Today’s review is all about spinnerbaits. These baits have been around for a long time and every lure manufacturer makes one. The one I am going to look at today for our long term review is the River2Sea Crystal Spin Spinnerbait. While all spinnerbaits have some things in common the Crystal Spin does have some features that set it apart from the crowd.
To begin with, the vast majority of spinnerbaits out there are what is referred to as a safety pin style bait. All this means is the wire frame resembles an open safety pin. From there other components are added such as the blade or blades, the head and of course the skirts. All of these components can differ from one manufacturer to the next but all function very much the same.
In the case of the River2Sea, one of the differences is in the wire frame. As opposed to using a straight wire the Crystal Spin utilizes a swept wire design that helps not only to give this bait more vibration but also to allow for the two blades to be a bit closer in size creating more flash than other comparable sized baits. I believe that in the water this makes for a more realistic, schooling bait fish appearance to bass.
Secondly, the head of the Crystal Spin is a bismuth and tin alloy that is encased by polycarbonate which allows for some very unique finishes that can’t be duplicated by simple lead heads. Another advantage to this head is that the finish seems to be more durable than other designs out there. I know that I have cast this bait right up onto the rocks many times, always expecting to bring it back with some nasty chips or scratches in the head and that hasn’t happened yet. Pretty cool! Behind the head of the River2Sea, there is what appears to be a small body that adds to the look of the bait and allows for another unique feature.
This spinnerbait has two, hand tied skirts, one behind the head and the other behind the small body part of the head. Both of the skirts are tied with premium material but on first glance appear to be more sparse than most other spinnerbaits. When I first got the Crystal Spin, I didn’t know what to make of this particular feature but over time it has proven to be either of no consequence or actually enhances the performance of the bait.
The blades on the River2Sea are high quality as well as the swivels and still spin as freely as the day I opened the package. One more thing about the blades is that the top blade is set in just a bit more than most other spinnerbaits which really seems to go a long way to increasing the hook-up ratio with the Crystal Spin.
The colors are all somewhat subdued and there aren’t a great deal of them. I originally got two patterns, the Ghost Minnow and the Table Rock Shad. I got both of them in the 3/8 ounce size and haven’t experienced any problems with either of them. They track true right out of the package and all through the speed spectrum. I have burned them and slow rolled them, used them with and without trailors depending on what the fish were wanting and just can’t seem to make them fail.
The River2Sea Crystal Spin retails for about $7.50 which is somewhat middle of the road pricing but in my opinion is underpriced for the quality of the product that you are getting. I know that I will add some more of these to my spinnerbait box in some of the other patterns for when the spinnerbait bite is on!
I enjoyed your review…River2Sea is an innovative company that doesn’t follow the pack. Great finishes, and great value, absolutely.
Hey Daniel, we really appreciate that. I totally agree, River2Sea is doing some things that no one else is doing. I think that will keep them successful for a long time. Cheers.