Robbie Latuso, a 53-year old Bassmaster Elite Series pro from Gonzalez, had a ready answer for what he wants to throw for fun or in crunch time in April.
“April? That would be easy … spinnerbait. A Delta Lures spinnerbait. The reason for that? That’s when the shad spawn starts. You can be pretty much successful if you find the shad,” Latuso said.
Latuso said the lighter wire makes the difference. It is made with .035 wire; he believes that’s why the hookset-catch ratio is so much higher, no matter if it’s a 3/8- or ½-ounce model. Wire size matters, he said.
Latuso has been fishing with that spinnerbait since it was introduced by Delta Lures. The Mustad Ultra Point black nickel hook and the way it runs true on the retrieve are other selling points, he said.
The spinnerbait is deadly when fished during the shad spawn, he said, and during the post-spawn, when many bass get their appetite back big-time. That’s why his color choice is white, chartreuse/white or chartreuse/blue/white.
“In South Louisiana, any shade of shad,” he said, adding that in clear water, he uses one with a silicone skirt. “If you’re in dirty water like down South, I throw a rubber skirt.”
Latuso likes a double-bladed combination, normally a gold willow-leaf in the back and a nickel Colorado in the front.
Latuso prefers to fish the spinnerbait on 40-pound Fitzgerald Vursa Braid, unless he’s fishing ultra-clear water; then, he chooses monofilament.
“If it’s clear, I take the braid off,” he said.
He fishes the spinnerbait on a medium-heavy, 7-foot Fitzgerald Stunner Rod HD with a Shimano Metanium baitcasting reel.