Insider advice for choosing the best blade combos.

“In clear water, consider a translucent look to the lure, like actual shad, shiners, silversides, or other baitfish. Strike King, for example, offers five different shades of spinnerbait with a basic shad appearance.

“In clear water, I also pay attention to the head design and color. The blades become a blur and the skirt wavers, but the head stays still, with just a bit of vibration from the arm above. I feel that bass focus on the head, so the more lifelike, the better. Eyes are important, and even small details like gill slits and red highlights can draw extra strikes. Attention to detail is most important in clear water, as you’d guess.

“In clear water, metallic blades sometimes give off too much flash. In the northern states, sometimes you’ll start catching lots of pike but few good-size bass. I take a waterproof marker and color the outside of the blade, the reflective side, green or blue. This still offers flash, but it’s muted. The color will stay on for a couple hours.

“In ideal spinnerbait conditions on a clear lake, I often fish white willow-leaf blades on a fast retrieve. Flash from metallic blades is reduced under cloudy conditions, and the painted blades give the lure greater visibility. Visibility is important because under these conditions, fish see a bait and attack it from a good distance. But from below, the lure is still somewhat disguised because the sky looks whitish when it’s cloudy, and wave action breaks up the profile, too.

“Vegetation also helps disguise a spinnerbait and make it look edible. That’s one reason spinnerbaits work so well over weedy flats. Another favorite of mine for a dark day is a double willowleaf model with one blade painted white and one chartreuse.

“In stained water, I go to two extremes,” Van Dam continues. “Chartreuse contrasts with most backgrounds, and its fluorescent characteristics help bass home in on it. But black also works in dark water.

“Most stained water is brown, green, or reddish. Black still contrasts. Of course, I work with blade types, too, under those conditions. I choose Colorado blades for their thump and vibration, saving willowleafs for clearer conditions. And slower retrieves work better in stained water, giving bass more time to locate a source of vibration and hints of color. In clear water, faster retrieves are better.

“The final factor is dominant preyfish, and I consider three basic categories. Most preyfish are similar, with silver, some green and blue, and a touch of yellow, including shad, shiners, alewives, and others. Sunfish species, primarily bluegill, greens, pumpkinseed, and shellcracker, can be important prey, along with yellow perch.

“Spinnerbaits with a mix of blue, green, and chartreuse in the skirt imitate sunfish well. For perch, green with a bit of black and a touch of red and white works. For crayfish, browns and greens are good, as well as reds and oranges. These colors give a general crawfish pattern, though I still retrieve the lure so it’s above the bass, not a natural crawfish position, of course. But those colors still can be the best choice in spring and fall when bass rely on crawfish.”