Models with a detachable arm are versatile and also create helicoptering action on the drop, as the hinged arm folds upward to allow a straight fall. Small, fixed-arm spinnerbaits come through cover well and are a good pick for big spring crappie. Talon Lures offers the Sac-A-Lait Plus, sized for crappie, while BOOYAH's Wounded Bucktail puts a hair skirt on a 1/8-ounce tandem model, and Strike King’s Micro-King and Mini-King match a single Colorado blade with the 1/8-ounce bait.

Jig Spinner Variations: There are other ways to combine a spinner and jig. Northland’s Whistler Jig has been a walleye staple for over a decade. The propeller blade behind the head turns with the slightest pull, and it whirls in a blur when retrieved steadily through any part of the water column. The blade also helps slow the Whistler’s fall, making it a good choice for working weedlines, bluff banks, or standing timber. The Whistler Screwtail is prerigged with a 11⁄2-inch twistertail but is also available with no dressing, so tubes, swimbait bodies, or livebait can be used.

The Slider Whirly Bee combines a flat Slider head with a tough grub body and an Indiana spinner, which hangs on the hook bend with a swivel. Slider’s new Lil’ Whirly Bee is a 1/16-ounce version sized for bluegills. Also new is the Slider Panfish Jig, a marabou model weighing 1/64 and 1/32 ounce. The company also sells spinner-swivel rigs with keepers so you can transform most jigs into tailspinners.

Spinners in Action

Crappie Approaches: Spinners come into their own during the Prespawn Period, when crappie move to the edges of weedy or brushy flats and into protected bays, where they find warmer water and baitfish. If the water is below about 50°F, a float-and-jig or minnow may be needed to tempt bites from lethargic or spooky fish. But when water temperatures rise and weather remains stable, spinners become a top choice, particularly in murky water or where cover is thick. Consider jig-­spinners a top pick for crappies that are at least moderately active.

The overhead arm of elbow spinners makes them a top choice when crappies hover in vegetation. Woodcover is a universal crappie attractor in spring, and the arm also helps deflect brush and limbs.

Chin spinners (also head spinners like Northland’s Whistler Jig and tail-spinners like the Whirly Bee) are versatile and can be cast, trolled, or fished vertically. Both in the heat of summer and in cold conditions, crappies often hold on bottom, sometimes within cover and sometimes hovering just above featureless areas that hold small bottom-dwelling organisms.

With the line-tie directly overhead, chin spinners can be tweaked along with slight jigging motions as the boat drifts, or fished vertically while the angler watches fish respond to the lure on sonar, similar to ice fishing. With its subtle undulation, marabou dressing is often the best choice in winter, while active tails of soft plastics are ideal in summer.

In late summer and early fall, groups of crappie often feed near the surface in natural lakes and vegetated impoundments, pushing baitfish toward weededges. Casting or longline-trolling little spinners is deadly: The blades keep the bait high in the water column and the flash excites feeding fish.

White Bass Action: Flash and vibration jig-spinners excel in current, making a great choice during the spring white bass run. Whites typically run into tributaries and offer super-fast fishing when timed right for location and weather.

As our most piscivorous panfish, white bass focus on flash. A spinning blade also helps keep a jig high in the water column, where white bass tend to feed during spring. They also feed near the surface in summer and early fall, usually in larger numbers and with greater fervor than crappies. Whities slash and cut, stirring the surface like the miniature stripers they are. It’s hard to beat a jig-spinner as long as fish stay on top.

Blades for Bluegills: Sunfish are perhaps the most curious freshwater fish, investigating every nearby object with a myopic stare. And that stare is usually accompanied by a tentative nibble. For active sunfish in shallow water, mini jig-spinners and small in-line spinners are fun to fish and effective. They typically select for larger bluegills, pumpkinseeds, ­shellcrackers, and redbreasts. Expect the best spinner bite from late spring through early fall, when shallow patterns prevail.

Blades are particularly effective in farm ponds that are fertilized to maintain a healthy phytoplankton bloom. Visibility is reduced in the greenish water, so the flash and thump of a spinner make it a great choice. While most anglers target shellcrackers with livebait, jumbos can’t resist a Beetle Spin.

Spinning for Perch: Traditional perch rigs are effective for drifting expansive flats of the Great Lakes and large natural lakes, often enhanced with spinner blades set above baits. In small lakes, perch feed along the edge of deeper weedlines all year, and heavier jig-spinners work in spots shallower than 10 feet or so. Note that the spinner’s ability to buoy a presentation also makes it harder to fish deep unless a hefty head is selected, such as a ReelBait Flasher.

While jig-spinners aren’t always the most effective approach, they’re hard to beat for ease of use and have a high fun factor when the bite gets going. With the variety available now, spinners should occupy plenty of space in your panfish box this year.