Do you love big bluegill?

beetlespins

I am the only person, that has no luck with beetlespins? Maybe I am not fishing them right. I have never caught a gill on a spin. What am I doing wrong?

Dwayne

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Permalink Reply by Johnny wilkins on February 21, 2011 at 5:44pm

Beetlespins - Dwayne, You and I must be kindered spirits or long lost twins. I do love beetlespins for all sorts of fishing. I think it is not you- it might be that your gills can't fit that in their mouth! Or, they are hitting the blade and not the jig...

I do prefer the Mister Twisters because they have a slightly larger blade. I do like modifying them and changing out the blades to create a slower wobble. I do think that these are a bit large for the majority of gills but if you get on big ones- this is a magic - magic bait (for all fish).

My formula is reduce the jig head - increase the spinner size. This slows the presentation and allows you to wobble it through the strike zone for a longer period of time.

If I had only one lure on the desert island - it might be a MisterTwister. A small Rapala would probably beat it out though. Did I say desert island- this would indicate no water so I would be on a pile of sand. If I had only 1 lure and one choice to be stranded - I would go with the deserted island vs. the desert and I think the nod would go to the Rapala minnow bait. They catch everything that isn't dead or full.

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Permalink Reply by Dwayne Denison on February 21, 2011 at 5:50pm

Johnny,

Thanks for the reply, I will give them a try. I keep hearing how great everyone does with them, and I have no luck. I, like you, use a small twisty tail grub on the smallest jug head I can find, something like a 1/82. I looking for a good locating bait, hen fishing from boat and covering lots of ground.

Dwayne

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Permalink Reply by Mike on February 21, 2011 at 7:06pm

I love the smallest beetle spins (1/32 oz. ?) in yellow and black for panfish. My son got a 10" gill on a beetle spin a few years ago and I have great memories of catching all sorts of fish on them when I was a kid. Great baits, don't give up on them.

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Permalink Reply by David, aka, "McScruff" on February 21, 2011 at 11:49pm

I think along with Mike - go with the smallest ones available. I'm certain that is 1/32. Anything bigger is probably going to scare the bluegill! I mean seriously, those things look wicked going through the water.

Im no expert at these, but something else to try is to blacken the wire bail. All that wire and metal chugging around in clear water bothers me, and brim may be put off if the water is bright or clear. So try using a magic marker or flat black paint and go over everything but the spinner blade and the jig bait. Depending on the water, you might even try a brown or green painted bail.

I'm reminded of something I read about bluegill recently, i.e., they are not "chasers" - their preferred forage are slow moving critters: grubs, insect larvae, snails, leeches, and so on. While we know big bluegill will eat small fish, it is likely opportunistic and probably done from ambush. So if bluegill aren't gonna run a "Beetle Spin" down, then it has to be fished slow, easy and right in front of them.

So toying around with the trailer, the blade and the bail angle also sound like good points.

1. "Beetle Spins" come with a Colorado type spinner, which is the slowest type. So, maybe a deeper-cup blade would help slow it down even more.

2. A curly tail grub, or a small "creature" type could add some drag.

3. Opening up the spinner bail, by bending it to a wider angle, should also put more drag on it, slowing it somewhat.

NOTE: This will tend to make it run shallower, so watch its sink rate to ensure you get it to the right depth.

4. The old trick of adding a "running float" in front of the rig might also help reduce its speed, where depths are not too extreme.

Lastly, I think lighter line is important, too. You have to use something like 2lb test, or the line's weight begins to affect the presentation.

Just some thoughts, I guess.

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Permalink Reply by John McKean on February 23, 2011 at 6:15am

I also had limited success with the beetle spin type, until I lucked into the fish-n- spin some years back. This tiny bait has been around for quite a while,too, and has reconfigured the type of overhead spinner, uses lighter lead-free heads, and flatout catches everything!!Inexpensive & easy to order (a dollar shipping!!) Find them at http://fish-n-spin.com/

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Permalink Reply by David, aka, "McScruff" on February 23, 2011 at 10:24am

Ive seen those, John. What it looks like he's done is shorten the bail and added a willow leaf blade instead of the Colorado style. This probably offers a smaller "profile" to the bait.

You are sure right about the price! Im gonna get some of those on my next lure purchase cycle. Thanks for the link.

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Permalink Reply by kenneth day sale on February 24, 2011 at 5:25am

Dwayne Lots of good input so far..can't argue with any of it. However I know how you feel. I have felt that way before but I have found that in over 95% of cases its not the lure or bait in question its ME! Explanation...Be honest...how much time to you devote to throwing a beetle spin on any given trip before you give up and revert to a lure-bait-technique that you have CONFIDENCE IN???? Thats what I thought! If you want to become a beetle spin EXPERT simply commit to fish with nothing else for the next week-month-summer-season? Do it!! But if you're in a big hurry for some reason the next best thing would be to spend some time sharing a boat with someone that has mastered this lure and watch them VERY CLOSELY. Good Luck YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Dwayne Denison on February 24, 2011 at 6:46am

Very good advice, and you are right. After a small bit of time, with no luck, I switch lures.

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Permalink Reply by David, aka, "McScruff" on February 24, 2011 at 9:06am

The old adage goes something like, "Beware the man with only one gun!"

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Permalink Reply by John Sheehan on May 15, 2011 at 8:33am

Thanks for putting me back on Beetle spins guys .Been catching quite a few Bass and Gills using them!

The spin in these two photos is a 1/6th oz. I believe.

The 32nd oz is catching dinks but I did get a Green Sunfish the other day on the 32ndoz.

http://bigbluegill.com/photo/428-beetle-spins-ansd-ccspots-1?contex... http://bigbluegill.com/photo/428-beetle-spins-ansd-ccspots-1/next?c...

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Permalink Reply by John Sheehan on May 17, 2011 at 10:26am

16th oz. is what I meant.

Here's the 32nd at work: http://bigbluegill.com/photo/fishin-plwsteve-o-2?context=album&...

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Permalink Reply by Rob Hilton on May 16, 2011 at 1:41pm

Kenneth day sale is right on the money... In order to gain confidence in a lure you must commit yourself to using it and trying everything you can to make it work. About the only way I know is to take just a couple of variations of the same lure. Easier said than done... ... it's extremely hard to fish with something that you have no confidence in... and I've seen confidence wain after as little as half an hour with out a hit... especially if you have a tackle box full of other offerings...

But I do remember as a boy not having many options because of lack of money... and sometimes I had to put everything I could into my fishing in order to make it pay off... when you invest that kind of determination into something it usually pays off. Good Luck Mate...