Are Spinnerbaits Dead in the Water? Some Bass Pros Think So

There is a really interesting article by Alan McGuckin posted over on Wired2Fish.com right now. In fact, I'm jealous that I didn't think of it first. McGuckin rounded up a panel of notable bass pros, including Kevin VanDam, Gary Klein, and Ken Cook, and got them to debate whether or not spinnerbaits have fallen out of fashion. He also added long-time B.A.S.S. photographer James Overstreet to that panel, as his lenses have been capturing bass trends for years. Says Overstreet: "Dude, you’d have better luck trying to find Sasquatch than finding a recent event where a spinnerbait was the primary lure used to win an Elite Series tournament."

Now don't misunderstand...no one in the story is suggesting that spinnerbaits don't catch fish, but they are suggesting reasons why these lures, which "carried a 'don’t leave home without it' dependency throughout the 1980s and 1990s" have seemingly lost their charm on the pro circuit. According to McGuckin, the panel had a hard time remembering the last Elite Series tourney that was taken with a spinnerbait.

One suggestion from pro Mike McClelland was that the big tourneys focus on very clear lakes these days, and lures like swimbaits are often more effective in that kind of water. I won't rehash the whole article, as I suggest you read it (and part 2 when it's posted). But I will say that on a personal note, for whatever it's worth, though I always carry spinnerbaits when I bass fish I would never call them my go-to lures. In the bodies of water I fish locally for smallmouth and largemouth, I've always found stickbaits, swimbaits, and crankbaits more effective when trying to cover lots of water. Check out the article and let me know what you think.