Johnson Beetle Spin 2025
Green Trout reply :
Are these weedless? Planning on fishing them around a lot of wood.
FloridaFishinFool reply :
I would not exactly call them weedless.
Sure they will bounce off structure sometimes if you hit it right, but I have hopelessly snagged more beetle spins than I can count!
Even snagged a few gators with them- especially if you add a trailer hook.
If you want to try a weedless spinner, I just bought some of these for the first time and have yet to try them out, but I hear good things about them:
smalljaw67 reply :
They are about as weedless as any other spinnerbait and they do ok around sparse wood. I will say this, the beetle spin is one of the lures that will catch fish under most any condition during spring through fall, it is a bait I think every beginner should have.
Heron reply :
Its just me, but I dont consider any spinning bait to be particularly weedless. Sure it may not snag with the hook as often, but if/when the weeds get wrapped up in the spinner, it can still cause it stop functioning.
Alonerankin2 reply :
Safety pin spinners! Sure, as much as most spinnerbaits, around rock & wood.. Weak hooks are about the only drawback, if there is one.. Play your catch ( Bass ) you should be fine. Killer bluegill & crappie bait as well. Try a roadrunner too!
Heron reply :
I like to buy those little spinners separately and attach them to other baits, just to add a little extra to em.
I once caught a fish by connecting a beetle spinner to a swim jig.
MassBass reply :
On 2/6/2015 at 4:26 AM, FloridaFishinFool said:I would not exactly call them weedless.
Sure they will bounce off structure sometimes if you hit it right, but I have hopelessly snagged more beetle spins than I can count!
Even snagged a few gators with them- especially if you add a trailer hook.
If you want to try a weedless spinner, I just bought some of these for the first time and have yet to try them out, but I hear good things about them:
This lure is deadly. Those must be the redfish/inshore colors. Look great. The rigging possibilities with this lure are endless.
scaleface reply :
Beetle spins snag up a lot more often than spinnerbaits with fixed arms. They are among the worse lures for getting hung up. They also catch tons of fish. If you want one weedless you will have to create your own .
http://www.fishingmonthly.com.au/img/uploads/86781141ad27ea2e27f157008448c953_ThornBushBash_6.jpg
Ratherbfishing reply :
No...but the good news is they aren't too expensive so if you do hang up, it isn't likely to induce tears.
Alonerankin2 reply :
Well, weeds are not brush, nor rocky areas... So in direct answer, No, not exactly weedless, however, I still know it to be true that in & around, brush, and rocky areas, they work well... I never really lost more or less than other smaller baits of this style. Including pond magic spinnerbaits... Any open hook type of any panfish style of bait, tube, jig,etc.. has the potential for snags or dragging junk in or being lost. It's a good bait, especially in ponds and creeks...
kikstand454 reply :
Man, I have caught ALOT of fish on beetle spins. It used to be all I threw when I was younger and bank bound!
I've caught some nice redfish and speckled trout with them too!
scaleface reply :
On 2/6/2015 at 10:38 PM, kikstand454 said:Man, I have caught ALOT of fish on beetle spins. It used to be all I threw when I was younger and bank bound!
I've caught some nice redfish and speckled trout with them too!
Beetle Spins are so good at catching fish that even the most novice fisherman catch lots of fish with them . Then for some reason we out grow away them. If they work that well for a kid then in the hands of skilled anglers they should be deadly. That being said , they dont make the quarter ounce Beetle Spin like they use to. It use to be much bigger and was a better bass bait than the tiny thing they sell now days. I'd purchase some if they would bring the ole quarter ouncers back .
Catt reply :
They now have 1/2 oz Bettle Spins!
I have no problem with hang ups 
scaleface reply :
On 2/7/2015 at 2:37 AM, Catt said:They now have 1/2 oz Bettle Spins!
I have no problem with hang ups
Maybe its the half ounce I use to buy then. I havent seen them around for years .
So you bump stumps with Beetle Spins like Spinnerbaits and not hang up ?
Catt reply :
On 2/7/2015 at 2:46 AM, scaleface said:Maybe its the half ounce I use to buy then. I havent seen them around for years .
So you bump stumps with Beetle Spins like Spinnerbaits and not hang up ?
The half ounce just came out this year!
Ya do know the beetle can be changed?
Yea I throw em in wood, brush, grass, lily pads, cattails with no problems.
Do they hangup? Yes if ya aint paying attention but no worse than any other spinnerbait.
scaleface reply :
I found one of my old ones . Its 1/4 ounce with a three inch body and the lead head is not round .
I cant throw them in the snags like I can a regular spinnerbait, I would get hung up all day . Thats one of the best qualities of a spinnerbait , the arm deflects snags the Beetle spin arm does not .
zell_pop1 reply :
I have a couple old 3 in bodies around, I think they made a 3/8 oz. head back in the 80s. Or maybe Mr twister did. Anyways the 3 in one's are good bass lures.
kikstand454 reply :
I used to ditch the old bodies and put on these little fat belly crappie plastics. I forget what they're called.
Also the old BPS triple ripple grub. Deadly.
greentrout reply :
If you fish small waters, I believe you should always have a few in your tackle box. They will catch anything. LMB will readily smack 'em. I use the 1/4ioz. Gary Klein always keeps some on his boat.
Old school basser...
Catt reply :
On 2/8/2015 at 10:52 PM, greentrout said:If you fish small waters, I believe you should always have a few in your tackle box. They will catch anything. LMB will readily smack 'em. I use the 1/4ioz. Gary Klein always keeps some on his boat.
