The almighty Beetle Spin! - questions

I have photos of many fish I caught on the B.Spin that I plan on using again. Here are a few examples of lures used and short vs long arm:

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What I like about the lure are the species of fish that attack it and the various trailer that can be rigged.

This took this photo today of wire frames I made:
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Note: all three frames were hand made. The middle one was the easiest to make using coated floral-arrangement, easily formed wire, a bead and ball bearing swivel.

All the soft plastic lure below were hand poured:
The lure on the left had the curl tail removed
The middle lure has a flat straight tail
The one on the right is similar in tail design but smaller

Questions:
1. what lures do you use with the B.Spin? (i.e. curl tail, no tail, small plastic worm, etc.)
2. do you have a preference when it comes to lure length?
3. do you like a smaller vs larger blade?
4. do you prefer a longer or shorter arm coming from the lure?
5. what weight jig(s) do use?

The short-arm B Spin I use on the drop and hopping on the bottom.
A longer arm I use for horizontal swims like that of a spinnerbait.

Opinions and history welcome.

I probably haven't fished a BeetleSpin more than a couple of times. Biggest reason for not continuing to use it was getting the line wrapped on the "arm". I much prefer using a Road Runner.

I have fished with (against?) a fishing partner that used a BeetleSpin, while I used a Road Runner, fishing shallow water spawning areas. I don't remember the exact tally, but would venture to say it was at least 5:1 in favor of the Road Runner.

I get enough "by-catch" species when using a Road Runner, but my main quarry is Crappie, so I have little to no interest in those other species.

The nice thing about the b. spin is the number of different lures that can be used with it, as the photos show. If I hadn't recorded them, I would have never remembered catching fish using those lures. Now I'll have to stock some of them to add to the spin.

Does anyone remember the Submarine Shad by Bagley - a tail spinner behind a painted lead body?
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I don't remember catching fish on the S S. They've been in storage (like 1000 other lures) for decades. Guess I'll have to give them a try and also the Road Runner (if I can find them...)

I’ve caught a lot of fish on beetle spins. I’ve caught a lot on a roadrunner lure also. Fish them both as they work

My start with spinners began with the Evans Shyster, an in line spinner. One of the next was the Little George, a cousin of similar to the submarine Shad. Along this way I was using bigger spinnerbaits for bass so I knew the concept was sound. I don’t remember exactly when I began using a BS but I can’t remember when there wasn’t one in my box. Different sizes and blade colors and styles of grubs make them extremely versatile and riding hook up they’re very weedless. Nowadays I use the smallest two sizes made and use whatever jig suits me that day. Some days a curl tail gets the nod while other days a hand tie with less activity does better. Casting or trolling I’ve done well with them and they’re one of my favorite search baits. I will locate fish and then switch to one of my hand ties for a smaller, less active bait. They’re also one of the best confidence builders for a young and excited new fisher. One of the best for keeping them focused and busy and the fish usually cooperate to some extent. The BS and the Rooster Tail both get a lot of use in my boat. I find my arms pre made and prefer the shorter arms for what I do. I still carry some of the bigger blades, dime size or maybe a touch bigger. I like throwing those around downed trees in shallow water when crappie are spawning. The thump on those is big. And much like our jigs, everything eats them.

Ah yes, the Little George. Got some of those hanging around somewhere.
Great reply Skeetbum!

Road Runners and B-spins have long been staples of my tackle box. The Road Runners have been getting the nod more often in recent years. Versatility is great in being able to locate fish.

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Versatility is great in being able to locate fish.

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No better words spoken!!!!!!

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Originally Posted by skeetbum

My start with spinners began with the Evans Shyster, an in line spinner. One of the next was the Little George, a cousin of similar to the submarine Shad. Along this way I was using bigger spinnerbaits for bass so I knew the concept was sound. I don’t remember exactly when I began using a BS but I can’t remember when there wasn’t one in my box. Different sizes and blade colors and styles of grubs make them extremely versatile and riding hook up they’re very weedless. Nowadays I use the smallest two sizes made and use whatever jig suits me that day. Some days a curl tail gets the nod while other days a hand tie with less activity does better. Casting or trolling I’ve done well with them and they’re one of my favorite search baits. I will locate fish and then switch to one of my hand ties for a smaller, less active bait. They’re also one of the best confidence builders for a young and excited new fisher. One of the best for keeping them focused and busy and the fish usually cooperate to some extent. The BS and the Rooster Tail both get a lot of use in my boat. I find my arms pre made and prefer the shorter arms for what I do. I still carry some of the bigger blades, dime size or maybe a touch bigger. I like throwing those around downed trees in shallow water when crappie are spawning. The thump on those is big. And much like our jigs, everything eats them.

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I caught my first trout , a rainbow of about three pounds , on a black with white spots Shyster .
I was an early teen at the time .

Beetle spin and a purple plastic worm were pretty much the only 2 lures my Grandpa fished when we went fishing..usually a purple beetle spin to.
He caught everything on the beetle spin, crappie, bluegill, channel cats and bass.
I always fished with one when fishing with him also, they were the popular bait back then, late 60s to early 70s was 9-13 yrs old. We would go camp and fish for a week at a time.

Beetle spin is my go-to. I mainly use the 1/32oz version and sometimes the 1/16. Stock plastic works just fine -- on the little version, I feel the stubby grub does a great job picking up what would otherwise be short strikes on a longer plastic.

I won't be using curl tails with the B. Spin but instead experiment with short sticks, stubby grubs and flat, thin straight tail grubs like in the last photo. Those lures always work great and might do even better with the spin. It will be interesting to see the action of each in the water close range affected by the blade.

