Spinnerbaits are FUN. That’s a no-brainer. Feel a strike and not hooking up with the bronzeback that bit it? That’s No fun!
How can you increase your odds of landing smallmouth bass on spinnerbaits?
Add a trailer hook.
Bass Pros and expert anglers such as Kevin Van Dam and Larry Nixon swear by them and you should use them too. All you do is get a trailer hook and put it on to the stock hook. Just apply a small piece of rubber tubing to hold the hook in place and you are good to go.
Hook Up With Trailer Hooks
Bass Pro Larry Nixon says: I always run a trailer hook on my spinner bait because smallmouth are slash feeders. Many times the smallmouth won’t hit the main hook, but you will catch it on the trailer hook. If the smallmouth are not really taking the bait, I bulk the bait up by using a twin-tail trailer. Source
Kevin Van Dam on Trailer hooks
I always use a trailer hook on my spinnerbait because it gives me a second chance when bass aren’t biting aggressively. At lease 25 percent of the fish I catch on a spinnerbait are caught on the second hook, which is a significant number when you consider that a 2 pound bass in a pro tourament can mean the difference between winning and finishing 5th. Source
The most common hook to use is a 2-0 hook, one half the length of the standard hook.
Chris Gorsuch exaplains how to add a trailer hook or “stinger hook”. Great stuff!
httpv://youtu.be/Mj7ldUkRou4
Watch Dave Mercer nailing smallies on a spinnerbait and especially take note of what he says about trailer hooks at the end of the video.
httpv://youtu.be/8-hINK0HKu8
Next time you are fishing with a spinnerbait, give this strategy a try.
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