Catching Bass With Metal: The Trick Behind Spoons, Blade Baits, And Tail Spins!

Why do big bass eat these crazy things?! What is it about a hunk of metal falling through the water that actually fools fish into biting? And why can't you get them to work for you?! Today Matt is taking you out for a first hand look at the proper retrieves for each of these lure styles so you can start catching fish!
Metal baits catch a ton of fish in the Fall and Winter. The colder the water the more effective they become at fooling sluggish fish. The key to any of these baits is understanding their specialized retrieves. Once you've mastered how to work them, the rest is easy.
Below you'll find links to the exact baits, including Matt's favorite sizes and colors for each. All the links go directly to Tackle Warehouse where you can see detailed photos and descriptions of each item.
JIGGING SPOONS...
•Blade Runner Duh Spoon: bit.ly/2aKVLlG
Sizes: 1 3/4 oz, 3/4 oz
Colors: UV Sierra, UV Morning Dawn, UV Fried Chicken
FLUTTER SPOONS...
•Nichols Lake Fork Flutter Spoon: bit.ly/2ICAGKL
Size: 1 1/8 oz
Colors: Purple Threadfin, Shattered Glass Holo Silver, Gizzard Shad
•Nichols Mini Magnum Flutter Spoon: bit.ly/2IBHjx7
Size: 2.5 oz
Colors: Silver Shattered Glass, Gizzard Shad, Super Shad
BLADE BAITS...
•Damiki Vault: bit.ly/2rnO7e2
Size: 1/2 oz, 3/4 oz
Color: Black Holo, Real Shad, Holo Ayu
•Megabass Vibration X Dyna Response: bit.ly/2R7FlvL
Size: 1/2 oz
Color: Ito Hiuo, Jukucho Shad, Setsuki Ayu
TAIL SPINNERS...
•Jackall Deracoup: bit.ly/2p8X4b0
Size: 1/2 - 1 oz
Color: Clear Shad, Dera Shad, Silver
•Damiki Axe Blade: bit.ly/2w2uB9t
Size: 1 oz
Color: Holo Real Shad, Black Holo, Bream
BLADE RUNNER UPGRADES...
Hook- Owner ST 56: bit.ly/2cVg7xW
Size: 2
Swivel- Spro Power Swivel: bit.ly/2ay0p7d
Size: 2
VAULT BLADE BAIT UPGRADES...
Split Rings- Owner Hyperwire: bit.ly/2v8ArBX
Sizes: 2 and 3
Hooks- Owner STX 38: bit.ly/2oNIeCD
Size: 6
HIGH END SPOON COMBO...
Rod- St. Croix Legend Elite 7'4" Heavy: bit.ly/2z2qdHc
Reel- Shimano Metanium MGL 150 B (HG): bit.ly/2ezIBfB
Line- Sunline FC Fluorocarbon (20 lb): bit.ly/2h4LNjm
MID PRICED SPOON COMBO...
Rod- Shimano Zodias 7'5" Medium Heavy: bit.ly/2cgmMAe
Reel- Shimano Curado 150 MGL (HG): bit.ly/2TQHwrP
Line- Sunline FC Fluorocarbon (20 lb): bit.ly/2h4LNjm
MATT'S MINI MAG COMBO...
Rod- Megabass P5 Tequila Baccarac: bit.ly/2wVOSbY
Reel- Shimano Bantam MGL (HG): bit.ly/2H44yjG
Line- Power Pro Maxcuatro (65 lb Braid): bit.ly/2clBRiQ
Leader- Sunline Saltimate (25 lb): bit.ly/3oT1oq2
BLADE/TAIL SPIN COMBO...
Rod- Shimano Expride 7'2" Medium Light: bit.ly/32IrXqE
Reel- Shimano Curado 70 MGL (HG): bit.ly/2apmDJt
Line- Sunline FC Fluorocarbon (12 lb): bit.ly/2h4LNjm
WANT TACTICALBASSIN GEAR??
We have a variety of apparel items and custom lure designs available! Everything from hats, to hoodies, to crankbaits! Its all available direct through Tackle Warehouse with fast shipping. See it here...
TacticalBassin Apparel and Lure Designs: bit.ly/38YpPIz
_________________________________________________________________
MAJOR EQUIPMENT WE USE DAILY...
Trolling Motor- Minn Kota Ultrex 112: bit.ly/2vFQypW
Electronics- Humminbird Solix 15: bit.ly/35HuPRY
Anchors- Minn Kota Talons: bit.ly/2F0QBSP
Net- Frabill Conservation PLD 2612: bit.ly/3kdZ3kA
Camera- GoPro Hero 9: bit.ly/2KQ0VEI
FAVORITE TOOLS AND GEAR…
Favorite sunglasses: bit.ly/3cLH0kl
Favorite Pliers: bit.ly/3xJFwTu
Favorite life jacket: bit.ly/2odXXIP
Favorite Scale: bit.ly/2f7QgQ9
Favorite Lure Retriever: bit.ly/2TLTJc6
Favorite Braid Cutters: bit.ly/35KSp3O
Favorite Split Ring Pliers: bit.ly/2fT4Qw0
Favorite Storage Box: bit.ly/3kngvEG
________________________________________________________________
If you plan to do any shopping, using our links before doing your shopping at Tackle Warehouse is the single greatest way to support us! You won't be able to even see a difference but they'll know you're one of us!
#fishing #fallfishing #Winterfishing

