Colorado-blade spinnerbait

Round, cupped blade(s) that spin slow and wide for maximum thump — the muddy-water and cold-water bait.

Also known as: Colorado Blade Spinnerbait · Colorado spinnerbait · single Colorado blade · hardware bait · thumper spinnerbait · Colorado-blade spinnerbait · big-blade spinnerbait · slow-roll spinnerbait · double Colorado

Flash and thump through anything: the spinnerbait is the original search bait.

• Willow for flash and speed, Colorado for thump and slow rolling
• Wind, stain, wood: when visibility drops, the spinnerbait rises
• Slow-roll deep, burn shallow, wake it on top
• Trailer hook for short strikes

A Colorado blade is round and deeply cupped, so it spins wide and slow and pushes far more water than a willow blade of the same size. That translates to maximum vibration and lift at slow speeds, which is exactly what's needed when bass are relying on their lateral line more than their eyes — muddy water after rain, cold pre-spawn water, low-light stained lakes. It is the bait to tie on when you want to slow-roll: count it down, then reel just fast enough to keep the blade turning while it ticks bottom, wood, or rock.

Its weakness is grass and speed. The wide blade grabs more vegetation than a willow and fouls more easily, and it does not want to be burned — cranked fast, a Colorado blade blows out and spins erratically or planes up too high. It is also a slower, more deliberate presentation, so it does not cover water or generate reaction bites the way a tandem willow does; it is a big-bite bait more than a numbers bait, which is why some anglers only tie it on after a cold front or a big rain.

Gear up heavier than for a willow bait: 1/2 to 3/4 oz heads are common to get the bait down and keep the blade loaded at a crawl, on a medium-heavy to heavy, moderate-action rod that lets a biting fish load the rod instead of ripping the bait away. 17-20 lb fluorocarbon is standard; braid to a fluoro leader helps in stained water with wood cover. The most common mistake is reeling too fast out of habit — a Colorado spinnerbait's whole purpose is the slowest retrieve that still keeps the blade spinning.