What is the best kind of rod and line to use for spinner baits when bass fishing?

Spinning rod? Fiberglass baitcasting rod? light? medium? medium/heavy? heavy?

Chosen Answer:

Me personally, I’m not a big spinnerbait kinda guy. I’ll use ‘em occasionally. At night usually. Most of them are between 1/4 ounce and 1/2 ounce. I use anywhere between 8 and 12 pound line with a light to medium-heavy action graphite rod. For the big, Colorado-bladed musky-sized spinnerbait that I have (it weighs about 2 ounces), I use my heavy flippin’ stick with 15 pound mono. I can launch it a good country mile.

I never, ever use a spinnerbait with a spinning rod, not even the small ultralight ones. If I wanna toss a small spinnerbait, I’ll use my dad’s ultralight Pixy outfit. Spinning rods just don’t have the correct action for them. And the reels don’t have the right.. what’s the word? The right… schtick.

Are spinner lures the best for largemouth and smallmouth bass?

Chosen Answer:

It can be the best for certain situations, but not all. No bait is going to be “best” in all conditions. I’m actually not a big spinnerbait fisherman myself. The only time I use them consistently is when the water is muddy. A Chartreuse spinnerbait with Colorado blades is absolutely killer in muddy conditions. They give off a ton of vibration, which drives the fish crazy.

You can use spinnerbaits throughout a lot of the year and do fairly well in most cases, but there’s going to be baits that will be much more productive for these situations.

For Smallmouths, I never use spinnerbaits. They will hit inline spinners pretty well at times, but I prefer using plastics for them. I’ve caught a lot of Smallmouths on tube jigs.