Part 2

There are other things every bit as important as color when it comes to selecting fishing lures.

I’m not just talking about baits that have hooks attached.  The same thing can be said about spinner blades.  Let’s get even more specific and talk about the Smile Blades marketed by Mack’s Lure.

Smile Blades are getting more and more attention from anglers all over the country.

If you read my last column you’ll recall I shared some of the thoughts Bob Schmidt, the president of Mack’s Lure, had about the colors of his company’s increasingly popular Mylar plastic spinner blades.   I also promised to share more of his thinking this time around.

Before we get into that I’d like to remind readers of something else.  If you’ve fished long enough to know a trout from a tuna you’re aware how many new products designed to catch fish come to market each year.  If you’ve paid close attention to such things, you’re also aware that many of these new products disappear almost as fast as they showed up.

There’s just one thing that keeps any item of angling hardware on a tackle dealer’s shelf: It has to help anglers put fish in the boat.

That’s one of the reasons I decided to write these columns about Smile Blades.  I was aware these easy to use plastic spinner blades are getting more and more attention from anglers all over the United States and Canada.
I figured that interest was likely being reflected in their increased sales.  It turns out I was right.

“We’ve had double digit increases in our sales of Smile Blades ever since 2000,” says Bob Schmidt.  “As you know, we now offer these blades in 30 different colors, but we are constantly hearing from anglers around the country who want us to add more different shades.”

This never-ending request for new and different colors is a major reason why Schmidt contends there are other factors anglers should consider that can be equally important, sometimes even more so.

“Certainly color is important,” Schmidt says, “but with our Smile Blades so is blade size and adjustment.”

If you’ve always used heavy metal bladed rigs for your trolling you might wonder how in the heck “adjustment’” figures into Schmidt’s thinking when it comes to spinner blades.  If you’re familiar with Smile Blades, chances are good you already know the answer.

Smile Blades, you see, aren’t made of metal.  They’re constructed of flexible and lightweight Mylar plastic.  You can get different action out of them by simply bending them into the desired shape.

“We keep hearing from professional anglers who get results by simply changing the action of their Smile Blades,” Schmidt says.  I know that’s true because I’ve heard the same thing myself in past conversations with some well known walleye fishing pros.

“I’m afraid,” Schmidt says, “anglers often neglect not changing the action of the Smile Blades they have on before they take the time to change blade sizes or colors.  Some forget that simply adjusting the shape of the blade gives it a different action.”

Mack's Lure Smile Blades let you get a different fish-attracting action without having to take time to change lures.  All you need do with these lightweight plastic blades is simply bend them a bit.  A Smile Blade bent like that one on the left will spin faster than the one on the right.  The slower spin of the one on the right gives the bait or lure you're using more wobble.  Note the way these blades reflect light in this photo.  They do the same when thing they are in the water.

Experienced anglers know darn well sometimes the most simple of changes gets action where you hadn’t been getting squat before.  You can make such changes with a Smile Blade in a matter of seconds.

Suppose, for example, you want the Smile Blade you have on to turn at a faster pace.  Just pinch the wings of the plastic blade together and that’s exactly what you’ll get.  Want your blade to rotate slower with more wobble?  No problem.  Just bend the blades farther apart.

As Schmidt also points out, there’s minimum down time required to make such adjustments.  “Nobody catches fish without having a line in the water,” he says.  “That’s one of the really neat features about our Smile Blades.  If the fish have been ignoring what you’re doing, alter your blade shape and show them something different.  You don’t even have to change your boat speed if you don’t choose to do so.”

I was intrigued by some of the other things Bob Schmidt had to say about Smile Blades.  I’ve already shared many of them, but there are a couple more you should know about.

I’ll tell you what they are in my final column in this three part series.  Watch for it beginning Nov. 1.

-To Be Continued-