Cole Slaw Spinnerbaits
I once had a girlfriend who did not like cole slaw. She and her father called it “cold slop.” I had to leave that relationship, because at risk of sounding Seussian or as if I’m channeling a scene from Forrest Gump, I really enjoy cole slaw in a wide variety of situations. I like it by itself or on a sandwich. I like creamy versions and vinegary versions. I like it using finely chopped or shredded cabbage.
I also like it as a spinnerbait color.
While the precise permutations vary from one manufacturer to the next, it usually involves a mostly-white skirt, sometimes with a few strands of chartreuse and/or orange, often with matching painted blades.
“It looks like skirt color you might use in dirty water. But to me it always performs best in really clear, or barely stained, water on a cloudy or rainy day with about a 15 mph wind blowing,” Kevin VanDam told writer Alan McGuckin back in 2018. “Those painted white blades and that peculiar skirt color, make an awesome silhouette, and while a plain white skirt under painted white blades might get the job done – ‘Coleslaw’ sounds way better – and it dang sure taste better too – even to the bass.”
If this is a pattern you’d like to try, check out some of the following spinnerbaits:
Additional Notes on Cole Slaw Lures
Seemingly recognizing that not everyone likes their cole slaw the same way, Berkley’s spinnerbaits come in multiple different slaw variations – including blade combinations of orange/gold and silver/gold, as well “Hotslaw.”
Dixie Jet makes multiple spoons in a cole slaw pattern.
It’s also a killer swim jig pattern, as seen in models like the Fish Hammer Highjacker.
The first Cole Slaw spinnerbait that I purchased was made by Dale Sellers Lures out of Tennessee – back in the 90s, Sellers was one of the first widely-recognized custom lure painters.
