Flip through a tackle catalog and you will find page after page of first-generation spinnerbaits, most of which have a blade or two attached by a clevis to the frame arm. That double-bladed image has been burned into our minds for fifty-five years now, so upgrading to in-line blades in series is a real paradigm shift.
Although one, two, or three Quick-clip Blade Attachments in a row produces more flash and vibration, there are times when you might want to stack blades closer together and concentrate the flash right in front of the hook. Also, as our blades come through the water, they don't clank and smack into each other. The shaft lengths and rotation path keep them out of the other's way. But sometimes you might want your Secret Weapon to create a little more commotion, so here's a simple modification suggested to us by Pete Baumgartner of King George, VA.
 The Secret Weapon at right has two 2/3-inch sections of silicone tubing on the frame arm. Obtain the tubing from aquarium or medical supply shops. The 3/16-inch tubing that comes on Secret Weapon Buzzrbait trailer hooks is big enough to slip over the terminal loop when flattened.
The length of tubing sections you cut depends on the length of the frame arm as well as the shape and size of blade you intend to use. Remember that willowleaf blades rotate in a tight arch (30 degrees off the shaft) while rounder shapes like Colorado blades rotate in a wide arch and require additional clearance.
Next attach a Quick-clip Blade Attachment between the two tube sections. The outside diameter of the tubing is greater than the inside space of the Quick-clip, so the Blade Attachment remains in place during casts and on retrieves.
In this configuration the two blades occasionally strike each other. When this happens, they click sharply and flutter erratically for just a split second
- the kind of action that provokes strikes from following muskie, pike, and bass.
Experiment. Try different blade sizes, different shapes, different length of tubing... all will affect the blades' performance. With Quick-clip Blade Attachments in your arsenal, you can give rein to your creativity. Our innovations begin with anglers, and it ends with you, too.
Good fishing!
Bob Rickard -----------------------
March 3, 2007
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