# Beetle Spins



## Stekor (Mar 25, 2012)

Hey all -

I've been reading here and elsewhere that people have been doing pretty good with beetle spins in our river system down here. I've got the day off tomorrow and am planning on a wade/float on the GMR, and wanted to throw something different and outside of my comfort zone.. so anyone have any tips with these? Are you throwing the pre rigged grub, or using a small shad imitation instead? Any feedback would be appreciated!

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## IGbullshark (Aug 10, 2012)

roostertail ALL DAY LONG!


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## 47dipseydivers (Jan 21, 2011)

I second the roostertail 1/8 or 1/16 ounce are my favorite sizes

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## gulfvet (Apr 14, 2004)

I love beetle-spins. I went through a period in the late 70's when I fished with very little else. Illinois or Minnesota, lakes, ponds or rivers, bluegills, yellow perch, smallies or northerns, I did it all with this versatile little lure. White bass and crappies love white ones. Smallies like them yellow. Largemouth want them brown or purple and northerns just want them in a bright color. They are the best friend of the light tackle addict. The safety pin spinner helps keep the line away from sharp teeth. They can be fished at any depth, buzzed, jigged or helicoptered. They are not completely snagless but they don't snag often. You can carry a very versatile assortment in a fairly small box and they don't cost much. What's not to love about this lure?


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## yakfish (Mar 13, 2005)

I grew up on Bettle spins! They are excellent for many different species as has already been mentioned. I preffer a twister tail grub to the straight double tail with the little spinner arm attatched. You can expect to catch lots of smallies if you are going to float the river!


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## Jigging Jim (Apr 3, 2010)

It's my favorite Lure. I have fished them mostly without the Spinner. The double tails vibrate in the water while retrieved.


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## chrsvic (Apr 20, 2005)

I like the 1/8 oz white beetle spin with red dot. 97 cents or whatever at walmart, u wont have a heart attack if it snags up.

White roostertails are a perennial fav of mine, but last year i really got turned on to panther martins, little gold one with orange feathers on tail works great for smallies.


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## BornWithGills (Feb 26, 2006)

As previously mentioned by others they are a great bait. They catch a variety of species and are snag resistance. The main reason I use is to cover water in unfamiliar territory. If you are fishing a body of water or area that is new to you toucan cover a lot of water in a hurry to locate fish a feel relatively confident that most fish will strike it.


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

With beetle spins I get a lot of short strikes; I feel that smaller fish go for the spinner blade instead of the hook. A rooster tail type lure (or panther martin, mepps, etc) eliminates this. The BPS brand spinners are just as good as rooster tails but they are right around a dollar. Of course if you are trying to weed out the smaller fish, a beetle spin might be better for you.


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## BornWithGills (Feb 26, 2006)

Another thing that has worked well for me if targeting bluegills is take off the plastic and use a piece of crawler


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## predator86 (Apr 19, 2011)

Walmart in mason had beetle spins two packs on sale for under a dollar.


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## Buckeyefisher7 (Mar 1, 2011)

I caught my first saugeye on a beetle spin

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## PARK92 (Apr 21, 2012)

i never knew what a beetle spin was until i google it and found out that i fish with these all the time.


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## thedudeabides (Apr 13, 2009)

I've seen 7 lb largemouth taken on the tiniest beetlespin.

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## Crawdude (Feb 6, 2013)

I took my first redfish on a beetle spin. You can see it in the photo still in the fishes mouth. I suppose they catch everything.


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## SamiFish (Apr 24, 2013)

BornWithGills said:


> Another thing that has worked well for me if targeting bluegills is take off the plastic and use a piece of crawler
> 
> 
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Like a WHOLE nightcrawler? Or do you use a minicrawler? Or a piece of one? I was on a little bit of a muddy creek which was LOADED with good sized bluegill (I could see 'em floating around on top) but I could only get a few to bite at a 1/16oz grub (yellow, white, chartreuse, brown/black speckled) and none on roostertails.

Or if you got other recommendations for targetting big bluegill, I'd be more than open to it


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## TIC (Sep 9, 2009)

SamiFish said:


> Like a WHOLE nightcrawler? Or do you use a minicrawler? Or a piece of one? I was on a little bit of a muddy creek which was LOADED with good sized bluegill (I could see 'em floating around on top) but I could only get a few to bite at a 1/16oz grub (yellow, white, chartreuse, brown/black speckled) and none on roostertails.
> 
> Or if you got other recommendations for targetting big bluegill, I'd be more than open to it


I've killed bluegill on a tiny little Popeye Jig with a waxworm or redworm as a trailer. I like the white or black jigs with white skirt. This will also kill the crappie. Better yet, for crappie use a white gulp twistie tail.


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## SamiFish (Apr 24, 2013)

TIC said:


> I've killed bluegill on a tiny little Popeye Jig with a waxworm or redworm as a trailer. I like the white or black jigs with white skirt. This will also kill the crappie. Better yet, for crappie use a white gulp twistie tail.


Hm, I kinda shy away from bait. Not for really any reason other than that I have to find a bait shop and because they're often only good for one fishing trip (I'm not always sure when the next time I'll be out on the water)

What size jig do you use? And how do you fish this thing? I've seen most people just tossing and reeling in jigs but I usually do better when bouncing these things along the bottom or a jerk retrieve. But with these super twisty thingies, are they really more a "reel 'em in and let the lure do all the action" kinda deal?


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## TIC (Sep 9, 2009)

SamiFish said:


> Hm, I kinda shy away from bait. Not for really any reason other than that I have to find a bait shop and because they're often only good for one fishing trip (I'm not always sure when the next time I'll be out on the water)
> 
> What size jig do you use? And how do you fish this thing? I've seen most people just tossing and reeling in jigs but I usually do better when bouncing these things along the bottom or a jerk retrieve. But with these super twisty thingies, are they really more a "reel 'em in and let the lure do all the action" kinda deal?


Waxworms and Redworms are typically available at Walmart in the fishing/sports section. They really are great for bluegill, so it might be worth the effort.

You can use a popeye jig however you want. You can catch fish on a constant retrieve, bounching it up/down or sometimes they will hit it on the drop. But I've caught most of the bluegill in my life using a popeye jig tipped with redworm or waxworm under a bobber, preferably a slip bobber.

When you retrieve or pop the setup, the jig will work up/down throughout the depth you've set with the bobber stop.

BTW, a popeye is a tiny little jig, probably 1/64 oz. Cabin Creek Lures down in Kentucky were the original manufacturer, but I think they sold out.


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## StuckAtHome (Apr 29, 2004)

Tie on the big brother, full sized spinnerbait with dual willow leaf in 3/8, any color as long as it's white. Besides catching many fish, you'll get the bigger sm and hardly anything else, don't be fooled by the misconception that sm prefer down sized baits, totally wrong, go big or go home

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## BornWithGills (Feb 26, 2006)

I use a half crawler after removing the plastic grub or smaller piece if ur getting short strikes


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