Part 3

Color, pattern, size and action---all of these things demand attention when it comes to the unique plastic spinner blades that are attracting the attention of anglers all over the country.

I’m talking, of course, about the Mylar plastic Smile Blades marketed by Mack’s Lure, of Wenatchee, Washington.  It’s little wonder that more and more fishermen are adding the relatively new blades to their angling arsenal.  These lightweight and easy turning blades have already aided in the boating of some record size fish.

In my last two columns I’ve shared the thoughts of the hard working guy who calls the shots at Mack’s Lure.  If you read those columns (if you didn’t you can find them in the archives at this web site) you know what Bob Schmidt thinks about one of the best selling products in his company’s lure line up.

As I pointed out earlier, nobody knows more about baits than someone in Bob’s position.  Bait marketers are forever hearing from anglers around the world.  These anglers tell them which products they find most effective and how they are using them to best advantage.  In the third and final column in this series on Smile Blades I want to share a few more thoughts with you that Bob shared with me.

One of the questions I asked him is what’s the best-selling Smile Blade size.  The blades are now available in four sizes.  Those four sizes range from 0.8, 1.1, and 1.5 to 1.9-inches.  These measurements are for Smile Blades unfolded and laying out flat.

“The favorite size depends on the species of fish anglers are after,” Schmidt says.  “The single best selling size overall is our 1.1-inch blade.  It used to be that our 1.5-inch blade was the best selling size for walleye anglers.  Today that’s changed.  Now more walleye fishermen are working with the smaller 1.1-inch blades.”

The single best selling size in Mack's Lure Smile Blade lineup is the 1.1-inch size like those pictured here.

As you might expect, salmon anglers use larger blade sizes for chinook and coho.  “As I’ve mentioned,” Schmidt says, “the species fished for is one consideration, but so is the time of year and the water being fished.  What’s most popular in one lake or river may not be the same in another part of the nation.”

Schmidt says the 1.1-inch Smile Blade is also the most popular size for anglers trolling for kokanee.  “Anglers after walleye in the Great Lakes,” he says, “normally use larger blades.”

Walleye and kokanee fishermen may favor the 1.1-inch size for their fishing, but that's not true where salmon angling is concerned.  Salmon anglers usually pick the largest of the Smile Blade family like the one shown at the bottom of this photo.

I started out this series of columns by giving you Bob Schmidt’s thoughts regarding Smile Blade colors.  I want to come back to that subject as we wrap things up. 

I bring up colors and patterns again because of what Bob told me about one of the newest additions to the Smile Blade line.  It’s this: Mack’s mirror finish blades are rapidly becoming one of the best sellers. 

As is the case with darn near every other kind of fishing gear, there’s just one reason for this.  It’s simply because anglers are finding that blades with the mirror finish helps them put more fish in the boat.

“We introduced the mirror finish just last year,” Schmidt says.  “Sales of these blades have been climbing ever since we brought them to market.”

The mirror finished blades grew out of the experiments of some Oregon walleye fishermen.  “An angler named Lonnie Ireland showed it to Larry McClintock,” Schmidt says.  “Larry thought Lonnie had a darn good idea and brought it to my attention.  We decided to bring it to market.”

Today Mack’s Lure is selling eight different mirror blade patterns.  You’ll be wise to check them out in the catalog section of this web site.  Even better, and as I’ve suggested before, is to get your own copy of the Mack’s Lure catalog.

These mirror finish blades were just introduced last year but they've already become one of the best Smile Blade sellers.  Pictured here are all eight of the current mirror finish colors.

“The mirror blades,” Schmidt says, “are basically a silver shade but they reflect other colors.  That’s why we gave them the name they carry.”

One of the patterns in the mirror blades is called motor oil.  I hung a 0.8-inch motor oil Smile Blade ahead of a plastic worm while fishing for bass at Mexico’s El Salto Lake.  I don’t know if the nice bass that bashed it was looking at itself before it hit, but I do know that lash-up got results.

Schmidt tells me he’s hearing more and more from bass anglers, especially those after smallmouth, who use Smile Blades along with their jigs, worms and grubs.

Like I said in the beginning of this series and have since repeated, there’s just one thing that keeps any kind of lure around very long.  It has to catch fish.  As I’ve pointed out before, Mack’s Lure Smile Blades have enjoyed double digit sales increases ever since they came to market seven years ago.

That says a mouthful as far as I’m concerned.  It tells me all I need to know.  You’re missing a bet if it doesn’t say the same thing to you.

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