[@rawson74]

Thanks for the actually showing the technique on the water instead of just explaining. It helps to see the action, in most cases, to understand what you are explaining. Keep up the great work.

[@chuchuvasquez]

Took the words right outta my mouth brutha!!!!

[@Paul-vn7ig]

Exactly!! Nice to see the different baits actually fished.

[@TheCastLife]

I love how extremely detailed Matt is when explaining how each bait works!

[@tragikk03]

they basically taught me how to fish over the past 6-7 years. You gotta tweak the info top fit the body of water you're on, which is a trial and error process, but their advice always produced for me, so far.

[@skidemn]

Another amazing video that breaks it down better than anyone else on KZbin. I really appreciate what you and Tim do here as it has helped me grow tremendously as a confident angler!

[@_clorp]

Appreciate you showing everything very clearly. I don't know the proper action half the time I'm fishing but this sure helps!

[@SkippinSkippy28]

watched older video 2 years ago. you made me buy more baits. but now i have 2 tackle boxes full of blade baits. I have caught so many fish in the last 2 years. You guys rock!

[@timothyherr9658]

I just realized I've been fishing spoons wrong this whole time, until I found this video. Awesome video!

[@bobbymason8561]

love the explanations of how you retrieve and why you do it in that manner. Your videos where you take time to do this are the best. You always do an awesome job of detailing baits, and good places and conditions to fish.

[@itllkeal]

I'm a bit late to the video but thanks for sharing this. Lately I've been looking at old-school fishing and you can't get much more old-school than spoon fishing. Love it

[@rickconner4895]

I watched and rewatched and will be using all these. Thank you. Merry Christmas

[@BillQuick-qo6lp]

Awesome info Matt! Never really fished any of these but I’m gonna add them into the mix now!

[@johnowens7435]

Never fished a jigging or flutter spoon but I did fish the weedless Johnson spoon which is close to a flutter spoon and it worked great near grass 😉

[@shawnheap2936]

I really appreciate you showing how to work each bait. As I learn new techniques, how exactly to work them is always the most difficult part. Thanks!

[@quicksave1]

Thank you for showing how to work the baits. Sometimes you literally need to watch it to get it.

[@riclindsey329]

Matt brother I must've just set a record marathon for watching Tactical Bassin!!! You are awesome¡!!

[@tacticalbassin]

Ha! Thanks for supporting Tactical!

[@alananderson2961]

Awesome video and professional informative presentation. Thank you. I enjoyed every minute.

[@chrisboytim798]

Fantastic! Love the timing, too...as I'm about to make a trip on my new lake, the first time late fall bass fishing....ever, for me. Thank you!

[@danham3344]

Great video Matt! I’ve never been able to get the hang of these baits but this video will help. There was no mention of water clarity so wondering if they work in dirty water and if so, which are best for that? Thanks for yet another excellent video. You guys have really helped my game. 👍🏼

[@AnglerAnthony]

Love how Tim gave Matt the Atta boy tap as he grabbed the net.

[@greenpighunter6930]

Excellent lesson. Love winter fishing spoons & blades

[@epistemologicaldespair68]

Through the late winter & early spring, my step dad and I could only get bit on blade Baits…silver buddies. Fishing pretty deep,we would mainly pull in smallmouth.

[@jonorech]

Great vid, Matt. I learned a ton as usual. Wow, makes me think of fishing for other toothy critters up north: Flutter Spoons (Lake trout and pike) Jigging spoons and blade baits (walleyes). I learned how to walleye fish years ago on Heddon Sonars, and later Cicadas. Who remembers those?

[@rudydodds6054]

Thanks for sharing your information. I love to spoon for bass in the winter, I need a little more time with the blade bait and tail spinner to really get them dialed in. Awesome video thanks again.

[@kenmccarthyfishing]

Thank you Matt, I will be doing this today ❤

[@KissmyBasss]

I've been on a flutter spoon bite the last 4 trips, the bite is insane. 3-5lb bass so far and big sandies and some channels

[@phatpakbaits]

You guys keep bringing it and the actual rod and reel technique was a great addition

[@joshballard7101]

Awesome video! Very informative!