Old school basser...
So they don't work on big waters?
One could go down to Walmart & buy every thing needed to build your own.
greentrout reply :
On 2/9/2015 at 12:15 AM, Catt said:So they don't work on big waters?
One could go down to Walmart & buy every thing needed to build your own.
At this juncture in my life, I rarely fish bodies of water over 300 acres. That's the way I like it. When I state Gary Klein keeps 'em on his boat, I think that covers some pretty big water. I like the Beetle Spin on occasion and thanks for the heads up on the 1/2oz size. I'll get some.
Old school basser....
FloridaFishinFool reply :
The problem I had with beetle spins and why I rarely if never use them any more is because my percentage of hookups was not all that great. The beetle spin is a hit or miss type of lure.
I much prefer to use a rooster tail with a treble hook and an inline profile. The hookup percentage increases dramatically, but you can not consider a rooster tail as weedless by any means.
If bouncing a spinner off of wood is needed then go with a beetle spin, but if out in open water try a rooster tail. They work great in so many situations when other lures won't.
And with rooster tails they make several variations including beetle spin profile types, and the regular rooster tails are available in sizes from 1/8 oz all the way to 1 oz and is 3.5 inches long for bigger fish.
Have any of you ever watched Glen Lau's bigmouth documentary on LMB filmed here in central Florida in one of our spring fed crystal clear rivers?
He filmed underwater bass hitting on hundreds of different lures. And this is important information to learn for bass fishermen as Glen was basically filming above and below water at the same time.
He showed over and over how huge monster DD bass would inhale the entire V shaped spinners with double and triple blades on them.
Every time the fisherman LOST that monster bass because of the shape of the lure. The single hook points to the inside of the V and and when the bass inhales the entire lure there is NO WAY the hook can be set. When the fisherman above yanks on the line to set the hook all he did was pull the lure out of the huge bass' mouth. No hookup!
He also showed over and over how when a bass hits a V shaped spinner, sometimes they hit the blades and again, no hook up. No fish. So what's the point of using a lure that simply is not designed well for 100% hookups?
And because of this very reason I no longer use the V shaped spinners because of this important video documentary.
I use the inline spinners with a treble hook. And if a fish inhales that one, I stand a far better chance of hooking the bass.
And the same issue applies to the beetle spin. It is only effective when a fish hits the grub and hook. It the fish inhales the entire lure, you may not be able to set the hook. If the fish hits the blades you may not be able to set the hook. So here is an issue I have gone past- right straight to inline spinners of various sizes with trailing treble hooks. I rarely lose a fish on these.
When Glen filmed these activities under the water, he also showed the old fisherman above, and sometimes the fish biting the lure was so subtle the fisherman above did not even know his lure was getting bit on. Once he saw this happening on film, the old fisherman changed his way of fishing to try and compensate for this and he even says his percentage of hookups increased dramatically.
Watch this video and see if it does not change the way you bass fish!
Catt reply :
Glen's films also shows bass inhaling crankbaits with 2 treble hooks & the bass still spit it.
That old fisherman (Homer Circle) was using outdated tackle.
The film proves no matter what we do we miss bites!
SirSnookalot reply :
I totally agree with FloridaFishinFool with regards of a roostertail vs a beetle spin. I have fished almost exclusively the last 2 months using a Storm Chug a bug and roostertails, hardly anything else. I may have one of my best seasons for both numbers and size. I have used roostertail type inline spinners with a single hook, I like those too.
scaleface reply :
Little beetle spins made for crappie are terrible for bass because the jig heads are too small , they skip out of the mouth. There is not enough gap between the eye and the point . I lost a lot of fish on them too. The big Bass Buster Beetle that Virgil Ward used a lot is not being made anymore. I just make my own.
Chariet reply :
On 2/9/2015 at 7:48 PM, scaleface said:Little beetle spins made for crappie are terrible for bass because the jig heads are too small , they skip out of the mouth. There is not enough gap between the eye and the point . I lost a lot of fish on them too. The big Bass Buster Beetle that Virgil Ward used a lot is not being made anymore. I just make my own.
Howdy,
Do you make your own 1/4 oz. 3 1/2" beetle spins black jig head with white eye body yellow with 4 black dots?
Maybe they were 3/8 oz. after reading other posts here. Because I was buying them in the 80's then they quit making them..although I did find them in the late 90's at a surplus store bought everyone they had each time I went in..
Then the sad day came when they also had no more...
If so do you sell the ones you make
Makes no sense to me why they quit making those..
Edited by CharietAdded text
scaleface reply :
On 11/14/2019 at 11:21 AM, Chariet said:Do you make your own 1/4 oz. 3 1/2" beetle spins black jig head with white eye body yellow with 4 black dots?
No , I just assemble jigheds , the spinners and plastics . The plastics are not the Beetles , just grubs or something.
zell_pop1 reply :
Just look up salt water beetle spin and you will see the bigger version.
the reel ess reply :
On 2/6/2015 at 5:54 AM, Heron said:Its just me, but I dont consider any spinning bait to be particularly weedless. Sure it may not snag with the hook as often, but if/when the weeds get wrapped up in the spinner, it can still cause it stop functioning.
Yeah, spinnerbaits are more "woodless". Having them knock up against wood cover is one of the best ways to trigger a strike.
related Fishing Tackle topic
previous topic
next topic
© 2025 - fishing.qciss.net. All Rights Reserved.