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When casting soft plastics, do you prefer using a spinner (beetle-spin type), a roadrunner type, or just a jig head?
I bass fished most of my life, but I was always fascinated by sacalait (crappie), and I find myself targeting them more often these days. I’ve caught them using just a jig head/tube, but I tend to use a spinner more. Do you have a preference?
Do you prefer using larger blades so that you can reel slower, or do you prefer small blades?
Thanks,
Jeff
I rarely use a spinner, but the late, great Charlie Brewer always said he liked a spinner when there was a chop on the water.
It really just depends on the situation, water temp, etc. Sometimes it’s just a plain jig, sometimes a roadrunner, sometimes under a float. I typically won’t fish a roadrunner until the water gets up in the 50’s (just what works for me). I let the fish tell me what they want that day and go from there.
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Roadrunners work great, but I cast a1/32 Oz head with a baby shad style plastic 90 percent of the year.
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I never cared much for the "beetlespin" (spinnerbait) style spinner rig ... I just seemed to foul the line into them often when casting them. Road Runners, I've used for decades with great success ... and jig/plastics the same.
I generally have two casting rods rigged .... one with jig/plastics & one with a marabou Road Runner.
Road Runners are my fail safe under almost all conditions. Early in the season (ice out until late May) I tend to favor the marabou variety, slow rolled a foot or so above bottom. But I'm always changing up. I'll go from RR's to straight tails, to action tails. If one isn't working well, I'll switch to another. Variety is the spice of life! In fishing, as in life, nothing is cast in concrete.
A beetle spin has never worked very well for me. I do use road runners and plain jigs. Use with/without float depending on what the fish want that day. Usually have both rigged and ready. Good fishing!
I've never liked a beetle spin. Like pappy said it fouls a lot. It doesn't catch fish better than a road runner or stump jumper.
Both a straight gets a feeding bite a spinner gets a reaction bite when the fish stop feeding or stop biting.You need both.My two pennies.
Like the blade size to match the hatch! Size of the shad or bait size usually 1.5 in -2 in. willow leaf.Silver/hammered blade,
plastic and jighead 90% of the time...never use a road runner but occasionally uses plastic and jighead with a small gold spinner....of course, 90% of time the plastic is a black/chartreuse
the (1/32)white with the red dot is murder on bluegills . 4 lb. test stren .I agree nothing has made me put down a 1/32 roadrunner with a 1 inch black slider . Saw where yum and roadrunner has hooked up to market a bait . They should call Slider also . jmo.:fishQuote:
Originally Posted by FIN
Jigs and plastics 95% of the time. I use roadrunners when things are tough and I search for fish with them, seems to always trigger one. I do like roadrunners....
I make my own double rigs. I've ordered small Colorado Blades from Ebay and put an in line spinner above the jig as I spider rig. I had some days last year they killed and hit the rig with the spinner only. The catch ratio with a small spinner was probably higher than a jig without it in my set up. It is my go to rig now and would not fish without having this rig in the boat. I guess you need to play around with different set ups and see what works for you. I used this downsized idea from Walleye fishing and produces for me.
If you want a moving bait use the Beetle Spin or Road Runner, vertical jigging use a marabou or straight tail like a stinger shad. If you are having issue's with the Beetle Spin rolling on you just slow down your retrieve, they are really productive and come through brush pretty well like most spinner baits do.
prefer Road Runners, my Grandpa back when I was a kid in the early 70`s fished with a Manns purple worm and a white beetle spin he had a couple hundred lures but those were the 2 he used 99 percent of the time.. He caught bluegill, crappie, bass you name it on the beetle spins.
I`ve caught fish on bettle spins but nothing like I have on Road Runners, prefer 1/16 oz Chart head w/black curly tail body, seems to catch them all the time around here.
In jigs prefer tube jigs 1/16 oz head early in the year when waters still cold and twister tail grubs later.
I like the Creek Spin from Southern Pro, just wish they would make a 1/8 version.
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Really sorry to hear that some of you have no confidence in the Beetle Spin type baits. They have always been in my bag of tricks and probably always will be. I will say that they are not always what they want but there have been days when I could hardly keep them in the water cuz they were hit so much. And everything hits them. As with jigs in general, size and color will make a difference at times. I can roll a Beetle through a brushy area slower and get hung up less cuz the hook rides point up. But hey, To each his own. I'll just keep filleting the bonus stud bluegills that really like em too.
I'd like to see a pic of your spinner jigs.Quote:
Originally Posted by wmac62
Jigs and plastics 100% of the time. I have caught bass in Beetle Spin and Road Runners, but my greatest success has always been with the basic jig/soft plastic combo. Maybe it's time to try those two alternatives again after so many years.
Beetle spin style of jigs worked great for me at the lake that was close to college and they were MUCH cheaper than RR's for broke college kids. I would buy the jig spinners from Jann's in bulk and clip em on a lead head. I never had much trouble with them fouling when cast. We even used baitcasters to fish with them for some strange reason. No way I would do that now!
Since I'm at Grand Lake now, I don't do nearly as well on any type of spinner, probably due to the significant difference in water clarity. Works for me, less stuff to buy.
They are just out of the pack standard offerings that I sometimes add a different tail to. 1/32 up to 1/8 for different applications and different vibrations and depth. I think I already said that it’s an every time thing but they always get some play. I too use a lot of the generics, just check that the loops are closed. The one shown above in the pic is cool and hardly ever fouls but I’m too cheap to buy very many and my boxes are busting now.
Run a selection and let the fish tell you. I do like a willow leaf road runner if fishing deep or in current. Good luck
Spotlock and Roadrunners. Deadly combo. Roadrunners are my "search engine".
Love the beetle spins.make 1/16 and 1/8 oz.one. of the best lure of all time.nothing better in standing timber,black/ chart, White/chart.We use crappie tube on ours.
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I know its not casting but have you guys used a road runner for vertical jigging before? Watched an episode of brushpile fishing where they were jigging buck brush with a road runner body and jig. They caught em too. I have spider rigged with them and also caught fish so I guess they don't have to be spinning when the fish bites it.
Seen a member do it down in Tenn., and catch a few, many many moons ago. And I've seen Jimmy Houston do it on his TV show. I've never tried it, myself ... but then I don't do much "vertical jigging" with any bait.Quote:
Originally Posted by jordanjones
Love Beetle spins. Great search bait, and as noted, you never know what is going to bite it.
The flash of a blade draws attention and a bite. A statement was made that they don't have to be spinning to work, and I have found this to be true also. Think about it. Ever drop a jig over a branch or log and just a second later you get the reward----THUMP! I have fished among wood with a RR before and try my best to hold it still, then drop it an inch, making the blade roll a half a turn or so, same reward. What a beetle spin does is helicopter when a stall is done in the middle of a retrieve. Still turning but now a direction change, same reward. Slow roll it over a tree or branch you can see in the water and stall the retrieve once it's clear and it can be magic on a sunny day when they're laying in the shade under the trunk or branch.
all good ideas guys, why this site is so packed with stuff you can use.