Ever thought about mastering the art of fishing with a single spin spinnerbait at night? Dive into this comprehensive guide where we’ll show you the ropes. This masterclass will help you navigate the nuances of nighttime spinnerbait fishing. You’ll be introduced to various techniques, tips, and tricks that will enhance your fishing skills. Get ready to explore the world of spinnerbait fishing after dark and become a pro.
The Bait:
When fishing a spinnerbait at night, 99% of the time, you will want to use a single-spin spinnerbait with a short arm. This is a spinnerbait with only one blade, typically an oversized Colorado blade that provides maximum vibration. The shorter arm on the spinnerbait provides extra vibration and helps the hook sit further back for maximum hookup ratio. Nighttime spinnerbait fishing is all about vibration. At night, fish feed more off of feel and sound than they do sight. Therefore, you want a spinnerbait that can cause a commotion. Jewel Bait Company makes two spinnerbaits for nighttime fishing: the Jolt and Jolt-X. These two spinnerbaits are designed with a short arm, large Colorado blade, and a head design that allows them to come through cover easily. The Jolt-X comes pre-rigged with a Keitech Swimbait, while the Jolt comes more traditionally with a skirt.
Rod, Reel, Line:
When fishing the Jolt it is important to have the right equipment, so that you can fish it as effectively as possible. When it comes to the rod a medium heavy or heavy action with a fast tip is what you will want. Length of the rod is very dependent upon where and how you are fishing the Jolt. A good general recommendation is anything from a 6’8″ to a 7’3″ rod will work. The shorter rods work exceptionally well when you are having to make very targeted casts around shallow cover and docks; whereas, the longer rod excels when you are fishing on deep points, brush piles, and structure.
The art of fishing with a Jolt at night typically involves fishing it slowly and maintaining contact with the bottom. When choosing a reel for this, you should opt for one that aids in slowing down, not one that reels in the bait too quickly. Most spinnerbait techniques require a faster gear ratio, but for single spins, a medium or slow gear ratio is more effective. Ratios like 6:4:1 or even as slow as 5:1:1 are ideal, particularly if you’re struggling to slow yourself down. However, a reel with a 6-speed gear ratio seems to be the best fit.
When it comes to fishing line, you essentially have two options: fluorocarbon or monofilament. During daytime fishing, fluorocarbon line seems to have surpassed monofilament due to its invisible nature in the water. However, at night, the visibility of your line to fish isn’t a concern. In fact, fishing with monofilament can sometimes be advantageous at night. Monofilament provides more abrasion resistance, meaning you won’t need to retie as frequently. Moreover, several monofilament lines available today are visible under a blacklight at night, allowing you to see your line while fishing. Ultimately, the choice boils down to personal preference. If you predominantly fish during the day and only occasionally at night, you might not even have a reel spooled up with mono, so changing to it just for night fishing may be unnecessary. The most crucial factor is that whether you use monofilament or fluorocarbon, you should opt for a fairly heavy line. Ideally, anything from 16lb-20lb test is perfect.
Color:
Unlike daytime fishing, you can simplify your color selection when fishing at night. Most of the time, you will want to choose darker colors, such as variants of black & blue or junebug. However, on nights when the moon is at its brightest, colors like black & red or a single spin of all red can truly stand out.
Size:
When fishing with the Jolt, there are three different sizes available: 3/8oz, 1/2oz, and 3/4oz. The size you use depends on the depth at which you want to fish a spinnerbait and which size maintains the best bottom contact without getting snagged frequently. Generally, you can use a 3/8oz to fish at 0-10ft, a 1/2oz for 10-20ft, and a 3/4oz for 20-30ft. However, this isn’t always the case. The trailer you choose for the back of a spinnerbait significantly alters the depths at which you can fish.
Trailers:
The three categories of trailers for nighttime spinnerbait fishing are craw/grub, swimbait, and chunk. The purpose of a trailer on a spinnerbait is to add bulk, vibration, and sometimes lift. Let’s begin with the craw/grub style of trailers. Examples include the Jewel VersaCraw, twin tail grub, or even a single tail grub. This type of trailer provides minimal lift, allowing you to fish the Jolt close to the bottom, while still offering substantial action. The swimbait style of trailer likely adds the most vibration of all three categories; however, it also provides the most lift. When a swimbait is attached to a Jolt, it will cause it to lift in the water column, making a heavier Jolt fish like a lighter one due to the added lift. The last category is chunk trailers, such as the classic Uncle Josh Pork Frog or other plastic chunk trailers on the market. Their main purpose is to add significant bulk and a bit of lift to the Jolt, though not nearly as much lift as a swimbait. A chunk style trailer is an excellent choice when you prefer a trailer with fewer actions but maximum bulk.
Where to Fish:
Selecting where to fish the Jolt Spinnerbait is pretty simple, almost anywhere. Specifically, long rocky points, shallow flats, boat docks, bluff walls, standing timber, grass lines, and so many more options. The only place where a Jolt wouldn’t be effective is fishing it in thick vegetation because the blade would get bogged down far too easily in the grass, but it is very effective fishing it over the top of vegetation and along grass lines. Just make sure that wherever you choose to fish a Jolt Spinnerbait that you make sure you are using the right size and trailer combination for the most effective presentation.
How to Fish:
Fishing the Jolt is rather simple. The majority of the time you cast it out and let it sink all the way to the bottom and start slowly reeling it back to the boat trying to maintain bottom contact, and if you ever lose contact with the bottom stop reeling and let it sink back down. However, if you are fishing around brush piles, standing timber, or above grass you won’t want to let the Jolt fall to the bottom. Instead, you will want to count it down to the depth you are wanting to fish it at then begin reeling keeping it above the cover you are fishing. A very underrated way to fish the Jolt is by yo-yoing it on the bottom. Rather than constantly reeling the Jolt like most spinnerbaits you can fish it like a lipless crank bait. Let it sink to the bottom and then rip it off the bottom by jerking your rod then reeling the slack out and letting it fall back to the bottom again. This technique works best on rock, gravel, or sand bottoms and it can often get you bites when a straight retrieve cannot. With the yo-yo technique the overwhelming majority of your bites will come on the fall.
