Justin Willmer takes a look at blade lures and why imparting less action is often more productive when using this versatile lure option.

Blades: they cast like bullets, can be fished throughout the entire water column and they appeal to a wide range of species, so why aren’t they among the go-to lures of more anglers? I fish with a lot of anglers of varying experience and when I tie on a blade they often comment they have had little luck when using this style of lure.
So where are they going wrong? I watch them tie on the blade, make a cast, allow it to sink and then rip the blade away from any fish that may be checking out the dying baitfish that has fluttered to the bottom. The temptation with blades is to rip the rod, causing the blade to vibrate aggressively and the tip of the rod to register this aggressive vibration. This gives anglers confidence that the blade is vibrating effectively, but below the surface fish are fleeing in fear of whatever is creating this exaggerated vibration. I have witnessed this first hand as bream evacuate the flats, or even as schools of tailor divide to avoid a blade that is being ripped through the middle of them.

Blades are ideal for kayak fishing; they cast a mile, can be fished throughout the entire water column and a wide range of species eat them.

IT’S IN THE RETRIEVE
There are times when an aggressive retrieve will trigger a strike, but most of my fish on blades have come on a much more subtle retrieve. This retrieve is probably the most common that anglers use when fishing blades and is likely to consist of a series of small hops, only a few centimetres at a time, punctuated by long pauses that allow the fish to have a look at the blade before eating it. You will be surprised how often the fish will pick the blade up when it is at rest on the bottom or just as it begins to move again. More recently though I have been having plenty of success simply rolling the blades, without any twitches and hops.
Quality blades have plenty of action and if you cast them in the shallows and watch what they do when slow rolled; they flash and vibrate, imitating a swimming baitfish. Slow the roll down and they will swim less aggressively and run deeper. Speed them up and they will climb higher in the water column and imitate a baitfish that has been spooked and is fleeing a predator. You can also adjust the depth the blade is swimming at in the water column by raising and lowering your rod tip. Lift the rod tip high and you can swim a blade right up in the surface film, attracting surface feeders, or simply drop the rod tip and the blade will fall through the water column and swim deeper.

What this effectively allows us to do is ‘drive’ the blade in and around the structure that we are fishing. Speed up the roll or raise the rod tip to bring the blade up in the water column and slow the roll or lower the rod tip to fish deeper. Quality blades also have multiple tow points that can be used to achieve different actions. The forward tow point produces less vibration and allows the blade to run deeper, while also creating maximum action when vertical jigging. The middle tow points are ideal for flats, banks and schooled fish, when a medium to fast retrieve is required and the rear tow point produces maximum vibration at slower retrieve speeds. If you are new to blades, the middle tow points are a good starting point.
Three of my favourite areas to slow roll blades are mangrove edges, flats and drop offs and deep structure.

The author’s blade box with all situations covered from one twelfth to half ounce.

MANGROVE EDGES
Why throw a sinking lure with two trebles at mangrove edges? Because fish that are actively feeding along mangrove edges can’t resist the vibration of a blade. The blade also catches a wide range of species, including bream, flathead, whiting, tailor, bass, estuary perch, trevally, grunter, mangrove jack and cod.
Fish the last couple of hours of the run in and first couple of hours of the run out. Cast right in against the mangroves and commence the retrieve as soon as the blade hits the water. The idea is to keep the rod tip up and roll the blade quick enough that is cruises over the top of the spiky mangrove roots. Once clear of these snaggy spikes you can pause the blade and allow it to hit the bottom, before slow rolling it all the way back to the yak.
Bream, jack, trevally, tailor, cod and other species will nail the blade as it hits the water and then escapes, away from the mangroves and over the mangrove spikes. Flathead, including some larger models, tend to crunch the blade as it is allowed to touch down just clear of the spikes, and then again you can pick up a variety of species as you continue the slow roll back to the kayak.
FLATS & DROP OFFS
When the tide is full and covering the flats a blade is the perfect lure as it allows you to throw long casts, even from the seated position in the kayak and in turn cover plenty of ground. Raise the rod tip and speed up the retrieve a little to work the blade over the top of weed beds, oysters and snags, and then drop the rod tip or slow the retrieve to allow the blade to swim deeper into drains and sandy pockets in the weed.
Bream and other species will dart out of the weed and strike a blade as it vibrates across the top of the weed and then as it is allowed to fall into pockets in the weed and drains, it becomes a snack for flathead.
As the tide recedes this rolling retrieve can also be used to fish the drop offs at the edge of the flats. Cast up onto the flats and commence a quicker retrieve, with the rod tip up to keep the blade above the bottom. As the blade reaches the edge of the flats, gradually slow your retrieve and lower the rod tip to drive the blade down the drop off. Allowing the blade to bump the bottom occasionally lets you know where the blade is in the water column and allows you to vary your rolling speed and rod tip height accordingly.
DEEP STRUCTURE
Blades sink, making them an effective option for targeting deep structure. Find the structure on your sounder, but before you cast at the structure allow your blade to free fall to the bottom and count down how long it takes to touchdown. You can then cast past the structure, count the blade down so that it is just above the bottom and slow roll it back over the top of the area you are targeting. Again there is no need to rip and hop the blade, just roll it and allow its built-in action to attract fish and trigger strikes.
I generally carry a selection of blades to suit a range of water depths. For the flats and mangrove edges it’s 1/12 and 1/6 oz TT Ghostblades, along with 1/8 oz TT Switchblades. For deeper water, drop offs and deeper structure it’s 1/4 and 3/8 oz Switchblades, with a couple of ½ oz in the tray for deep holes and bridge pylons when the water is running faster.
If you haven’t had any luck with the blades in your tackle tray, dig them back out and give them a roll and for those that haven’t fished with blades, they are a versatile lure option, that cast a mile and appeal to a wide range of species, so tie one on and let it roll!
Justin has been fishing for over 35 years, including over two decades flicking lures from a kayak. He is a member of the Tackle Tactics Pro Team, writer, magazine editor and he enjoys kayak based touring and camping, while fishing both the fresh and saltwater