Feeling the Heat? Burn White on White Spinnerbaits

Is there one time of the bass season that I look forward to most? Yes, it is the heat of summer. The reason why is I can’t wait to burn heavy "white on white" spinnerbaits –and midsummer is the best time for that.

I use “white on whites” for two different topwater (yes, that's right, topwater) tactics:

1. I burn it so fast about a foot under the surface that I have to take a break to catch my breath in between every few casts. This tactic can work any day, but especially on those calm, flat, still days when nothing else works. Common thinking for such conditions is to slow down, go deep, do finesse. However, burning the "white on white" debunks that myth. It's just not true. Don't slow down on those days - speed up - as fast as you possibly can. Many of these "bluebird" days, I've gone down a bank doing everything you read in the books and articles that advise what you are "supposed" to do with nary a bite. I'd slow down, fish teeny soft baits hardly stirring them, dropshot with ultralight line and so on - with no takers. You'd think no bass were on the bank. But come back down the same section - not a cloud in the sky, not a ripple of wind - and burn a spinnerbait. Not just any spinnerbait, but a heavy 3/4 to 1 oz. "white on white" burned just under the surface as fast as you can reel it! Suddenly, it will seem like a miracle as the "barren" bank now seems filled with aggressive bass that materialize out of every spot of cover, every crack and shade spot on the bottom to smack down these whites on whites with a vengeance. Reel so fast that the bass have to race as fast as they can behind the bait for 10-15 feet just to catch up to it. And if they swipe at it and miss - they'll not catch up to it again! You'll collapse on the deck gasping for air after a few minutes of doing this - but you'll be smiling.
    
2. Here's an even more exhausting tactic. You'll need to work out in the gym before you attempt this. Don't try it with any less than 50 lb braid since you'll snap any lighter line. Cast the heavy "white on white" as far as possible. Before it hits the water, engage the reel and as the line comes taut, start reeling like there's no tomorrow as you sweep and keep the rod tip high overhead. The white on white will bulge the surface all the way back to you. Every 20 to 25 feet, lift the rod tip so the blades come out of the water. When they come out, they will clack together - and it will appear as if your spinnerbait is exploding. The clacking blades will flail water, the blades will fly every which way, and the jig (spinnerbait head/skirt) will jerk over on its side, swerve sideways and then wobble back as it rights itself. Don't stop reeling. Just keep bulging the surface. Never let it under the surface. Ever 20-25 feet, detonate it. The explosion, the two blades clacking, going two different directions at once as the jig/skirt goes a third direction - it looks just like a trio of shad hightailing the heck out of there, blasting through the surface when a bass pursues them. You will raise some monster, monster bass doing this, and the forces are so extreme, you can easily snap an ordinary line on the hookset. This tactic can work anywhere, but especially over submerged grass beds, underwater wood piles and rock jumbles.