Metallic Spinnerbait Blade Finishes
(Nickel, Gold, Copper and Genuine Silver Blades)
Nickel and Gold Plated Blade Finishes
The huge majority of all spinnerbaits blades worldwide are either:
- Nickel Plated Brass. Solid brass stamped stock that is polished smooth and free from scratches, then nickel-plated for a highly reflective finish. The combination of a good grade of brass and heavy nickel plating makes them highly corrosion and rust proof shine for that extra sparkle in the water. Nickel-plated blades are often called silver, but they are nickel which has a darker shine than genuine silver.
- 24K Gold Plated Brass. Solid brass stamped stock that is polished smooth and free from scratches, then nickel-plated, followed by a layer of 24K gleaming gold plate jewelry grade finish that won't tarnish or discolor.
The top shelf, highest quality or premium spinnerbait blades are stamped from marine brass stock, then nickel-plated. Gold-plating would be an additional layer on top of the nickel-plating.
Some blades are also stamped from steel (not brass) stock, and then nickel-plated. Steel blades are rarely gold-plated. Steel blades are more economically-priced, but nickel-plated steel blades won't have the rust-resistance of brass stock. Otherwise, well-made steel blades can work perfectly fine. I've never known a fish to turn down a blade because it had a little rust spot. So don't sweat it.
However, the majority of nickel or gold blades on the market today are brass (not steel) stock.
Gold or Nickel ~ Which One to Use When?
With the two most popular blade finishes, you have four rigging options:
- Double nickel blades
- Double gold blades
- Front gold / back nickel blades
- Front nickel / back gold blades
More often than we may suspect, the choice of blade finishes may come down to a fashion statement. Some people like gold jewelry. Others favor silver. It just suits their fancy. And whether one favors gold or nickel spinnerbait blades may be a similar personal preference. There are some anglers who favor double gold blades. Some put their trust in double nickels. Others are happy as long as one gold and one nickel blade are on a bait. There is merit in all these choices. If a resident expert tells me that big smallies in Canada clobber double gold blades, you can bet that's what I'll use there. If a super sharpie someplace else favors double nickel blades on his home waters, then I'm heedful of the wise advice.
Left on my own, however, I tend to favor gold blades with darker skirts - black blues, black reds, greens, browns. More often than not, I tend to go for the gold in darker water. I also like the gold blades on panfish color skirts. Whether it's yellow perch, crappie or sunfish, these panfish tend to have more gold than silver sheen. Many fish, even carp or catfish can have a gold or silver sheen or other metallic sheen to them. So most every fish has some sort of metallic flash it emits, regardless of water clarity. Whether a spinnerbait flash mimics a fish flash - or whether it's 100% just an attention-getting flash (like the flashing lights atop a fire truck or emergency vehicle), who can say. Not me. All I can say is I tend to use gold blades in darker water, with darker skirts or to imitate bottom-hugging or cover-oriented baitfish like panfish fry. I tend to match silvery nickel blades with lighter color skirts, in clearer water or to imitate open water baitfish or shad, shiners, minnows and such. These are just rules of thumb, not absolutes.
What I really like best is to use two blades - one gold, one silvery nickel.
Keep in mind, the front blade is often smaller than the back blade. A smaller front blade adds an accent flash whereas a larger back blade throws the primary flash.
In a shad type spinnerbait, I'll tend to use nickel for the bigger back blade, gold for the smaller front accent blade. In a darker spinnerbait, a smaller nickel accent blade with a bigger gold blade.
Well Then, When Should You Use...
A front nickel blade with back gold blade?
A front gold blade with back nickel blade?
Double nickel blades?
Or double gold blades?
Why not try all these options and let the fish decide? It's not hard to make a few casts with each.
Chances are, most any fishing trip, you can catch fish on double gold, double nickel or with one gold and one nickel blade.
If you start to suspect that you are attracting more fish with one particular finish versus the others, it just makes sense to continue using that as long as the fish oblige.
Half Gold / Half Nickel Blades
What may be the best of both worlds are the half gold / half nickel blades. No matter which flash the fish favor, you are using both at once in the same blade. This is the ultimate peace of mind.
Ever face those difficult days you can't decide whether to use a gold or nickel blade? Now you can confidently use both gold and nickel in the same blade. One half of each side of the blade is genuine 24 karat gold plated. The other half of each side is nickel plated. Both the front and back of the blade have this.
Half gold / half nickel blades have more of a flickering action compared to one full gold and one full nickel blade.
As the blade spins, the half-and-half colors sparkle on, then off, sort of like the blade is blinking. The gold color kind of winks "on-and-off" more than solid gold or solid nickel blades.
Even with a single blade spinnerbait, you can use both gold and nickel in the same blade.
This is "the best of both" gold and nickel finishes in the same blade.
Copper Spinnerbait Blades
In addition to gold and nickel finishes, copper is a very distant third. You truly don't see copper blades much - but they work.
Genuine copper blades usually aren't just a thin copper plating. More often than not, they are genuine 100% copper through and through. They're coated on both sides with a tough clear finish to seal in the original shine and deter tarnish. Even still, copper blades will tarnish in time, but that's just fine. Bass love copper blades, whether they're as shiny as a new penny or tarnished, bass still love to whack them.
Here now's a valuable tip to tell you what is the very best time to use copper blades. Copper blades often work on tough days when gold or nickel blades seem ineffective. So if it's a struggle to catch fish on gold and nickel blades, give copper a try. It's been a smart move that has saved the day for me many times.
I tend to dress copper-bladed spinnerbaits in jig-colored skirts - browns and greens - and use them close to the bottom, even bottom-bouncing them almost like jigs on rugged bottom. So I am often breaking out of the mindset of baitfish-colored gold/nickel thinking. When I switch to copper blades, I switch my entire approach to a crawdad, a sunfish or bottom-skulking critter mentality.
"Float like a butterfly. Sting like a bee," is what this darling finesse spinnerbait is all about
Genuine Silver-Plated Blades
Genuine silver-plated blades are rarely used on spinnerbaits.
Now you may be thinking, I use silver spinnerbait blades all the time. But actually, most all silver-looking spinnerbait blades are nickel-plated, not real silver.
There are two reasons why real silver blades are seldom seen. First they cost more, but the real issue is that silver tarnishes - and that doesn't sit well with many anglers. Even in a brand new package on a store shelf, silver will tarnish slowly - and even faster with usage.
Genuine silver plated blades are usually coated on both sides with a tough clear finish to seal in the original shine and deter tarnish. Despite the clear coat, genuine silver will tarnish or spot. You'll get a pale tannish tarnish, usually in random spots on the blade, even on a new, unused spinnerbait. That discourages most anglers, but even with tarnish, genuine silver-plated blades have more flash, are brighter and reflect best of all blade finishes. Silver plated blades are visible further underwater, more noticeable, and fish have a better chance to see your lure from a distance.
Genuine 24 karat gold plate is second only to silver in brightness and flash.
Nickel, what most anglers incorrectly refer to as silver, falls much further down on the brightness scale. Nickel blades emit a dark black flash whereas genuine silver blades give off a bright white flash.
The brighter, whiter flash of genuine silver may pay dividends in murky water or when trying to attract fish from further distances - such as in deep water. The brilliant shine and flash of genuine silver is something fish rarely see in a bass lure.
Silver literally outshines everything else, yet it is rarely used. Most every silver-looking blade on the market is in fact nickel, not silver.
When it's time to shine, silver's flash and reflection can be seen from a further distance under lower light conditions at deeper depths than most any other blade finish.
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