1/32 oz may be a bit too light where I'm fishing the spin and lure size. When I make another spin using the 26g floral wire, I will try a larger blade and 1/16 oz jig.

Beetle Spin’s been in my tackle box for years — one of my all-time favorites for a quick search bait. I usually go short-arm for bottom hopping and long-arm for steady retrieves. As for lures: sometimes curl tail, sometimes no tail — depends on the bite that day. I do like smaller blades for clearer water, and 1/16 oz is kind of my sweet spot. Curious what setups y’all are having the most success with lately?

Welcome Codex, appreciate the input. We all have a different take on things.

That's it! Beetle Spin is now a must in my tackle box!
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I got into small schools of yellow perch and they slammed it! This one was a jumbo and unusual for the lake I fished:
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I even caught one nice size crappie on it plus smaller crappie and a few sunfish:
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Jig size was 1/24 oz with a small blade.

Hey Spoon, don’t throw out the curl tails yet. With the blade turning and the curl tail doin work you can slow down a lot if you need to. Helps me stay above the weeds sometimes.

I grew up using the beetle spins in the 60's. If I was bluegill fishing I used a black with yellow stripes. Bass and crappie I used a white with a red spot. Not much in colors back then but these produced really well then. Also used a doll fly attached to the spinner in pink/white color and was a crappie killer. Hand ties work very well with the beetle spin baits so I would carry a few of those besides the plastics.

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Experimenting with various lures is the main reason I fish as well as learning the waters I usually fish.
I still have to try the no-tail body (above left) with the b.spin. The thin, straight tail on the right did the trick!

A similar one (below) started the day catching 8 perch and a sunfish in 3'. It is a hybrid of two grub bodies joined together using heat.

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In the afternoon, I switched to the pearl color, hand-poured, curl tail minus the tail:
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Note: I rigged the grub from the back where the tail was before was after it was cut it off. It caught approx. 15 fish. Total caught was 35. It cast far in shallow water rigged on a light jig and I could work it very slowly using a twitch/wind/pause - retrieve, never a steady retrieve unlike the b.spin.
Use a grub body minus the tail Try it. You'll be shocked how many fish it catches!

I don't routinely use the beetle spin, but if I'm in a boat and can't locate bluegill on the flats I will slow troll a 1/32oz stock black and yellow beetle spin with the electric trolling motor until I find them. After locating them, I prefer to drop to a 1/64oz beetle or trout magnet, but the spinner allows for slower trolling and works great for searching. My dad was very fond of using what were once called Super Beetles in purple for bass fishing.

Well, today confirmed that a Crappie Magnet (green with pearl tails) when used with the B.Spin kicked YOU KNOW WHAT!
At first the pattern wasn't there - more of a hit or miss near weed clumps. But the shoreline with overhanging trees and few weeds held a bunch a sunfish that smacked the combo on the drop. A small school of small bass did the same. A nice perch (12"), 12" crapie and 1.24 lb bass were also caught on the B.Spin/Crappie Magnet combo (#3).
#4 did good in two sizes; #1 and #2 are ol' reliable.

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Too bad my camera wasn't working or I would have posted more shots of various soft plastic lures, the fish they caught and the areas they did great. Sunfish, perch, bass and crappie all hit #3.
Here's shots of the lake:
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It started to sprinkle and a chill wind kicked up so I left early.

Got the camera working and got more shots.
I figured that the Crappie Magnet is one of my most reliable lures and definitely did well in chart./pearl tail, so why not bright pink? Sho enough it cause everything!
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One pleasant surprise later in the day was catching fish on what I found out was a Micro Chatterbait. Talk about luck: I found it on the ground at the launch, picked it up and left it in the tackle box for a week. The day had been good, and since I'm always looking for new toys to catch fish on, I figured, why not take the skirt off and add a Gary Yamamoto Kut Tail Worm?
original:
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Skirt off/ Kut Tail added after skirt removed:
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Result:
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The vibrating worm action was amazing!!! I caught two more bass like it in shallow weeds and the strikes were HARD!
The Kut Tail rigged on a 1/16 oz jig with 1/0 hook has caught crappie in the past and I wouldn't be surprised catching crappie on the Micro Chatterbait. Next time I'll leave the skirt on and see what happens.
The day ended with more nice slabs caught on the pearl slug in 6' for a total of 48 fish.
Perfect day to be on the water.
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I have the small chatter bait but never gave it a fair shake. Need to drag it out and give er a spin. Some nice fish you got there.

Thanks Skeet.
I put the skirt back on but found it didn't cut it as far as skirt flutter and pulsation expected. Next will be to try fishing a smaller worm (i.e. Softie), which had the same action but is softer than the Kut Tail.
Wonder how an in-line spinner would work with a 5" worm trailer? The Colorado blade would be large in order to impart the same vibration.
Supposed to rain all day, so I got the time to make one.

Yesterday was proof that there's always something new to learn about a water. Rather than fish the usual places, I paid attention to the sonar to see the depth fish were at. Very shallow flat was okay early in the AM but void of fish later on so I moved not far from the launch into 5' and anchored.

My first cast - a nice crappie! I stayed in the same spot and cast in a semi-circle towards shore and caught over 15 fish: crappie, yellow perch and sunfish, some very nice! I moved 40', anchored and repeated. More fish.

I switched to a pink Crappie Magnet on the B. Spin and easily caught fish which includrd a few bass.
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As usual the short stubby stick did well:
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...and for short strikers, which included a few largemouth and rock bass - the flat-tail grub:
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All told, 53 fish caught on a bright sunny day in mostly open water with a few caught under overhangs in 2'. Next I go, I know where I'll be anchored!