Spinnerbait

Also called safety pin spinnerbait

What is a spinnerbait?

A bent wire lure with a skirted, weighted head on one arm and one or two spinning blades on the other.

Colorado blade: Thump; Dirty and cold water
Willow-leaf blade: Flash; Clear water and grass
Common weight: 3/8 to 1/2 oz
Comes through: Brush, grass, riprap

Why is a spinnerbait shaped like that?

The shape is odd and it works. The wire arm rides above the hook and deflects cover, so a spinnerbait comes through brush and grass that would destroy a treble-hook bait. The blades throw flash and vibration, and the skirt gives it a body.

Which blades should you use?

Blade choice sets the character. Round Colorado blades thump hard and are the choice for dirty water and cold water where fish hunt by feel. Long willow-leaf blades flash more and vibrate less, which suits clear water and grass. Many baits carry one of each.

That is the whole selection process most of the time: read the water clarity, pick the blade, and let the retrieve speed follow from it.

When is a spinnerbait the right choice?

It is a shallow search bait above all: rip it past laydowns, over grass tops and along riprap, and slow-roll it deeper when the water is cold.

It is also one of the few baits that is genuinely better in bad conditions. Wind, chop and dirty water all help it, which makes it the thing to tie on when a front has blown the lake up and the finesse presentations have stopped working.

In practice

Muddy or cold water, use Colorado blades and go slow. Clear water and grass, use willow blades and speed up.

What this means when you’re choosing

A trailer hook if fish are swiping and missing, which is common on a short-striking day.
A wire that returns to shape. Cheap spinnerbaits bend out of alignment after a few fish and stop running true.
Blade finish matched to light: nickel and silver in sun, gold or painted in stained water and low light.

The common mistake

Fishing it in open water

It looks like a search bait you can throw anywhere, and in featureless water it catches far less than a crankbait would. The wire arm exists to let the bait touch things, so a spinnerbait earns its keep bumping laydowns, ticking grass tops and running down riprap. If it is not contacting cover, you are fishing the wrong lure for that water.

Common questions

What colour spinnerbait blade should I use?

Nickel or silver in clear water and sun, gold or painted blades in stained water and low light. Blade shape matters more than colour: Colorado for thump in dirty water, willow-leaf for flash in clear.

Is a spinnerbait good for beginners?

Yes. It is nearly weedless, needs no technique beyond a steady retrieve, and works best in the windy, stained conditions that make other lures difficult.

Where this comes up

The guides that use spinnerbait and show it on real gear.

Last reviewed August 22, 2026. Spinnerbait is one of 222 terms in the fishing glossary.