Spinner rig/harness help.......

[ryanmitchell]

I enjoy tying my own lindy rigs. I started doing so after a friend showed me how. Instead of tying a snell not, I just tie one end to a barrel swivel for quick change out.

Anyway, is it time to roll out the spinners? I just bought a bunch of blades, more 4/5 size than anything, but I bought a couple 3's and a couple willows. I like the deep cup ones for extra thump. Gonna tie up a bunch for my Sept. trip to LOTW. My buddy told me white tipped chart and gold colorados work good, and he goes with the 4/5 where other stick with 3's.

Does anyone use the tomahawk or hatchet/chopper blades? Any size work best, or color?

What about Dakota blades??

I am sticking more with the chart, green, copper, brass and gold blades for the Colorado blades.

What size line and type do most of you use for spinning rigs? The ones I have made up so far are 8/10 lb flouro.Tend to twist up pretty good. Thinking about getting some 14lb mono for the spinners I will only be using 1 hook for these and either use leech/minnow behind them.

[BobT]

When I tie mine I like to use stiffer mono lines. From my experience it seems that the spinner works better at lower speeds this way. I have not tried using braids but I would suspect they would be too soft to work a spinner very well. One thing I've been experimenting with lately is wire line. The reason is that spinner rigs seem to attract toothy northerns and I get bit off too much. I find the wire more difficult to tie on but I could be just using the wrong type of knot. Jury's still out for me on wire.

[PerchJerker]

BobT is right, spinners are better on stiffer line. Braid is a no-no for spinners for sure. 10 lb or 12 lb flouro is good for spinners, it's stiff and it's strong, and you should be up off the bottom anyway so the sinking quality of flouro shouldn't cause any problems.

For the 1 hook spinners you asked about I would probably use 10 lb flouro.

I've never fished spinners on LOTW so I can't help you with colors or sizes. Sounds like a great trip you've got planned.

[ryanmitchell]

What kind of stiffer mono are you talking about? 12 or 14lb test?

Which lines are limp vs. stiff?

Ever try the funkier blades like the Dakotas or hatchet blades?

There are a couple of online walleye component stores I have seen that sell nice looking blades and beads. Is there a stire that I might be missing that sells quality components?

[tacklejunkie]

Ryan...

I've used the hatchet blades and they work. You can feel them spin with the braid line(the main line). You have to troll slow but they've worked well for me.

In my experience, blade color attracts fisherman. I have done just about every color and find no difference. But if God commanded from on high, "Thou shalt only use one color blade," I'd go with either F. red or chartruese(sp)

The few times I have tried to tie my own, I go with the flourocarbon.

Any blade size works at LOTW, IMO. My two favorites are the Colorado and the Hatchet. I have no need for the willowleaf or Indiana. And nothing beats a crawler rig

[BobT]

I've used 10# Trilene XT line with okay results.

[ryanmitchell]

F. red, is that flourescent red, or you hate red?

[Jim Almquist]

Ryan I think what TJ was saying is that if he only had one choice in blade color it would be fluorescent red or chartreuse.

I like those colors as well and have some with big eyes on those colors that do pretty good. Really like the quick change clevis because it makes it easy to switch colors on the fly.

[ryanmitchell]

I was trying to add a little humor to the mix.

I think i have the chart blades covered pretty well. i was just looking around for the flo reds, and no luck. Still looking.

What speed toyou troll your spinner and what size walking sinker,or only bottom bouncer/lindy weight?

[tacklejunkie]

What speed toyou troll your spinner and what size walking sinker,or only bottom bouncer/lindy weight?

Just fast enough to turn the blade(.8-1.5 GPS speed)

I use two ounces no matter how deep I'm fishing.

[ryanmitchell]

Does anyone ever use #6 blades? I found this site that sells some really custom painted blades but only sell them in size 6.

[Borch]

What speed toyou troll your spinner and what size walking sinker,or only bottom bouncer/lindy weight?

Speed is a factor that I let the fish tell me what they want. I've caught walleyes on spinner rigs from .4-2.4 mph. Most of my fish are caught in the .7-1.3 mph range. I use bottom boncers almost exclusively with spinners. You get a camming action with bouncers that you just don't get with a slip sinker. This acts as a great trigger. Weight depends on depth and speed your trolling. Roughly 1 oz per 10 feet of water.

