Bassdozer's Spinnerbaits for Burning and Bulging Big Bass and Pike

by Russ Bassdozer

This shows and tells product photos, product descriptions and information for the lure models and colors that are (or have been) available at BassdozerStore.com. Not all models and colors shown are currently available, and exact specifications are subject to change.

Note: Some of the following configurations may not all be currently in stock. Some may be sold out at this time. Please check online at www.BassdozerStore.com for current availability of specific items below. Thank you for your business.

Bassdozer's Spinnerbaits for Burning and Bulging Big Bass and Pike

Until now, anglers have had to settle for burning or bulging spinnerbaits on or close to the water's surface using ordinary spinnerbaits not designed to do that.

Now, Bassdozer's Store is pleased to offer the very latest in big bass and pike spinnerbaits optimized for burning and bulging the water!

It may look like an ordinary spinnerbait below, but the photos are deceptive, and you cannot gauge the true scale of this monster spinnerbait dressed with some of the biggest Willow blades available on the planet. A specialized rod is ideally required to handle these massive spinnerbaits. The G. Loomis rod model #SBR864 is one example that will handle such baits. With heavy baitcasting applications such as this, I am a big fan of the Shimano Chronarch CH100B reel with any and all heavy baitcasting tactics. Any lighter reel will grind down and self-destruct. A minimum of 16 pound test Yamamoto Sugoi grey fluorocarbon line (for example) is required to handle such spinnerbaits. Any lighter rod or lighter line won't let you comfortably cast such big spinnerbaits.

Bottom line, if the rod or line makes you feel you could snap the rod or line; if you can only lob the spinnerbait out there in baby casts, or if the reel is buckling, you are under-equipped here.

It's also among the most physically exhausting tactics to burn or bulge such big spinnerbaits, and you need to exercise caution and common sense without overexerting yourself with this extreme fishing tactic.

Dual Interlaced Front Blades

On the bait shown below, the dual clevis set-up is something that's very popular nowadays on inline musky/pike spinners - especially for "bulging" the surface with inline spinners. However, the dual clevis set-up works swell on a big spinnerbait too. It is especially attractive when the spinnerbait stalls, is paused or helicopters, it just seems a lot of action is made due to the dual clevis set-up.

1 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style C ~ Gold Shiner Flash

Fast Burner Spinnerbait.  The Style C shown above has a ball bearing swivel, a huge yet streamlined #7 Willow blade, and dual clevis Colorado blades. You have your fast burner here. This is one I favor for pulling smallmouth up to the surface off deep points and ledges where you can sometimes see the bottom in 25 feet of water. I don't often try to bulge this, but burn it as fast as possible below the surface. It's truly stable and smooth without an inordinate heap of torque. Still, it will wear you out quickly.

The dual Colorado front blades really flare out and whir. I like to puff the blades once in a while with a rod pull without slowing down. This gives a desirable change of action without slowing down. Sometimes slowing down can cause chasing fish to turn away and break off the chase when burning blades.

1 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style C ~ Green Shiner

I picked up the dual interlaced front blade concept from seeing in-line musky/pike spinners. This kind of double clevis configuration is used alone (no other blades) on in-line musky/pike spinners and it is called a "bulging" blade set-up by musky anglers.Musky spinners sport tremendously huge dual bulging blades. However, in-line musky spinners don't have the big trailing Willow like you see here. Two identical size/shape (often different finish) blades are paired up front on musky/pike spinners.

It seems this dual clevis is not used much on musky/pike spinnerbaits - really only on in-line spinners. Nevertheless, I've found the dual clevis set-up works good the way you see it here for bass spinnerbaits. What I've done to adapt the concept for bass spinnerbaits is::

1. I've downsized the dual clevis front blades
2. I've added the giant #8 Willow back blade, which is the largest available sizes Willow blade on Earth.

I also use a barrel swivel here. This is another tip I've picked up from musky/pike spinnerbaits, which are often made with barrel swivels instead of ball bearing swivels. Musky/pike spinnerbaits often use a barrel swivel in order to make the big back blade work harder, vibrate more and lift more, among other things. On the spinnerbait you see here, I feel the barrel swivel slows the Willow revolution, makes it work harder to turn, and therefore makes it lift more. The double Indiana blades lift it even higher. The entire three blade set-up makes the spinnerbait ride up high real slow and easy. It bulges the surface of the water easily (compared to more familiar set-ups like double Willows). The bulge looks like the Loch Ness monster is about to emerge and reveal itself.

It's as effective without making a visible surface bulge - what I call "slow burning" it less than a foot below the surface. Please enjoy!

1 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style C ~ Green Shiner

Shown above are two optional modifications that you don't really need to make - but they may enhance the performance of this (or any) big spinnerbait. These are optional steps if you want to take them yourself:

1. First, you can put a slight z-bend in the wire, and that helps keep the blades up the arm and away from where the line is tied. So the blades can't drop down below the z-bend toward where they could foul the fishing line. I've found the fishing line fouls in big blades on big spinnerbaits more often than the line fouls with standard size spinnerbaits. Especially when the front blades slide down near tthe line tie, they foul the line. This particular spinnerbait comes with a close-fitting bead and sleeve ahead of the clevis, which helps keep the other parts high up on the wire when a z-bend is made. Keep in mind, don't make the z-bend so close to the parts that you constrict their free-turning movement.
2. Second, you can use some heat shrink tubing and shrink it down over the twisted wire loop eye, which will help prevent the line from getting caught in the wire loop. I use red heat shrink tubing here, but black or any color is okay.