Spinner rig tips?

Heading up to Canadian side of LOTW the week of July 15th, and see a lot of guys like to pull spinner rigs on the reefs. I have plenty in the tackle box and odds and ends beads and blades my grandpa had laying around to make some also. I bought some with the intention of trying it out a few years ago but never did.

So I’m looking for some crash course info to finally give it a try. Been watching Youtube vids and doing some reading. I have a smal assortment of bottom bouncers and the needle (rock tamer) weights. I would also think a 3 way with a short dropper and bell sinker would work for a cheaper option? I’ve gathered right around 1 mph is a good speed. What weights should I be using for certain depth ranges? Kind of a chart or reference list I could have in the boat. Which blade types and sizes seem to work best?
Thanks for any input. I’m sure I’ll have more questions!

I,ve been told 1 oz,per 10 feet, You want to keep approx, 45degree angle on your line to the bait. 1 mile per hour is a good start but don,t be afraid to bump it up

We were at LOTW a last week and did good on spinners. I used 1 oz. bait walkers sometimes 1.5 oz. if it was windy. Orange, chartreuse, and hammered brass worked best size #2 and 3, sometimes a prop worked better than a blade. Tried to run around 1 mph. They seemed to want at least a 5 ft. snell.

Yup mph is the norm.
I like 3 ways myself.
Up to 20′ is 2 oz.
Over 20 is a 3oz for me. A 2 oz at 25′ will really want to pull off the bottom with slight changes in boat speed. I find that I lose contact with bottom and am a few feet off when speed changes just 2/10mph.

Learn how to snell your own hooks (youtube) 14# line for added stiffness on snell and size 4 or 5 blades are my preference on LOW.

Remember its not a hook set, after the fish have “nibbled on it” for a bit the rod will double down and then you just sweep the rod ahead to set the hook.

I’d say not to the reefs & be pull’n rigs & or spinners on the new WEED lines or Shallow reefs! ( 6-12 ft) that are developing in the lakes! Ecspecially 1st & last light! If it windy hammer the wind blown points! If it’s dead calm & sunny go to the reefs or pull cranks on the deeper weed lines (12-25 ft.) where sand & gravel or mud meet! When pull’n & it sunny (with some wind) We like chrome or nickel, if it anything else throw the tacklebox at them,I’ve seen all the colors work!Let us know how u do!!

Just got back from a Canadian trip, used exclusively red devil spinners. I prefer the red devil brand with the smaller hook. I had the best luck using the worm harness. The float on the worm harness keeps the hook off the bottom a bit. I used the Lindy brand slip sinkers 1/4,3/8 and 1/2 ounce, depending on the depth. If you want to use minnows just cut off the back hook. It will most likely work up to about 12 feet deep. We trolled at about 1.3 – 1.6 mph. I have had a lot of luck with this set up for numerous years. My preferred colors are orange, silver and daredevil. I hope that this helps. Let me know how you do.

I was just up to LOTW myself! Not sure where on the lake you’ll be staying but I know this…… reed beds are gold on the wind blown side. If you have reeds, you’re in 7′ or shallower and you can leave the heavy equipment in the box. I simply add a #30 or #31 split shot in front of the snell. The action of the CO blade at trolling speed is often enough to stay off any bottom weeds or muck. Toss your rig 10-30′ behind the boat and wait for the SLAM!

I did get into some short bites when the walleye chop dropped to a glorified ripple so pack/pick up some stinger hooks!!!

As for “go to” blade colors, we had moments of success on less common colors but there was a pretty strong, consistent bite on Fire Tiger, Hammered brass and/or nickel, and Pink/White stripe matched with silver and pink beads. The nickel option did WAY better with silver and red beads in 5mm from Lindy. I think that red reflects off the nickel like “blood”…… had some others with just orange or red plastic beads and they didn’t get as many hits as having more silver combined with them.

By July 15th…. everything could change but I was doing much of the same last summer and all was good then too.

Have a good trip!

Forgot to mention that my snells are between 2 1/2 to 3′ long.

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Yup mph is the norm.
I like 3 ways myself.
Up to 20′ is 2 oz.
Over 20 is a 3oz for me. A 2 oz at 25′ will really want to pull off the bottom with slight changes in boat speed. I find that I lose contact with bottom and am a few feet off when speed changes just 2/10mph.

Learn how to snell your own hooks (youtube) 14# line for added stiffness on snell and size 4 or 5 blades are my preference on LOW.

Remember its not a hook set, after the fish have “nibbled on it” for a bit the rod will double down and then you just sweep the rod ahead to set the hook.

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Great post with some great information here.

I agree with Mark’s sentiments on weights of bottom bouncers. As a good general rule, have plenty of 2oz weights as they seem to do a great job and are usually the most readily available. If you have a hard time finding 3’s, a rubbercore sinker pinched above the weight on a 2oz bouncer will also get you down deeper.

The last time I fished spinners on LOW, James and I fished some mid-summer deep basin fish with HUGE blades. Musky bait sized colorados, the biggest you could find. 7’s, 8’s, 9’s, maybe? Not sure on the sizes, but they were big and gaudy. We actually found them in a gun/tackle shop on main street in the back as surplus they didn’t even have out on the shelves. We were in the back digging through boxes, and though I can’t remember the name of that shop, we sure were grateful for their help and customer service.

That day, we had high skies and pretty big swells. I’m guessing because of the waves, holding the rods out-produced putting them in the holders by far. Mostly because you really had to point that rod back to get them to eat it all the way. Every day is different however, so experiment with what works best for you. With the bright sun we had, gold hammered was a clear, clear favorite, which is a lesson unto itself. Switch out those blades if fish aren’t snapping, as there was definitely a strong color preference that day.

As for snell length, it doesn’t seem like LOW fish are as fussy, but I’m usually running something in the 5 foot range. I like to tie my own as well, and Jon Jordan here had a great video and post regarding tying your own. Anyone able to track that down and post it? It’s simple, and Jon does a great job de-mystifying the process!

Good luck up there and make sure to let us know how you do. I love fishing spinners when the conditions are right, and it’s a great tool to have in your arsenal!

Joel

Thanks for all the tips guys! I’ve got a Plano 3700 packed full of beads and blades to make any color scheme imaginable so it sounds like I better start tying! As for weights I have some but sounds like 2oz is a must have so I will get a few more. Now the fun begins! Oh, What size hooks do you guys typically run for crawlers? Leeches?