Stan's Archives

By Stan Fagerstrom

Here's proof that a Stan's Spin with a white skirt can be effective.  This one was caught in a coastal Oregon lake early in the year.

The changes I made were as follows.  For starters I painted the body of the lures a different color than they came with.  I painted the body of one blue, the other black.  I left the very head of the lures, the part where the eyes are, as they were.

I also altered the skirts on both baits.  I removed the skirts that came with them and replaced both with skirts that were made of black and blue strands.  To complete these skirts I added several strands of blue tinged Flashabou material.

The new skirts I made contained about half as many strands as had been contained in the original.  To finish up, I replaced the plastic spinner blades on both of these lures.  The blades I used on the altered versions were silver on one wing and blue on the other.

Don't hesitate to experiment with your spinnerbaits.  That's what I did with this one.  There aren't as many strands in the skirt as usual, the head has been painted a bit and I've also added strands of flashabouto the to skirt to give it a bit more color and flash.

Why so much emphasis on blue and black?  Because that has proved to be an extremely effective color combination for catching El Salto Lake bass.  If you’ve ever fished this Mexican bass fishing paradise you’re most likely aware of this fact.

I’ve fished El Salto many times.  I’ve had the good fortune to get to know and work with Billy Chapman Jr.  Billy is the famed fishing lodge operator who has been named to the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.  He owns and operates famed Anglers Inn on El Salto.

Chapman will tell you that black and blue 10-inch plastic worms have probably taken about as many big bass out of El Salto Lake as any other lure.  I got my largest bass ever on one myself. 

I once interviewed West Virginia’s Les Melton.  Some years ago Melton set what probably is the all time record for trophy bass in a six day period.  In just six days at El Salto Melton boated 27 bass of 10-pounds or more.  Two of these 27 bass weighed 15-pounds apiece.  Melton told me 90 per cent of those 27 bass were caught on a 10-inch black and blue worm.

I’ve spent a life time fishing for bass.  I know from experience that those fickle finned bigmouth aren’t always going to grab plastic worms I don’t care what color they are.  Sometimes lures of a completely different type are going to work better.  The spinnerbait is one such lure.  But if a blue and black combination is a proven winner in the color of plastic baits, why not try the same shades in lures of another lure category like spinnerbaits?

Wishful thinking?  Call it what you want, I could care less.  But by golly it worked for me.  Anytime I put a bass of more than 10-pounds in my boat you’re looking at one very happy camper.   I did exactly that with my blue and black Stan’s Spins.  For that matter, I’ve often found that color combination effective on waters elsewhere as well as at El Salto Lake.

Did those few changes in my spinnerbait make a difference?  This picture doesn't do it justice, but the bass in that net weighed 10-pounds, 4-ounces.  I caught this fish at Mexico's El Salto Lake.

As I said in the beginning, working with your tackle is just plain fun.  It adds another dimension to your angling adventures.  As I’ve also pointed out---every now and then it results in more fish.  How you gonna beat that combo?

In my next column I’ll get into the details on how to simplify and facilitate the tackle tinkering process.  Watch for it beginning Jan. 15.

-To Be Continued-