 

Once you’ve got it all together, go ahead and look into the options a bit more. Leave me a comment below and tell me your favorite spinnerbait fishing story!