Well, the Doctor is back in the house!!!

Every year we are asked for these little Baits when the Walleye seem to vanish out of the Bay.  It has taken us a while to figure it out but they haven’t gone far and contrary to popular belief, are not in deeper water but instead in the weeds in shallower waters!  How do you get them out of there?  Well, with these little “Spin Doctors” From Patterson Reel Bait Tackle Co.! We just received a new shipment of them and hoping they will put a few eyes in your live well.

Here is a paraphrased post from a few years back from a good fishing buddy of ours, Nick Werner.  He explains it best on how and how not to use these baits the best that we have seen.  Here’s what Nick has to say ….

“When Mother Nature throws you a curve ball.......Hit IT!

The wacky summer temps have kept the walleye bite going strong. From where I live on Big Bay to past the ferry, I've been able to keep a solid shallow water (6-14 ft) bite going for my charter clients all summer long. These summer fish aren't the big girls that visit us in the fall, they are solid 2-6 lb fish that smash the bait like it "owes em' money"! I wrote a small article about this last year on my website, (yes, they are one of my sponsors) but it has continually produced fish for me year in and year out. The Bait... is the "Spin Doctor" from REELBAIT Tackle Co. In lure terms, it's a tail-spinner,..there are quite a few variations on the market. I own pretty much all of them and this one just continually sets itself apart. If you talk to the "bass guys" it may surprise some of you to find out how many walleye are caught every year on spinnerbaits. This little bait gets down quick, thumps along at a perfect pace and although it has a single treble hook it runs fairly weedless which makes it an excellent Quinte weed casting presentation.

County Shores (formerly Fosters Fishing) by Telegraph Narrows has em in stock. If any of you need questions answered on how to fish the Spin Dr.. just PM me. I'm throwing in a few photos of clients who had never even seen this bait before and had never casted for Walleye! ….

Nick answers a few Questions …

1.  I primarily use the 3/4 oz model. It may seem heavy to some, but it gets down to the weed bases and "hunts" quick and stays there throughout most of the retrieve.

2.  I use mostly the natural colours, (see Picts) fire-tiger is a favourite also.

3.  Steady retrieve you want to feel the rhythmic thump of the Colorado blade

4.  Speaking of blades.... I've tried to switching them out for other sizes and styles, (willow leaf, Indiana, hatchet) but I always come back to the stock Colorado blades that come on the bait.

5.  Also, on the "tinkering" subject, I've tried to switch the stock treble hook out at least 100 times, it never works out. They either roll over and grab the lure on the cast or they catch too many weeds. The stock treble hooks come thru the weeds pretty darn good and if you pick up a weed just "pop" your rod tip and usually it slips free.

6.  The type of line I use is 90% braid for this lure. I've had some success with monofilament but the braid just slices the weeds better. 14 lb fireline up to 30 lb power pro and anywhere in between. I DO use a fluorocarbon leader, 15-20 lb or you can use a heavy piece of monofilament if needed. Approximately 18"-24" ...the type of line isn't the most important you just want some stiffness so the bait doesn't flip back onto your main line. Additionally, I tie the lure directly to the line. I used to use snaps but they just seem to foul up too much.

7.  ....the baits come with the red hook standard, I'm not switching them out on this bait. I've tried, and tried and tried.....(see original post). It just doesn't seem to work as well. The catch rate stays the same with stock hooks and the weed snag rate is really low with stock hooks. I spoke to the lure inventor about this at length many times and he invested over $50K to get the design right. It really does perform well in the weeds.

8.  My choice of rods......It varies a bit. I personally prefer a med or med-heavy with a fast tip. For my charter clients I usually try and gauge their ability and weed cover and either set them up with a medium action to medium heavy action rod with a medium-to-medium fast tip. I always tell them the most important part is to feel the rhythmic thump of that big Colorado blade. 90% + of the strikes are vicious so I really don't have to worry about clients setting hooks. If you do foul up with weeds you will feel that "thump" stop immediately and you can usually just "pop" your rod a couple times to get it running again.

9.  This bait was invented by a B.A.S.S. Circuit angler and it just happens to work great for walleye too. There are a couple different names they are sold as "Lytles Secret" and "Spin Dr." both versions are by Reelbait Tackle Co. www.reelbait.com …

10.  Again, I appreciate the questions. And if you guys have any more, I'll be happy to answer em. It's a fun and relatively easy way to fish weeds quickly and effectively. I can hand a rod to a client and even if they have limited casting and angling skills this little sucker usually produces.”