Slow Rolling Spinnerbaits

You are going to do best slow-rolling in mid-depths whenever you see bait schools on the graph. Often the bait schools will appear flattened down against the bottom - more like long lines of bait strung out along the bottom - at the depth you desire to slow roll. These could be shad or pelagics (minnows, shiners, etc.) but may also be bait-sized panfish (sunfish, perch, crappie, etc.) or young-of-year fish of whatever species. They may be feeding on some sort of concentration, migration, hatch or bloom of minute bottom life. Often, the baitfish you graph may be lined up in bands at a certain specific depth. For example, you may troll around and watch the depthfinder between 15 to 20 feet deep, but only mark the bait schools close to bottom in a narrow band at 18 feet deep, with little or no bait marked at any depth in between 15 foot to 20 foot mark, only a concentrated band of bait at 18 feet (for example). These "bands of bait" are some of the best situations to slow roll spinnerbaits deep.

Style N Slow-Rollers

If you are slow-rolling in relatively open water where you can make a good cast and cover a good stretch of bottom, I tend to favor the 1/2 oz Style N spinnerbait with the blade set-up you see here. In particular, the Willow gets a little "lazy" in this set-up and it does not spin so hard behind the Colorado shown. So the Willow doesn't make as much lift as usual, so this set-up tends to stay down deep a little better than usual.

This slow rolls best at or around the 18-20-22 foot mark. I often read or hear that heavier 3/4 to 1 oz spinnerbaits are better-suited to such depths. However, this 1/2 oz Style N set-up will stay down at the 18'-22' depth all day long (provided you can make a lengthy cast with it and slow-roll it back to the boat. I catch an awful lot of fish at this depth range on this spinnerbait set-up.

Slow rolling the 1/2 oz Style N set-up you see here is a good deal for me.

I don't know exactly what it is about this set-up that makes it slow roll that depth so well, but it does.

Of course you can use it for casting shallow, fishing up near the surface or any other way you'd use a spinnerbait. It's not just for slow-rolling - but truly excels in every way you use a spinnerbait. Please enjoy!

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style N ~ Pearl Blue Chartreuse

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style N ~ Triple Chartreuse

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style N ~ Green Shiner

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style N ~ Smallie Special

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style N ~ Gizzard Shad

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style N ~ Pearl Blue Silver

Style H Single Willow Slow-Rollers

Style H is a hidden head model, meaning much of the head weight is hidden beneath the skirt. This gives it a more streamlined profile, with a smaller head size ahead of the skirt. The hidden section beneath the skirt helps add an attractive fish belly effect to the overall set-up.

The single Willow without any components on the arm also helps lend a more streamlined appearance. So between the hidden head and without a second blade and other arm components, it's more "finesse-looking" or not as big and bulky as usual.

The single Willow set-up is often favored by experienced slow-rollers. The single Willow gives off more vibration than two Willows used together, and fishes slower than two Willows.

Factory-Flattened Slow Willow Blades. True experts in the art of slow-rolling go so far as to even hammer standard Willow blades to make them flatter and therefore "better" for slow-rolling. Flattened blades have more torque, more lift, more vibration and turn slower than standard cupped blades. All these features are considered good for a slow-rolling spinnerbait, so that's why experts would flatten the blades by hand.

The blades you see on the set-ups here come pre-flattened straight from the factory. So every blade is perfectly flattened for the best slow-rolling effect.

Maximum Vibration .032 Wire Arm. Not only the Slow Willow blade but the wire arm is also optimized for maximum vibration. The arm is .032 diameter which vibrates more than the usual heavier wire gauges (most 1/4 to 1/2 oz spinnerbaits are typically .035).

Super Wire Arm. The .032 arm, being thinner wire, vibrates more than usual. Plus it is Super Wire which means it vibrates even more (about 30% more) than standard .032 wires. Not only does it vibrate more, but super wire is up to 50% stronger and bends far less than standard .032 wire.

Shallow, Stained and Grassy Water Too. Also in shallow water, the high vibration of this spinnerbait set-up will work handsomely. In semi-murky or stained water or around thick grassy cover, the intense vibration will draw bass out to belt it! Plus the component-free wire arm acts like a grass-shedding weed guard, and the streamlined single Willow set-up comes through thick grass with less of a weedy mess covering the arm and blade. Please enjoy!

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style H ~ Bleeding Pearl Blue Chartreuse

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style H ~ Dark Chartreuse Shad

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style H ~ Chartreuse Shad

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style H ~ Pearl Blue White

Style N Single Colorado Slow-Rollers

The single Colorado is the classic slow-roller set-up. There are regions across the country where local anglers would not think to slow-roll with any other blade set-up except the single Colorado.

The single Colorado can be slow-rolled at any depth, but is particularly beneficial to slow roll relatively shallow from 0 to 10 feet deep.

Maximum Action and Vibration Blade. The Style N spinnerbait you see here is powered by the biggest, maximum action and vibration blade it will possibly support. The blade will not cause excessive torque or unbalance the spinnerbait, so it will operate straight (provided the wire arm is kept tuned and aligned properly. At the same time, it will have the maximum action possible for this Style N spinnerbait. It displays a humpy, jumpy and hard-shaking type action when slow-rolled. Please enjoy!

The single Colorado blade used to power this spinnerbait has as much or more vibration than many crankbaits.

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style N ~ Bluegill

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style N ~ Chartreuse White Star

1/2 oz Spinnerbait ~ Style N ~ White Silver