"Whenever something new comes onto the market, I'm skeptical," says New Jersey pro Mike Iaconelli. "But I have to test it." So it was with the phenomenon of titanium-wire spinnerbaits, launched by Terminator.
Iaconelli, who is sponsored by Mann's, tested the Mann's Ti-Classic. Was it hype, or would it become part of his bag of tournament tricks?
"To me, the two key elements for spinnerbaits are flash and vibration," he says. "I found that titanium wire throws out a lot more vibration than steel." Most spinnerbaits use steel wire of a certain thickness, and some pros swear by certain diameters for exactly that reason: more vibration.
"But at the same time, titanium-wire spinnerbaits have a few weaknesses," Iaconelli continues. "In extremely heavy cover -- like heavy grass or a field of standing timber -- it flexes too much." This property of titanium makes it more resilient than steel, but it also makes it less able to pull through cover.
As a result, "anytime I'm fishing open or semi-open water I opt for titanium," Iaconelli says. "I'll also fish it around docks. "But in heavy-cover situations I'll go with steel wire because (the stiffer wire) acts as a weedguard."
You also don't have to tune a titanium spinnerbait, he says. "With a traditional spinnerbait, if you catch a couple of Lake Champlain smallmouths you have to retune the bait."
On the subject of smallmouths, he notes that titanium spinnerbaits aren't unbreakable as some originally thought. "They just last a lot longer."