[@LBendandi]

really appreciate your videos and watch all the time... wish a muskie angler would do something similar...

[@RegularAssUsername]

We just wore them out today in the lake with blade baits tail spins and I got home to this after. Nice.

[@rvfishingyet]

appreciate the follow-on retrieve tips as well

[@JonJonsOutdoors]

Love you did this one! The spoon just doesn’t make sense to me so excited to watch!👊🏻

[@Lee-vg8yk]

Matt; nice job cool

[@dewaynewilson8937]

Y’all are always great, thank you so much for sharing your techniques

[@captnse]

I love the metal baits! They’re not just for catching mackerel in the ocean! 😀. The freshwater bass love them! I’ve caught so many bass with a plain old Hopkins spoon…just bombing it out and jigging it off the bottom! As for blade baits, I like the Binsky. With its keel design, I can cast a Binsky much further than a damiki vault, but I do love the Damiki Vortex (3/4 oz).

[@formatr6]

With the flutter spoon I've noticed that quick snaps work awesome when they are gagged up like spaghetti on the graph. It gets the bigger bites

[@Jerms84]

Great video guys

[@Tbowie13]

Thanks for this video, I'm heading to my cabin in the Ozarks for about a month and a half in 2 days and will be fishing Bull Shoals and Norfork, I've been wanting to use big flutter spoons for awhile on Striper, just haven't gotten to it. This will be the time...those bluff walls and points should be on fire right now! Man Matt, it's insane what all that Tequila Baccarac can do! I have been floored by that rod! They just straight, got that one right! I do almost all of my bigger bait fishing with either the Tequila B or a Megabass Destroyer BlackJack. Those 2 rods do almost all my big work, and do it well!

[@bobcragle8124]

By the way great informing video . thanks ! bob

[@davidlaing4728]

Love to see you do one on jigging raps, shiver minnows, etc. a category the pros seem to hide that they use

[@mikecamalier2653]

I really enjoyed listening to you. Great job bassmd

[@RUF33OH]

Finally for the first time ever Matt says we can throw these baits on a rod we already own… 😅

[@tacticalbassin]

😂😂😂

[@NFiltr8Red]

When all else fails, Kastmaster is my go to. Probably caught more fish and species of fish with it in my entire fishing experience

[@FanOfLiberty1776]

Thank you for the info, Matt!!

[@johnbutler307]

Another great video thanks for all the tips

[@shadygraves]

I've caught more bass with a Silver Buddy, Little George, Crippled Herring, and Hopkins Shorty than most anglers will ever see. Veritcal jigging with metal is one of the fastest ways you'll ever load the boat.

[@fishnmaster421]

Man y’all got this shit down to a science brother

[@TUBTHETRUCKER]

Seriously your wearing brown dress shoes with a mega bass dyna response going after large mouth at Clearlake in California. This is why I looooove this channel 😅😊😂

[@Mdgreenlee]

Bruising myself catching fish sounds like a cook problem to have! Haha

[@kentbrown5369]

Major craft has a 7’ extra heavy rated from 3/8 to 3 oz. It’s an amazing rod for bigger baits yet it has a soft enough tip for lighter baits. At $149.00 it’s a great deal

[@craigstuckey319]

I fish blades on bottom like a jig for saugeye and walleye in shallow rocks and destroy them. Yes I lose a ton. I've had days where I'll lose 30+ sometimes lol.

[@patrickh.5435]

Ah yes the old diamond colored spoon. My favorite. And I've been running the blade bait like a lipless and it's been ripping on them but I'm ready to get to deadsticking

[@B.D.B.Outdoors304]

Hell yeah man, happy to see this one

[@JoshKyleFishing]

I want to hear you guys talk about that 360 and targetlock combo!!!

[@brandonsmith606]

I've bought a few but honestly haven't fished them much. Something I found interesting is my Dobyns Fury 735c frog rod is absolutely excellent for the Nichols standard 1 1/8 oz. Flutter.

[@kenniouscatchembray2681]

I would love you to break down Lake Anna, Bumpass Virginia.😊

[@stevemcewan8129]

Have you guys ever used the Manns little George tail spinner been around for a long time

[@twonhb28]

Great video as always! Have you ever tried using assist hooks like they use in saltwater vice using the trebles?

[@zach8973]

Spoons are just something I’ve wanted to try just my area in fl in flats , water ways and grass . But I’m really on a swimjig with a big largo shad bite , making it dart kinda like the s waver in away pulling around 10ft or so and just killing it . 😂

[@andyd834]

Big cats like that mag flutter spoon.

[@robbaize4193]

Thank you for doing this video! Any extra tip on California delta?

