Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: Sam Salmon on November 11, 2006, 06:10:01 PM
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Feel free to add what you know about making in line Spinners to this thread.
I'll start with an old catalogue illustration.
Even if it's a bit tough to read you can see the steps.
I just use a single hook.
(http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e60/A_Fisher/spinnermaking.jpg)
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Cool. And thanks!
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Great... now ANOTHER thing I git ta ditch work around the house for! Won't THAT make my wife happy! LOL Finally convinced her to start coming fishing next year in the warm weather - maybe I should get her to start making lures now! LOL
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This is a very basic diagram. It forgets to mention things critical to making a spinner like: using a bearing, hydronamics of the body, weighting, blade size and thickness, using a split ring for the hook attachment, etc. If you want to get serious about making spinners, I'd start by reading the book (Spinner Fishing for Steelhead, Salmon and Trout by Jed Davis).
As I've said before in previous posts, making spinners is a great hobby and when you get good at it, you'll outfish any store bought spinner 5-1. I supply all my friends with spinners and get many orders year after year.
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This is a very basic diagram. It forgets to mention things critical to making a spinner like: using a bearing, hydronamics of the body, weighting, blade size and thickness, using a split ring for the hook attachment, etc. If you want to get serious about making spinners, I'd start by reading the book (Spinner Fishing for Steelhead, Salmon and Trout by Jed Davis).
If you knew much about Jed Davis you'd know that the illustration as linked is from the Pen Tac catalogue back when he owned the company-he designed the thing!
Spinner making is easy and like anything there are always people who want to make it as complicated as possible.
fisherforever-great link Thanks!
The only thing I do differently since I only use single Siwash hooks is to never bother with split rings.
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I never said spinner making was complicated. It is basic and if you want to make a spinner right, look at other diagrams and read books like the one I mentioned. Jed Davis does not own Pen Tac any more, the diagram may be linked to Jed a long time ago, but it is not in the book I mentioned and not on the Pen Tac website.
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If you order the book, look on Ebay or Amazon. I have found great condition used ones very cheap there. Also, look at tacklemaker.com They make a great tacklemaker for a decent price.
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That tacklemaker tool looks very cool. Be sure to check out the video section they have.
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Nuggy,
Glad you liked the videos. Good link to the French Blades, I am still waiting for my 100 Colorados and 50 Crocs from ebay then I can get started.
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I typically use .031 wire size. I'll use it for trout, bass, and salmon spinners. If you want to make a salmon trolling spinner, or spinner bait, you might want to step up to the next size wire. As far as the tacklemaker goes, I rarely if ever change out the part for the different gauge wire. I have had it for 4 years now and it still works like a charm.
I buy a lot of my stuff from the stamina web site you mentioned. I also make a spinner with a diamond blade I buy at http://www.fishermans-corner.com
When I don't use the pen tac bodies, I buy lead bullet weights at any old store and paint them with powder paint. (hint, buy an old toaster oven from a yard sale to bake the bodies)
It can seem a little over-welming at first, but don't worry, it's not that complicated. Whenever I need ideas, I go to websites like fishermans corner for ideas. When you get going, it's a blast. I love catching fish with my own designs. Also, you'll never have to or want to buy another spinner again. These spinners really do work better than store bought ones. They don't need any start-up speed to get the blade going and fish really do react better to these than store bought blue foxe's or rooster tails etc.
Have fun!
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Bentrod,
Good call on the toaster oven idea. I guess you can do about 8 - 10 at a time?
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The biggest benefit to using the cheap yard sale oven, is it keeps you out of hot water with the wife.
I take some wire and make hooks so I can hang the bodies from the top heating element guard. I can usually get 10-12 in at a time. You don't want to put too many in because it takes a while to take each one out, dip them in the paint then hang them. Once you have coated each one, you can get a harder finish if you bake them for 15-20 minutes.
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Good advice, I'll take it. Grilled cheese sandwiches and ... Hey, what's all this paint in here? ;D
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^^^Bump^^^
1. When using a Pen Tac size 2 French blade what size/weight Pen Tac body do you use for normal conditions?
Use the corresponding number body with corresponding blade. ie. #2 body with #2 blade.
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You're right Nuggy. Pen Tacs comes in size 3, 4, 4 1/2 and 5's
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sweet choice in tacklemakers. I love mine. I think the pen tac size 3 should fit. You could always call them and ask. They've always been more than helpful to me. You might think about going with the size 3 blade, I use 4's and 4.5's for coho, chum and springs, 3's when they're spooky. As far as the body combo thing goes, I'd keep it simple and either use a pen tac body or use a painted bullet weight with a colored bead at the bottom. There used to be an outfit out there called mortac, but their website is down. They basically had the same stuff as pen tac, but with slight variations.
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Nuggy, you bought the Tacklemaster ? Right on, I was thinking of getting one for myself as well. Where did you purchase it from if you don't mind me asking?
