Spinner fishing-steelhead

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WATERKL39
Need some know-how:blushing:. I would like to give some spinners a try this summer and have never used them for steelhead. Using the blue fox spinners will I need to run a split-shot or two? Or do I just run a straight spinner with no weights at all in the low clear condition? Thank you to all for your advice.:thumb: *** I will be using 6lb flourocarbon with a spinning rod/reel from the bank. ***
 
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D
DrTheopolis
No extra weight. If using Blue Foxes, I'd go with the black-on-black in clear water, probably in size 2-3. Cast slightly upstream in water with broken surface, summers love water 2-3 feet deep. Retrieve as slowly as possible while keeping the blade spinning.

That pretty much covers the basics. Smaller and lighter is better in very clear water. 6lb floro is perfect.
 
W
WATERKL39
What spinning rod should I use for this? I have a shimano 6' rated at 6-14lb test, power-meduim, action-fast. Or my lamiglas 10' 6" rated at 6-12lb test, used for float fishing. I'm concerned that I won't be able to cast as far with my lami.
 
W
WATERKL39
What spinning rod should I use for this? I have a shimano 6' rated at 6-14lb test, power-meduim, action-fast. Or my lamiglas 10' 6" rated at 6-12lb test, used for float fishing. I'm concerned that I won't be able to cast as far with my lami.
 
D
DrTheopolis
Either.

Personally, depending on action, I can generally cast considerably farther with a 10'6" than I can a 6'.

Heck, I'll fish my 5'6" ultralight with 4lb for summers. There's some leeway when it comes to fishing light gear in clear water.
 
T
Toyracer38
Should probably run your mainline to a barrel swivel, then some leader to your spinner, to prevent line twist. You need to keep the spinner down close to the bottom. So be prepared to lose a few spinners. Good luck!
 
D
DrTheopolis
I've been a pretty diehard spinner fisherman for the last 25 years (has it been that long? Wow), and I never use a swivel. If you're doing it right, there shouldn't be much line twist.
 
B
Big3d
I always have trouble getting a legit spin with a swivel on. With a spoon sure, with a spinner I personally skip it.
 
C
ChezJfrey
Such debate over swivels. I doubt it matters either way. I use them for convenience; a snap swivel allows for rapid switching to different sizes, weights, colors to best match conditions without having to snip line and retie.

ChezJfrey's hardware thoughts:

Swivels don't affect the 'action' any more than what the mish-mash currents and banging into rocks imposes.
Spinner blades don't even need to turn over to be effective.
Spoons don't even need to thump or have line tension to be effective...same goes for spinners
Spoons can even spin in the current as long as the water is cold, or if warmer, they are muted enough to not spook the fish...same with spinners.

I fish spoons and spinners nearly identically, with periodic slack line throughout the drift. A spinner blade might not spin, but as long as the movement through the water causes the blades to change their reflection to the fish's eye, it will grab their attention and the water current does that naturally. In fact, the more subtle and slow the action, the better as it attracts more fish and is less likely to spook them. Spinning or violent action can turn them away, if overdone...that can be mitigated if the water is very cold, or the lure is small or dark.

I caught a steelhead just yesterday, in the glaring afternoon sun with a spoon that was left hanging at the end of the swing, spinning violently in a strong current, but since it was painted black, didn't spook the fish and rather, got a feisty grab.

My lifetime spinner/spoon steelhead stat: 71% of the steelhead I've hooked were on a spinner/spoon.
 
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Toyracer38
No debate, to each their own. What ever gets ink on the tag, right!? Just was throwing my 2 cents in.
 
E
eugene1
I also use swivels to transition between the mainline and leader. Use whatever works for you and put in time on the water.

I prefer to use mono leaders unless the water is super super clear. The fluoro seems to get dinged up a lot faster than mono, resulting in more lost gear... $.

Good luck,
 
M
mikeee2362
I'm in the quick change school of thought as I double uni a 6 foot section of flouro leader material onto my braid and add a snap swivel on the end so I can do a quick color/style change and keep fishing. I use a long leader so when I do hang up and inevitably break off, I can break off the last bit of abbraided flouro and still have a good distance to the uni knot after tying on a new snap swivel. I can usually donate a few spoons or spinners to the river before I need to put on a new leader LOL. Like Toy says if you are fishing them right you are gonna lose some, and like Chez says they dont have to actually function like you are retrieving them in open water. The first part of the cast into the current is almost like drifting a corkie bumping along the bottom, and then when it reaches the area you want it to swing through and you stop bumping along the bottom , the action of the lure starts to work in the current. I will say that a barrel swivel between your mainline and leader will cut down on retie time if you use a shorter leader as you will need to change it out everytime you lose a lure, because if you are like me it takes about 5 minutes to tie another stinkin' double uni lol.
 
