With all the attention on swimbaits, Chatterbaits, swim jigs and the like, the tried-and-true spinnerbait has almost become a forgotten tool in some quarters. That could be an advantage for those who are proficient and persistent with a blade, seeing as how a lot of fish in a lot of places haven't seen many of them recently.

North Carolina FLW Tour pro Todd Auten is still a swimbait aficionado, and he probably always will be. His specialty is retrieving a blade at a rapid rate, which allows him to cover a great deal of water and induce reaction strikes from many larger-than-average fish.

"We're coming up on the time of year when I really like to fish them fast," said Auten, a Top-25 finisher in each of the two Tour events that've been contested thus far in 2010. "At a lake like Norman that has a lot of spotted bass, the fish really get active when the water gets up around 62 degrees, and I caught some doing that on the (third) day of the tournament."

Following are some of his pointers about when, where and how to burn a blade.

Fast, But Not Too Fast

When Auten talks about fishing a spinnerbait rapidly, he's not referring to waking it across the surface like a quasi-buzzbait. He tries to keep it about a foot underwater.

He uses a 1/2-ounce Santone spinnerbait most frequently and changes out the blades in favor of smaller willow-leaf models. A No. 3 1/2 up top and a No. 4 on the bottom are his preferred sizes, and they help the bait to stay a bit deeper.

He's partial to gold blades because he believes their flash will attract fish from farther away, but will switch to silver in calm water because fish are going to get a better look at the bait and he wants it to have a more natural appearance. He's also had a good deal of success on spotted bass with chartreuse blades.

The tactic can be employed in an open-water situation or around various types of cover. When targets are involved, make sure to give fish relating to them the best look possible.

"I like to cast it past the target and when it gets to it, I'll pause and let it flutter a little bit," he said. "If it doesn't trigger the fish then, it might happen as soon as you start cranking it back up."

He said the technique is most effective under low-light conditions – early morning or late evening, or when clouds or wind are present. In the springtime, it seems to peak just prior to the major spawning wave, when fish are staging on points or around stumps.

"It's a good way to cover water real quick and when you catch one, it's usually a pretty good fish."

Equipment Checklist

Auten throws most of his spinnerbaits on a 7-foot, medium-heavy All Star crankbait rod. He says the tip is on the soft side to allow for long casts and a little bit of "give" when the fish takes the bait, but still features plenty of backbone.

He employs a Pflueger Supreme reel with a 6.3:1 gear ratio.

"I don't like the feel of super-fast reels," he said. "I like to keep the same speed on all of my reels and then (manually) speed up or slow down the retrieve a little bit."

For line, he likes 17- or 20-pound Vicious fluorocarbon.

"When you're winding something that fast, the fish really aren't paying attention to your line, so you can go pretty big. The fluorocarbon also has less stretch and you can feel the bites a lot better."

He said it's a good idea to choose a bait color that at least resembles the color of the primary baitfish, but his best success in strong winds usually comes with a blue/chartreuse skirt.

"There's so much other stuff out there now, but the spinnerbait's still got its place and now is a good time to pick it up," he said. "There are certain lakes where the fish act like they've never seen one before, and those are the places I like."