[@seizedcarcass8440]

I really don’t fish spoons. Tailspins and bladebaits are my bread and butter. Especially around pressured fish. They are so versatile. You can burn them or jig them and so much more. The tailspin crushes in deeper water because on the fall it sort of glides. I don’t fish for suspended bass but I really thing it would kill them.

[@DCNY.Fishing]

my favorite way to spoon, is the little spoon 🥺

[@alanwinge8775]

They catch fall walleye too.

[@bobcragle8124]

What about casting and retrieving on bank fishing , I don't have a boat? do you bait the hook? The flutter spoons I have are just plain hooks. I really like fishing spoons.

[@dustinharris8828]

What about the megabass Nautilus line through tailspin? I’ve heard it’s a fish catcher too! I’ve been thinking about picking some up along with some dyna responses.

[@LBendandi]

flutter spoons for muskie? Seems like a no Brainerd... going to try it...

[@Smallmouthnation]

The Dyna feels like you are working wet leaf. Binsky rocks in the North

[@davidkearns3096]

Would a single rear hook work like a salt water spoon?

[@e.1228]

Good stuff👍 Tight lines my friend 🤟🤟🤟

[@bobbybaker5304]

Love the Blade and Tailspins for sure. On the Megabass Teq Bacc rod, how many different lures are you comfortable throwing on it?

[@davidkearns3096]

Blade baits; you can fish in as little as 2' and more? Whare I fish any time of year, there is crap on bottom (leaves dead milfoil ect.) Exposed treble hooks will be a problem. Hell even deep there is junk on the bottom. How do you avoid getting fouled?

[@jacksonbrooks]

How would you fish a tail spinner or a blade bait in five feet of water and lots of grass in the cold

[@habibyali8697]

Awesome video Matt kind of an off topic question but when would u say the end of fall is and when would u say is too cold to throw topwater…December???

[@jakechimiak9626]

Bomber slab spoon or war eagle cold slaw spoon

[@charlie910]

Look into slow pitch micro jigging im sure bass in deeper 20, 30, 40 plus feet would go crazy over a saltwater slow pitch jig

[@nolanreiserhoopz]

I’m not the best listener which one would u use to just cast and reel and make some big twitches

[@jamesbarron1202]

You don’t run a stinger on your flutter spoons? I know Tim used to use them.

[@dant8213]

I've yet to catch a bass on a big flutter spoon, don't have deep enough water out my way in most lakes I think

[@paulmiller676]

What brand are the wide spoons

[@computerguy1724]

Informative vid, Matt - thank you. I might have missed it but what is the best water temp for this technique IYO?

[@jordanaya]

Does anyone know would the proper retrieve for a Reef Runner Cicada lure be the same as the blade bait retrieve shown here?

[@scottturner3762]

You throw a 1 oz Axe Blade on a 6'10Med and 7'2" ML?

[@noahledbetter3969]

Hey man I got some of the new zman hellrasiers and was wondering what kind of rod and reel would you use to throw it??

[@kesterharding1819]

Lets get it!!! I'm planning on getting the Tranx setup for swingbaits. Matt I see you're using the 300 over the 400. Does it matter which one I get? Also I saw you recommended the Gloomis rod for swim baits. Is that the best all round rod for swimbaits? Thank you for the consistent content. I slayed them on the vision 110+ jr last weekend.

[@tagg946]

i dont think the reel size matters *too* much between 3-4 hundred. 400's will be tougher reels, with larger/stronger gears to crank big fish in, they often come with a crank handle too, but theyre large and heavy when casting them around all day. Just make sure what ever reel you get has a hefty drag. if you get a 300 size, invest in a crank handle, adds alot of torque.

[@kesterharding1819]

@@tagg946 beautiful I'll just use your link to get it from TW. Thank you for always providing feedback.

[@logannewman4532]

Is it worth drifting a spoon in moving water?

[@tacticalbassin]

Yes, it can work. Our home lake has a ton of current in it and we spoon quite a bit here.

[@andyd834]

The more I go along the more I wish I had more then 1 slx 6'10" med.

[@fishinfrenzy2544]

Yup broke the tip off mine this year been missing it

[@saounyang]

Matt You went from a Zodias 75H to a Zodias 75MH for spooning but still use the spoons over 1 ounce.. any reason why you did so and how does the MH handle the heavier spoons vs the H?

[@tacticalbassin]

It handles it really well. We're always adapting and while the heavy is awesome for medium to large fish, it has a tendency to lose smaller 1-2 lbers because the blank isn't loaded as deeply as the medium heavy.

[@saounyang]

@@tacticalbassin thanks for the answer

[@richgreen9093]

There goes another $300....

[@midwestfischerman]

FIRST!🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🙌🏻🥇👍🏻🎣

[@sheaffergrubbs6056]

It's not looking good for the American people......were in bad shape

[@l.foutdoors4315]

First

[@gabrielz2818]

jeans with sandals, cmon now do better