Inline spinners

[its an addiction]

Hey guys.

Does anyone here have any experience with making their own inline spinners? I've caught quite a few steelhead and coho in the rivers with the mepps aglia, but I've also caught quite a few spinner stealing snags trying to get the lure down to the fish. Therefore, making inline spinner fishing fairly expensive each season.

So, I'm debating taking on the task at hand of designing my own, but first I was hoping to get some input from anyone that has experience themselves.

First off, sure there easy to make, but did you find your homemade spinners effective?

Secondly, is it worth the time to save a few bucks?

Any other words of wisdom of whether or not it's a worthy task to tackle?

[Line Dancin]

Go to Jans netcraft and you can get everything to make them there. Are they effective heck yes and cost about 75 cents to make a spinner if you buy in quantities. There is a tool for bending the eyes thats like 30 buck and well worth using. I started making my own spinners when i was about 13. I got my first kit that made 25 from Jim Bedford at a detroit steelheaders meeting. Benn making them ever since. You can contact Jim and he has the kits made up with all the correct size pieces to make them. He usually has articals in the different fishing mags this time of years about steelheading with his contact info to buy the kits. What i did was got a couple kits so i had the correct size componets and then started buying the parts from jans in bulk.

blades: http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/french-spinner-blades/

tool: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/Tackle-Craft/Tools-Molds%7C/pc/104793480/c/104776380/sc/104635980/Closed-Loop-Spinner-Making-Tool/742721.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse.cmd%3FN%3D1100419%26WTz_l%3DSBC%253BBRprd710031&WTz_l=SBC%3BBRprd710031%3Bcat104635980

bodies: http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/brass-lure-bodies/

wires i buy the 4 inch: http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/wire-lure-shafts/320609.aspx

clevis: http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/wire-clevises/320907.aspx

i usually put a 6mm faceted bead on before the body for extra color

and also a piece of colored latex tube on the hook about 1/4 inch for more color :http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/vinyl-plastic-tubing/357100.aspx

another thing you can do is add lure tape to the blade to dress it or if you know how to tie flies you can tie buck tails. some rivers dont allow treble hooks so i make some with single hooks instead of trebles.

edit

beginner kit: http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/fishing-lure-making-kits/325901.aspx

[its an addiction]

I know inline spinners in general are effective. It's my go to lure fishing for any species in most rivers. I've caught everything bluegill to salmon and everything in between on them.

What I'm afraid of, is investing and finding that the ones I make aren't effective.

I think I'm going to attempt to mock the Mepps Aglia and the Blue Fox Vibrax, as those are the two I've seen to have the most luck with, but then again the most often fished.

I'm checking out Janns Netcraft now. It's a nice site. And I already have the tool for bending the wire, as I bought it to punch pencil lead for drift fishing.

do you guys have any pictures of the inline spinners that were effective for you guys?

I know a lot of people are into those Oslos, but I haven't caught a single fish on them, and fished them quite a bit.

[Line Dancin]

kit form cabelas: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/Tackle-Craft/Lure-Building-Kits%7C/pc/104793480/c/104776380/sc/104440680/French-Spinner-Blade-Lure-Kit/744023.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ffishing-tackle-craft-lure-building-kits%2F_%2FN-1100420%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104440680%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253Bcat104793480%253Bcat104776380&WTz_l=SBC%3Bcat104793480%3Bcat104776380%3Bcat104440680

[its an addiction]

Thank you. It's difficult choosing the lure bodies over the computer. It sure would help if I could hold one in hand and see the actual size.

I definitely plan on adding some latex tubing on the hook, and dressing a few with some bucktail.

[Line Dancin]

i wouldnt be making them for almost 30 years if they werent effective. take a look at the two kits i make both of those type spinners and both kits will catch steelhead the cableas kit was put together for them by Jim Bedford.

My recommendation is buy the cabelas kit it will have all the correct sized stuff for the three size spinners. Use that as a basis to order more stuff to add to the differnet types you want to make.

[its an addiction]

That kit looks like a nice starting point, but I would want to order some different items to be able to get creative. That has to be part of the fun in making them!

I'm pricing out what it would be to order everything separately from Jann's, and depending on what that comes out to I will determine if I will go with the kit or not.

Thanks for all the tips.

[Line Dancin]

heres a pic of one:

[its an addiction]

Looks like it would catch fish to me.

This is my favorite from Mepps.

They look very similar!

[Line Dancin]

Pretty close.

its a fun project to do while watching tv on the evenings you cant get out and fish. Enjoy. If you have a cabelas near you they have anice lure building section for spinners it is worth the ride to actually see what you are going to make. Its easy to add the red lines like that with a little paint and a hobby brush or you can change it up with white paint or chartruese paint.

[Paulywood]

I build my own spinners. Before I got into the big boat I spent a lot of time on the rivers. I ordered my stuff from Fisherman's Shack. It has been a few years but they had better prices and selection. I've had real good luck with a silver plated blade (not nickel, although they have their place) with red tubing and a red dot sticker on the back of the blade. I didn't have any special tools, just a pair of needle nose pliers. The wife and I (I guess girlfriend back then, it has been longer than I thought) made up a couple of hundred one winter and I'm still using them. I did find that in order to maintain contact with them bottom without snagging I was using the smaller sizes. Most of the equipment on the website is for Pacific Northwest rivers. There is also a book by Jeb Bush that I found very helpful. I can take some pictures and post my favorites but it will be a few days. BTW, they don't just work in rivers. My uncle borrowed my gear last year when they went camping in the UP in the fall and he caught coho on them surf fishing in front of one of the rivers.

http://www.fishermanshack.net/cart.php?m=top_sellers&homepage=Y

[Line Dancin]

thanks for that site to look at nick never used that one before. I do agree on the siler vs nickel blades.

Nice thing with Jans for me is my inlaws live five minutes down the road from their store. So i am in there all the time and dont have to pay the shipping.

[diztortion]

http://store.rvrfshr.com/product_p/rvrwhrlr.htm

[its an addiction]

I like the idea of those spinners from rvrfshr, as far as adding the small ball bearing swivel at the eye of the spinner to reduce/eliminate line twist.

Previously had been adding a 2-3 foot fluro leader connected with ball bearing swivel, because I do not like adding the snap swivels to the spinner.

[FsnMachine]

I have done it especially since my favorite Mepps is no longer in production. So I have been trying to replicate those. I got all the pieces from www.luremaking.com

[Paulywood]

I added one of those really small Spro swivels into the top loop of the spinner wire and tie directly to that. Seemed to work really well.