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Hey Nuggy, thanks for the info, I appreciate it. I looked at the Tacklemaster two weeks ago and thought it looked pretty cool. I told the guys at Army and Navy about it and they are going to see if they can carry it as well. I've looked at Pen Tac as well and I agree their stuff looks good. I like the satisfaction of making my own lures and catching something with them, not to mention that it does make the hit on the wallet a little easier to manage.;D
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I do attach the swivel directly to the spinner. It is a small black barrel swivel rated at either 30 or 40 lb strength. I have never broken these and being that they're low profile, they don't seem to hinder the spinner in any way.
I also attach a split ring on the spinner. This does 2 things for me. 1) makes it easy to change hooks if you bend or break one, 2) reduces the chances that a fish can use the spinner to leverage the hook out of it's mouth.
You are right about the pen tac components being better. I will never buy a nickle blade again after seeing how much better real silver shines in the water. I also did quite well on coho this year using the all copper body and blade spinner.
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I too like attaching a swivel to my spinners.
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If you're using open ringed Siwash hooks then no need for a split ring.
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As a general rule, tape is placed on the concave side. For a change of pace, try some on the convex side.
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I could see that by adding a layer of epoxy to a blade, you could dampen its effects in the water by changing its weight and hydrodynamics. I have cuaght fish on brand new shiny blades right down to old tarnished ones so I have really never worried about the finish/tarnishing etc. Just gives me a bigger variety of blades to throw as the conditions change.
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I'll be interested in knowing how the RVR products perform.
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looking forward to seeing the new spinners you make.
EZ
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Cool Nuggy. Post some pics when you've got a few done.
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Pen Tac is expensive and their handling charges don't help any. ::)
Too bad rvrfshr has such poor photos would like to see more of what they offer.
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I place tape on inside of blade. The book I mentioned before said it reflects better that way. I would be interested in the rvrfhsr products also, but there is no info on their site. If you're going to take the time and spend the money, I would want to make sure I'm buying genuine silver, copper or gold blades in a .031 thick.
When it all comes down to it, if you buy Pen-Tac, or other quality components in enough bulk, you only pay about 1.20 US a spinner. You can then sell some to off set your costs.
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Nuggy, to keep my brass ones shiny, I dip them in a solution of 50% laquer and 50% laquer thinner. It works really well. I have some from a couple years ago and they are shiny. I dipped the blade before assembling and just hung them to dry. I bought my laquer from Lee Valley Tools and the thinner from Canadian Tire. If you want, I can trade you some laquer for a few spinners.
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Nuggy, to keep my brass ones shiny, I dip them in a solution of 50% laquer and 50% laquer thinner. It works really well. I have some from a couple years ago and they are shiny. I dipped the blade before assembling and just hung them to dry. I bought my laquer from Lee Valley Tools and the thinner from Canadian Tire. If you want, I can trade you some laquer for a few spinners.
Hi Norm, I`m still not sure what I am going to do yet in regards to a finished coating. It seems if fishing for winter steelhead these spinners are gonna get bruised up regardless of any finished coating on them. Just curious as to how often you used your coated blades and were you banging alot of rocks and debris with them?
Norm, I`ll let you know how my progress goes when I get all the materials as I will probably try coating a few with different products just so I know how they work in certain conditions.
I`m getting stoked now as my new spinning rod and reel have arrived :D and I`m ready to join the crazy people who fish in winter for steelies.
On another note, here`s a link for a forum discussion on spinner steelhead tactics. http://www.fishsniffer.com/cgi-bin/forumsyabb/YaBB.pl?num=1144692148/0
Cheers
Nuggy
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Nuggy, the blades I have dipped in laquer are the same as store bought ones. Blades do get scratched when you use them and like store bought ones the shine does get duller. For me, it is trying not to snag-up and lose it but it is difficult because when steelhead one trys to cover as much water as possible.
I am not sure what other coating there are. I have seen brass and copper blades marked laquered in the stores so I assume laquer is the common coating.
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Good to hear. A little competition never hurts. When light or river color makes fishing difficult, I always switch to my 50/50 spinner blades or spoons.
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Yes, I would be interested in seeing it. How much did you pay for the whole package ?
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let's see em ..
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Good information Nuggy. Thanks.
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An excellent deal!
$2 apiece for custom made units that would cost at least twice that in the store.
I've seen hooks like that before lets us know how they hood and hold.
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Howdy folks, another update on my spinner spoon kit purchase. I was contacted by Joe at Rvrfshr products and apparently I didn`t need to pay the Washington State sales tax. He is sending the refund asap.
I didn`t ask for the refund as I didn`t really know about the sales tax implications. Thanks Joe!
Cheers
Nuggy
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I think I'll try what norm 2 said about the lacquer dip as my acidic, sweaty hands seem to take the finish off all my cheap colorados blades I made. At least I knew it would happen and only made up the swivel, split ring and hook part. Then I would put on the blade I wanted to use.