Play with the bead color sceme as much or more than blade color. As the blade spins it's color becomes transluscent but the bead color and pattern remain solid.

[ryanmitchell]

Do you ever use blades as big as a #6, or stick with 5/4/3s?

I just bought a ton of 6mm beads to make up some new spinners.

[snowman678]

Walleyes will have no problem eating #6 blades. I was just in Green Bay last week and we caught walleyes from 16"-28" on #6 & 7 colorado's as well as big willows (can't remember the size, but at least 2" long). I know of guys using up to #10 colorado blades on Erie. We used 6-8mm beads with the larger blades, so your 6mm would work great for those blades.

[ryanmitchell]

Thanks snow man. Sounds like you are fishing big waters and I would thinkg they would work better on those bodies. We are going to LOTW in September, so I think they will be fine there as well.

#10 - thats pushing the envelope, like 13s for the skis.

I think I will proceeed with this order, as they look too good to pass up.

[Borch]

I run bigger spinners especially if I'm running off the bottom a signifiant amount. Bump your line weight up to at least 14# or you'll see more twisted line though. Those suspended cruising fish are more aggressive and the big thump of the bigger blades will help them track your bait down.

[ryanmitchell]

Roger that. You think 10 # flouro would be fine for 3/4/5 blades?

Mono in 14 lb sounds about right for the # 6 blades. Givea little stretch to whatle that hopefully hit em.

I use 8/10 flouro for regular bead/hook lindys.

[ryanmitchell]

Also do you think a long aberdeen hook with the hook ran thru the body of a crawler and then out is sufficient enough,instead of 2/3 hook harness? Snap the crawlerin half for huice release and save on the amount used?

I have not learned the snell knot to ties on an extra hook, so hopefully one long aberdeen works fine, with or without blade.

[RiverFish]

Ryan,

There are a lot of resources on line that can show you a snell knot. It is not that hard.

I have had good luck using Gulp crawlers with spinner harnesses. Plus the Gulp crawler can catch several fish before it has to be replaced with a knew one.

[hanson]

Ryan,

There are a lot of resources on line that can show you a snell knot. It is not that hard.

I just learned it this weekend by watching videos online. I had a problem following a lot of the step by step diagrams. I think some of those sites lift the pictures from other sites and really have no idea what they are talking about in regards to tieing the knot. U tube, lots of videos on snell knots.

Problem is there are a lot of variations on a snell knot as well so all the videos aren't the same. Seams like passing one end of the line through the hook eye along the hook shank and grabbing it, then taking the line above the eyelet and wrapping it back down the shank and then back up through the eyelet is the most common.

Some good sources for blades and beads are JT Custom Tackle, Wolverine Silver Streak, and Tommy Harris Blades. Some of those blades are works of art!

[ryanmitchell]

Chris

Thanks for the blade sites. Those Tommy Harris blades are pretty wicked! Hard to pick a winner there. Just looked again, silly. Are those deep cup or regular?

I like the wolverines for sure, but finding them might be a challenge. I was at Cabelas Sunday buying a few blades and never saw those. Just gotta keep looking.

Roger that on the snell knot. Gotta learn to improve skills.

[tacklejunkie]

Not to hijack this thread but.....

Does anyone know a place around the Duluth area that sells pre made spinners with the quick change clevis? All the ones I've seen are fixed blade clevis

[Jim Almquist]

Ryan something that will help with the snells is a knot tying tool. They will come with a book with all sorts of knots. It takes a little practice but soon it becomes second nature. I learn a new way off one of those knots sites to tie a snell without the tool that was pretty cool but the tool makes it easier when tying on multiple hooks. The one I got cost $6.00 at Gander.

TJ I have never seen a pre-made with the quick change clevis but you could always cut the loop off and replace with a quick change clevis and retie the end with a bolen knot.

[ryanmitchell]

It is not local, but a site sells the rigs with the quick change clevises. Makes it pretty easy to switch out the blades. I bought a few a while back, but will only be making my own from now on. The quick change clevises can be bought in bulk from the Cabelas, in all diferent sizes and colors.

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[tacklejunkie]

I'd like to really get into tying my own. The few I did myself worked ok and I like the idea of a qick change clevis

Spinners and walleyes go together like PB and jelly, Laurel and Hardy, Captain and Tennille, ect ect

I'd say 80% of my fish come off spinners, crawler or minnow. The other 20% come from jigs