Bass Fishing with Rooster Tails
Rooster Tails can sometimes be the ideal small-presentation baits for catching bass. When the fish become less aggressive, these small lures will still get noticed without being too intrusive. We discuss the best Rooster Tails for bass fishing and the qualities of each lure.
The flashing and reflective effects are designed to mimic the erratic swimming of a wounded shad or minnow. This makes them extremely effective at drawing strikes. Rooster Tails are one of the most popular bass lures for anglers of all experience levels.
Rooster Tail Sizes and Features
Many Rooster Tail brands are also versatile, allowing anglers to fish them at various depths and retrieval speeds. Lighter 1/8 oz spinners are ideal for smallmouth bass found in creeks, while larger 1/4 oz spinners are great for spawning fish during the spring.
While the ideal size will differ between water bodies, 1/6 oz spinners have the widest range of uses and are often the safest options.
There are dozens of different Rooster Tails out there, which can confuse beginner anglers. In this post, we'll outline the best Rooster Tail options that have been proven to catch huge smallmouth and largemouth bass.
Worden's Original Rooster Tail June Bug
The June Bug Color Pattern of Worden's Original Rooster Tail is a phenomenal bass bait. Performing best in murky waters, this color gives off a lot of action without being too intrusive.
The spinner is gold, which provides the best light reflection, and the tail feathers are chartreuse colored. Brighter colors stand out better in dirty waters and get far more attention in low-visibility environments.
This lure is also recommended because of the natural bluegill body design. A realistic presentation is still important, especially since bass will likely trail your rooster tail to inspect it before attacking.
Worden's Rooster Tail White Red Color
When you're fishing in clearer waters, you won't want to use vibrant colors like chartreuse. The simplistic design of the White Red Worden's Rooster Tail is a popular bait for these situations.
Likely, you've already seen this classic design, as it's been around for ages. This bait has a red tip, which is more effective than the all-white version. The tip makes the bait appear to be a wounded or injured baitfish and draws more strikes.
Johnson Min-O Trout Spinner
If you survey the species of baitfish in your lake or river and find juvenile trout, this pattern is the most effective. The Johnson Min-O Trout Spinner has patterning that almost exactly replicates rainbow-trout.
This lure also stands out because the body is shaped like a fish, and it's not just a metal tube with colorful paint. Tinted or clear waters on sunny days are when this bait performs the best.
If you want to fish like a professional, try to cast this bait behind fallen branches or large boulders where trout naturally hide.
Yakima Bait Worden's Frog Rooster Tail
The Yakima Bait Worden's Frog Rooster Tail is best used around weeds and other aquatic plants. When you've tried topwater baits to get a frog-bite from largemouth bass without success, your backup should be this lure.
The Rooster Tail Frog Pattern loosely imitates a frog's commotion and has realistic bullfrog colors. The low-profile black treble hook also increases the likelihood of a strike.
Worden's Original Grey Minnow Rooster Tail
The Grey Minnow Color Pattern has a silver spinner with the same low-profile black treble hook. This is the perfect small-presentation bait for bass feeding on schools of shad.
This lure's white body mimicks the shad's skin color, and the silver spinner imitates the flashing of a shad's scales. The Grey Minnow pattern is effective in almost any lake or river across the country, but it catches the most fish on days with low cloud cover.
Panther Martin Deluxe Trout Gold/Black/Red
The Panther Martin Deluxe Trout Gold/Black/Red is a shorter bait with an even larger spinner. The spinner piece is longer than the Rooster Tail's entire body, which makes it draw more attention.
This pattern is most effective when targeting smallmouth bass in the early morning when the sun is just rising. The solid gold design will have the most natural reflection when the sun is low in the sky.
Panther Martin Holograph Trout
The Holograph Trout edition of Panther Martin's Rooster Tail is the premium version of their product. They've upgraded this spinner's shaft, so it now creates the fastest spinning action out of any Rooster Tail in the world.
A unique blade also sends out sonic vibrations, which adds a second way for bass to sense this lure. There are many effective colors to choose from. However, the most popular are Copper Dots, Spotted Blue, Chartreuse, and Silver.
