Underspins???
Perhaps one of the best fish catching baits available today. Underspins can be fished just about anywhere. Grass, tules, cat tails, wood, rocks, you name it there is an underspin available to fish this structure. There is also a variety of baits you can fish on them. From smaller swim baits, to worms. even tubes and fluke style baits. From depths of 1 ft or less to as deep as you want to go. For me I generally fish them in the winter time, down to 50 ft. Once the prespawn is in full swing I’ll throw them in as little as a foot to visible cover. During the spawn I’ll throw them to beds. Below is a picture of a few different styles of underspins, all of which you can find here ,https://www.outdoorproshop.com/?Click=4319
The gold Blade Runner is a staple for me on certain lakes like Clearlake in Northern California. My other staple for places like Berryessa, Clearlake and just about anywhere else is the Fish Head Spins which are the two on top. The weedless Owner is the shallow water choice. I generally keeps my bait choices simple. Whether it’s a rage swimmer by Strike King or a Keitech of some sort and size. The great thing is you can rig a 1/4 oz. underspin with a 3.3 swim bait and catch em just about anywhere. Cast it out and retrieve. Now on a little more technical note, I almost always fish them on bottom during the colder months. Just moving the bait along the bottom slowly and keeping contact.
Two things I do is pair the size of the bait to the weight of the head and how deep I’m fishing it. Honestly if IM fishing a smaller swimmer than I prefer a smaller head. Just means I have to wait for it to sink, I want the bait to maintain its action, so putting a 3.3 on a long 5/0 hook is not the best idea. Line size can also be adjusted based on head size. I’ll fish these anywhere from 8lb test all the way up to 18lb depending on weight and cover. So let’s say I’m fishing 35 ft. with a 1/4 oz. head on points. For this instance I would prefer 10lb line or less, often choosing 8lb on a spinning rod. This would usually be on a clear water reservoir impoundment. For Clearlake for instance Id prefer a minimum of 16lb but will venture down to 12lb when needed.
As far as rods and reels go, I prefer Daiwa. Something that Id also throw crank baits on for the lighter weights, 7’2 to 7’5 medium action for lighter line. Heavier and Ill go up to a med-heavy 7’3-7’6. Daiwa makes a Tatula Elite Chatter bait rod that I pair with a 150 Tatula bait caster in 7.1 with 16lb Sniper Fluoro. This is a great combo when I’m throwing the 1/2 oz. There are so many rods that can be used for underspins and spinning rods are definitely a player here.
Now the shallow stuff, because of where I fish I’m almost always going to use the weedless heads. IM still going to try and stay in the same line weight range but will often opt for 15lb Berkley Big Game. Its strong and casts great. I’m not worried about using fluoro in this setting, as typically Ill have much less line out. 15 lb. Big Game gives me all I need when IM target fishing or swimming it thru the tules or dock pilings. Pretty simple cadence here. Cast and wind based on depth and weight with an occasional twitch with the rod tip is all ya really need.
As we wrap this up lets just mention a couple others methods. Open water for suspended fish, cast, countdown and retrieve. Last but not least for me is bed fishing. At times the most finicky bed fish can not handle that Owner weedless underspin rigged with your favorite bait. Not your typical bed bait but its worked really good for me at times.
Tight Lines and Big Bass
RB Bass Angler
Sean Wayman