Slow Rolling

[HugoBox]

I haven't done this much but can think of a few spots where I should. Is slow rolling a spinnerbait ONLY effective with a colorado blade (would you recommend replacing willow and Indiana blades)?

Also, can you achieve the same effect with an inline bucktail cranked slow? I know it would be more difficult to feel the thump-thump. I guess I'm trying to figure out how to use lures I already have instead of throwing more money into the musky pit...

[MUSKY18]

You can slow roll an inline bucktail. Guys are slow rolling Double Cowgirls all the time, slowly bringing them in just over the tops of the weeds, even keeping in contact with the very tops of the weeds. I would tend to think that Colorado's are the absolute best for this application, since those are the blades that will give you the most lift with the least amount of effort/speed. Willows would probably be next to impossible, since they are designed to run deep and are usually a heavy blade to begin with.

Spinnerbaits work well because you can slow roll them over the tops of the weeds, and then let them flutter down into pockets. Good technique and will produce strikes.

[Dano_the_jigasaurus]

willows will work. In the recent article in Esox Angler slow rolling was discussed at length and colorados were the favorite for this technique the author also noted that willows and fluted indianas had their time and place.

[10,000 Casts]

usaully when I am slow rolling a spinnerbait, it is because I want it deeper. Big Colorados work the best for me but a .040 thick willow would get the bait down alot quicker. Musky Safari has a Spinnerbait called the Serial Killer that has a thick hatchet blade that is really cool and is a good slow roller too.

[JRedig]

I've got #8's, #9's and 10's in colorado that i'll slow roll, some singles, some double's and some spinners. Willows and indiana's too, but i usually don't slow them down much.

I find using a lighter rod and reel setup helps really feel the thump and ticking the weed tops. Tells you a lot more about what's going on down there, I usually switch to that setup when fishing slow/cold fronts.