If you're looking for a fishing lure that will catch you a lot of bass and even really big bass through all four seasons, well look no further than the legendary spinnerbait the Johnson Beetle Spin. Sold at a price everyone can afford, this spinnerbait can be used in the spring when bass are spawning, due to it's very slow paced retrieve the bass really respond to it well in very cold water. But even when the water temperatures rise, the largemouth bass really seem to go ape shit after it even in warmer water with a stop and go retrieve.

Come fall, I even have luck throwing this magical bait out on the main water of Lake St. Clair for smallmouth bass using a heavier 3/8 ounce or 1/2 ounce jig. I even do really well with it on any of the rivers and even inland waters like Kent Lake. I really wouldn't be surprised if you could vertical jig fish with this spinnerbait when ice fishing in the winter, with the much smaller versions of the Beetle Spin.

Overall I'd say it's hands down one of the best cheap bass fishing lure on the market, if not the best. But is it kind of cheaply made too? Sure, I'd say after 50-100+ bass caught on it, the wire bends a little and eventually becomes more prone to breaking. And I think if Johnson upped their game and just added in a heavier duty thicker wire, along with upgrading the size of the colorado blade, it would be both a more resilient and more potent bass catching machine. But I assume the company uses some of the cheap material so they can keep it an affordable price to keep it economical for the most indigent anglers.

If you check out the review on Walmart, you'd see it has 45 total reviews coming at 4.8 out of 5 stars. The one angler named Stinky Bob said "lures and fads come and go. But every time I use one of these I catch a fish. I've been using Beetle spinners since I'm a kid and they've always worked. I'm 50!" Ain't that the truth Bob! I also have been using the Beetle Spin since I was about 7 years old, three decades have past and nothing has change, it's still a fish catching machine. There were times where I've caught up to 50 largemouth bass over in the marina back in the 90s fishing Lake St. Clair.

I'll say this though, as I've gotten older, I've taken it upon myself it make the Beetle Spin a much more resilient and more potent fish catching machine. As I said above, I've used a thicker stronger wire. And even added in a bigger goldish willow blade for more enticement!

And honestly, even though I think the Beetle Spin is still the best and cheapest bass lure on the market. I've actually found a similar spinnerbait I like more, because it offers a bigger body with the black stripes down the middle of the white split tail body which Johnson doesn't seem to offer anymore on the Beetle Spin. Named the Betts Spin, these can be found at Bass Pro Shops for a higher price.

And whether you're going to buy the Bettle or Betts Spin, the one color that I think performs best out of all of them is white. Either the red dot in the middle or again the black stripes down the middle of the split tail body. White seems to the best all around color for all four seasons I'd say

Believe it or not, 7-8 years ago I caught a 35 inch musky out of Emerald City Harbor o n Lake St. Clair with this magical lure, so you really never know what you're going to catch on it. My father and I used to do pretty well with it for crappie at Stony Creek out in Rochester just by jigging it up and down in semi-deep water. I suspect if you ever tried the smaller version, that might work great for panfish like bluegill and sunfish.

Bottom line, for the price you can get this lure, it's absolutely unbeatable. And despite it being a cheap fishing lure, I'd say it's one of my best go-to baits when bass have lockjaw! I think it would be cool if one day I could figure out to make two wires that split off so I can attach two big gold will blades for more fish attracting power, kind of like the HooDoo Twin Spin Spinnerbait.