By:
Mark Romanack
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One of the reasons the author likes to create his own
spinner rigs is the ability to use premium blades,
hooks, clevices and also leader materials that
make for a better fish trap.
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The time
spent making my own fishing rigs is enjoyable, but even better it’s a
satisfying feeling reeling in a fish I caught on one of my own creations. I
often tie spinners while watching a ball game to multi-task. My wife Mari even
jumps into the act to make sure I’m color coordinating things as she sees fit!!
COMPONENTS
Getting
started tying your own spinner rigs starts by identifying the proper
components. Most tackle shops and mail order houses sell spinner components
including blades, beads, leader material, clevices and hooks. An investment of
about $50.00 will set an angler up for producing as many quality spinner rigs.
LEADER MATERIAL
Walleye
spinner rigs can be tied on a variety of leader materials. Ordinary
monofilament line is an acceptable and affordable option. Select a hard
surfaced line that has excellent abrasion resistance.
Fluorocarbon
is popular as a leader material for spinner fishing because this line type is
nearly invisible in the water. Fluorocarbon also has great abrasion resistance
qualities and it holds knots well.
A few
anglers use fused lines to tie spinner harnesses. The biggest problem with
fused lines is they are soft and tangle easily. Should one of these rigs get
tangled, there is little chance of salvaging the rig.
Depending
on the size of fish targeted leader material suitable for walleye fishing
ranges from 10 to 15 pound test. Fluorocarbon can be purchased in leader
wheels, saving money and making sure the line used for tying spinner rigs is
fresh and in good shape.
BEADS
Tackle
shops sell beads designed for tying rigs, but I prefer to buy my beads at a
craft shop. Craft shops have a wider variety of beads and bead types and many
more color options than routinely stocked at a tackle shop. Also, beads at a
craft shop cost about one quarter of the price of the same ones sold at tackle
stores!
CLEVICES
A clevice
is the device that holds the blade on the leader allowing the blade to rotate.
Some clevices are made from stamped metal, others folded metal and still others
are formed from plastic. Metal clevices allow the blade to spin with the least
amount of resistance and are superior for slow trolling and drifting
applications.
Plastic
clevices are often configured to allow the blade to be removed without having
to cut and re-tie the leader. This handy feature allows anglers to experiment
with blade size, shape and color quickly. The leader in this category is a
company called Quick Change Clevices and they are widely distributed at tackle
shops everywhere.
Plastic
clevices come in two sizes, one for smaller blades and a second model for
larger blades. Matching up the right size clevice to the proper blade is important
to get good performance from these products.
HOOKS
For walleye
harnesses I favor a short shank style hook known as a “beak” or “octopus” hook.
Similar in shape to an “egg” hook, but with a little longer shank, a No. 4 hook
is a good all around choice. When targeting bigger walleye a larger No. 2 hook
is the best option. For decades the Eagle Claw L1B has been the walleye rig
hook all others are compared to. Other good choices include the Eagle Claw #226
and Lazer Sharp #L4.
Ordinary
bronze hooks are the standard for walleye spinner rigs, but red anodized hooks
and also painted hooks are gaining in popularity. Many anglers feel that these
brightly finished hooks help to attract fish.
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The author loves to tie his own walleye spinner rigs and
has been doing so for over 30 years. The satisfaction
of catching fish on rigs you design yourself
is part of what makes fishing such a rewarding hobby.
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BLADES
The most
popular blade type for walleye spinner fishing is hands down the Colorado
blade. Colorado blades spin at slow speeds and give off a lot of flash and
vibration. Sizes 2 and 3 are ideal for structure fishing applications and when
fishing inland lakes. Larger No. 4 and 5 blades work better for targeting larger
walleye or when fishing impoundments and the Great Lakes that produce bigger
average sized fish.
A good
second option are Indiana style blades that are a little more oblong in shape.
It takes a little more speed to get an Indiana blade spinning, but these blades
work well in most walleye fishing situations for drifting and slow trolling.
These days
blades suitable for walleye spinner rigs come in every color and finish
imaginable. When buying blades purchase them in groups of four to six blades
per color. That way if a particular color starts producing you’ll have other
blades of the same color to share.
THE KNOT
The best knot for tying
walleye spinner rigs is known as the egg loop and anglers can quickly learn to
tie this knot at a web page called www.animatedknots.com. The benefit of the egg
loop knot is the hook can be placed precisely on the leader allowing the angler
to space two or three hooks at exactly the desired distance from one another.
Other snell knots allow the hook to
slide when the knot is tightened, making it tough to create uniform rigs.
SUMMING IT UP
Tying
spinner rigs is a lot of fun and these rigs are deadly when fishing walleye on
bottom bouncer sinkers, slip sinker rigs, on three way swivel rigs or when
trolling in open water using divers like the popular Off Shore Tackle Tadpole
Diver.
Once tied I
like to store my spinner rigs in small plastic bags or wrap them up on a short
chunk of foam made for insulating water pipes. One length of foam can be cut
into about a dozen short leader wheels ideal for storing walleye spinner rigs.
If tying
your own spinner rigs isn’t an option, some of the best factory tied rigs are
produced by Yakima Bait, known as the Hammer Time Walleye Spinner. The Fishing
411 team designed these spinners for Yakima based on the spinner rigs we have
been tying for ourselves and catching fish on for decades.