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WATERKL39
So, I only bought two blue fox spinners just to give it a whirl. Is the #3 spinners too big for summer steelhead!? Hope not. If they are I could just give it a go anyway since all I do is float fish.
 
SiletzTroutKiller
SiletzTroutKiller
Toyracer38 said:
No debate, to each their own. What ever gets ink on the tag, right!? Just was throwing my 2 cents in.

Agreed
 
M
mikeee2362
WATERKL39 said:
So, I only bought two blue fox spinners just to give it a whirl. Is the #3 spinners too big for summer steelhead!? Hope not. If they are I could just give it a go anyway since all I do is float fish.
I got one on a size 4, so 3 is definitely not too big.
 
C
ChezJfrey
WATERKL39 said:
So, I only bought two blue fox spinners just to give it a whirl. Is the #3 spinners too big for summer steelhead!? Hope not. If they are I could just give it a go anyway since all I do is float fish.

Size 4 is probably the most common size used for steelhead.

I generally follow the Jed Davis rules...cold water or higher, colored flows size 4 and 5. I've caught winters in 40 degree, crystal clear water on size 5. Warmer water, brighter days, size 1, 2 or 3 and muted/darker colors. I've caught summers, in bright sun and low, 58 degree water on a size 2, all black spinner.

For the Clack right now, at 56 degrees and roughly 12.4 feet on the Estacada gauge, size 3 in a dark color should be fine in direct sunlight, and a 3 in silver/chrome should be OK for cloudy or early morning/sundown.
 
G
grizzlynitemare
#4 blue foxes work for rainbows. Caught a 12" bow on one during my trip to crane prairie. :D
 
J
JonT
mikeee2362 said:
I'm in the quick change school of thought as I double uni a 6 foot section of flouro leader material onto my braid and add a snap swivel on the end so I can do a quick color/style change and keep fishing. I use a long leader so when I do hang up and inevitably break off, I can break off the last bit of abbraided flouro and still have a good distance to the uni knot after tying on a new snap swivel. I can usually donate a few spoons or spinners to the river before I need to put on a new leader LOL. Like Toy says if you are fishing them right you are gonna lose some, and like Chez says they dont have to actually function like you are retrieving them in open water. The first part of the cast into the current is almost like drifting a corkie bumping along the bottom, and then when it reaches the area you want it to swing through and you stop bumping along the bottom , the action of the lure starts to work in the current. I will say that a barrel swivel between your mainline and leader will cut down on retie time if you use a shorter leader as you will need to change it out everytime you lose a lure, because if you are like me it takes about 5 minutes to tie another stinkin' double uni lol.

Hey Mike, I used to use double uni's but started tying triple surgeon loops for my braid-to-leader and it takes about 1 minute instead.
 
M
mikeee2362
Yeah, been meaning to try it, will make a point to try it next trip.
 
W
WATERKL39
Ok. So I finally got the chance to try spinner fishing for the first time this last week. I was confident that my tarnished brass #3 blue fox would do the job. It was a little tricky at first and I was kinda weary as to not getting it hung up on the bottom. Casting straight-out and letting it drift towards the bottom I could feel it thumping rocks here and there. When it started to drift further down river and sweep across I probably should have slowed my reeling but I was still weary of snagging. Plus I had just the one spinner for if I did lose it I would float fish for the rest of the morning. Well, I managed to keep my spinner longer than I could hope for and "yes" I eventually snagged bottom and lost it. I plan on trying spinner fishing more and more and hope I am presenting it correctly. I felt that I could have been trying to make the spinner (spin) more than necessary. I was fishing I moderate drift that had some big boulders and but seemed to be a prime spot for a beginner as myself. I would not have even tried the riffles :yikes:

Any advice would greatly help for I surely plan on purchasing more spinners this weekend and trying it again this week. And yes I will take my float gear just in case the river digests all my spinners. Thank you to everyone for your time and consideration on this topic and for helping me learn new ways to enjoy steelhead fishing.
 

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