What are the ideal conditions for throwing it? Would you throw it in dirty water in the spring?

Is the water wet? Throw it!

One of the best wood baits ever. May not look like much but I know of literally thousands of fish caught on the Slammer in just about any condition imaginable... day or night.

If the fish can see it, they'll eat it. Which can be a problem if the fish are in 4 feet of water and your waking your bait in 1 foot visibility. I've had some great days on the slammer in 2-4 foot vis. None that I can remember in less than 1 foot vis. Huddleston fishing in mud flows can be great if you hit the fish on the head, though. If they see it, they'll eat it.

The slammer is my all time favorite lure. I throw it all year.

I catch a ton of fish cranking it down a few feet, so if they're shallow, they can definitely find it in dirty water. Speed cranking will actually catch fish in almost any conditions and any time of year. It's a total reaction bite and sometimes they just have to eat it.

The best conditions for waking it in the spring have been in the usual rain and/or wind for me as well. Whenever we get little spring storms, it can absolutely go off with the slammer out at Santa Margarita. Anytime it's windy, they'll hit it on top. Especially in the afternoons when they start chasing bluegill on the surface. You can almost always catch those chasers with a slammer. I think it's always assumed that the slammer is mimicking a trout, but it's obvious the bass think it could be a bluegill as well. That's probably why it flat out catches so many fish.

It's interesting that Lopez bass are a bit different. In the summer and fall, they will murder that bait. Sometimes waked and sometimes cranked depending on the conditions. I don't do quite as well in the winter and spring though, for whatever reason.