One of the first lures I learned to catch bass on was a spinnerbait. I don't know the make or model, but it was a small one, easy to throw on what was my only rod at the time, I think it was a 6'6" medium action Fenwick, with a Cardinal reel. Pretty nice set up for the era. Both were given to me by one my brothers, and I don't remember exactly how old I was, but that little 1/8th ounce bait caught a lot of bass. These days I use a spinnerbait for river Smallmouth a lot, I can't think of a better barometer to see if the fish are really active and chasing. I usually use a two pronged approach when first on the water, spinnerbaits over and around timber, and crankbaits bouncing off rocks or the bottom in deeper water.

The crankbaits are a story for another day, but when it comes to spinnerbaits for river or stream Smallmouth, I prefer a compact model. The only problem was until recently, compact spinnerbaits were either too small, not balanced well, too light, or not available except from custom tackle makers. I think the ultimate compact spinnerbait these days is the Terminator Custom Tungsten. With it's compact "snap back" titanium wire frame, tungsten 7/16 ounce weighted head, it casts far, runs true, and stands up to abuse like no other I've used. The tandem willow is my favorite for river Smallmouth, and loaded up with lead until it weighs 3/4 ounce (outlined below) is my go-to Table Rock spinner. I have heard that the blades on the Terminator baits tend to vibrate so much they can work the split ring on the swivel apart resulting in the blade coming off in mid retrieve. I had never had this happen until this past year, but according to those in the know, it has only happened on the "Oklahoma" blade, not the willow that I normally use.

Top: Strike King "Little Mr. Money". Bottom: Terminator, Custom Tungsten.

Change out the regular round split rings for the oblong shaped ones,, and no more lost blades.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s...010000_100-10-5

So, any other downsides to the Terminator? It usually retails just under $10.00 a piece. Yeah, ouch.

S.O.B Lures http://soblures.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=73_23

has some awesome models, almost too many choices in colors, truly a custom bait, but you have to pay shipping, and there is something to be said about actually looking at something before you buy. So are there some good, more reasonably priced (say $5.00), compact models out there you can pick up at Bass Pro or "Wally World"? Yes, and that brings me to the current pair I'll talk about today.

As soon as I saw the online advertising for the War Eagle "Finesse" Spinnerbait, I was, well, hooked. It's supposedly designed by Pro Mike McClelland. Is it? Who knows. I liked the looks, it comes in both 3/16 and 5/16 of an ounce, and the standard War Eagles are really popular around the Ozarks with a good fish catching reputation. It has the "Tux and Tails" type skirt as a different company calls it, with long strands flowing back beyond the hook shank. It has some good basic color choices, so I ordered the first one I could get hold of, which was the 3/16th ounce version. When it arrived I was amazed at exactly how compact it really was. It has a tandem blade setup, with the front being a small Colorado, and the main blade kind of a modified Oklahoma, like on Terminators. These are now available at my (Ozark) Wal-Mart as I write this, and to tell the truth, they are just a little smaller than I like for general use. We'll see how it fishes, as I will give them a real field testing as the water warms over the next month or so.

The other model I'll talk about here is the Strike King "Little Mr. Money" which I actually kind of laughed at when I saw it on the "Strike King Pro Team Journal" Television program. The story was that Pro George Cochran wanted a finesse bait for tournaments, etc., and we are to believe that this is his "baby" and everything. They really talked it up, kind of infomercial style, and I am always skeptical of marketing anyhow, but then I saw it at Wal-Mart, and well, now I have 6 of them in my river tackle bag, and a couple in my big boat to throw around docks and shallow stuff at Table Rock and Beaver when the bigger baits aren't working. It weighs 3/16 of an ounce, has a Tandem Colorado/Indiana blade setup, and the main blade probably looks a little small to most people, but it allows you to really use it well in current without to much drag. It has a similar type skirt to the War Eagle, I think that some folks would skip a trailer on both of these baits, but I use a matching Kalin grub for almost 100% of my spinnerbaits, and they work well even under these skirts.

Left: War Eagle. Right: Strike King

Both baits are light, and for someone using spin cast or spinning gear they would work fine, but I like to use flytying lead or solder to add weight to the shank of the hook, and use superglue to hold it in place. You can really load up the Strike King model, and it'll cast a mile, but run true when you "burn" it back at high speed, which can trigger both Smallmouths or Spots, river or lake. The Strike King is said to be available only at Wal-Mart, but the exact same thing is available at Bass Pro with all the other Strike King spinnerbaits, just not labeled as the same bait.

Lead wire wrapped on hook shank of War Eagle to add weight.

So, 1-10 scale, I will have to give the War Eagle a tentative 6. Looks good, good hook, great blade, just a tad small.

The Strike King? 8. It could have a longer arm, I have noticed it's not as snag resistant as the Terminator or S.O.B., and that's a function of how long the arm come back over the top of the bait. They look the same, but when retrieved the titanium flexes more. But it does has a wicked good hook, nice paint and detail on the head, cheap, catches fish. I've been changing the small Indiana blade out with a #4 Terminator willow, and having a lot of success with that version.

It will have a place in my tackle box until I find another, cheaper, better bait. If that ever happens.

Two more Views of the Strike King baits.

Oh, if I overlooked some other lure, please tell me, and I'll check it out. I can't be everywhere, all the time. I take more stock in a personal tip than all the marketing hype in the world anyway.