Spinnerbait Flutter

 Because the basics never go out of style…and at one time, these were cutting edge techniques. Jimmy Houston won AOY twice on the B.A.S.S. tour, primarily on the strength of his spinnerbait game - 1976, two years before this story, and 1986, ten years later. Recently, I’ve read an article or two that said with all the guys jiggling minnows and sharp-shooting fish out in open water, spinnerbaits were about to make a comeback.

FLUTTERING THE SPINNERBAIT

👉 Fire your spinnerbait several feet past a tree [or moss bed], engage the reel and immediately begin the retrieve by reeling and lifting with the rod tip. Once the lure has reached the trunk [or edge or hole in moss bed] stop the retrieve, and allow the lure to begin fluttering to the bottom.

👉 It is important to let the lure sink as straight down as possible, right next to the tree [or moss bed]. To achieve this, slowly drop your rod tip as the bait descends.

👉 Follow it down… By doing so, you slowly give the lure enough line to let it sink almost vertically, instead of swinging back toward you in an arc. As long as you begin the flutter with the rod tip high, you are in good position to accomplish this. By keeping just enough tension on the line to eliminate slack, you can feel the pulsation of the blade as the lure "helicopters" to the bottom. 

👉 Single, large blade spinnerbaits are far better for fluttering than the tandem models. The two blades on a tandem lure tend to tangle when the bait falls, causing it to fall too fast. Tandems are much better suited for a steady retrieve, where the two blades work together to cause a great deal of vibration.

Excerpted from In-Fisherman, Feb-Mar 1978