Building a BIG inline spinner for pier/jetty fishing this fall

[Wolfram M]

Just what the title says. I got the wild idea to build a big inline spinner with a #5 willowleaf shape blade, something around 1.5oz or so with a 4/0 treble off the back.

I'm thinking that I will just drill a 1/2" diameter stainless steel slug, put a big flashy diamond knurl on it, taper the line-end of the slug to a smooth cone and polish it all up. A bit of white bucktail on the treble hook and maybe a brass bead under and over the stainless to keep it from chewing up the heavy through-wire.

The target length is about 4" overall, from the tip of the white bucktail to the line tie up front, and the blade is about 2 3/4" long so it ought to cast like it's fired from a cannon and have lots of flashy-buzzy vibration through the water.

Anyone got any thoughts on what I may want to do different?

[philaroman]

1) if it's that big, should be easier to figure out some rattle chamber arrangement
2) maybe cup the tail end for matching brass bead...  for some reason
    I'm thinkin' smaller bore/ID for tail bead than main body would reduce chafing

heck, at 1/2" OD you could dying spool bearing at each end...  lube w/ fish oil, frequently

[jurelometer]

It depends on what you are trying to catch and how fast you plan to pull it.  Spinner blades will behave funny (cavitation?) if pulled too fast, and do nothing when stopped. 

Also, you probably want a standard solid single strand through wire so that the clevis can rotate unrestricted. Some sort of a skinny egg sinker or two should work for the body.   

The main advantage of spinners is that the put up a ton of pressure wave and flash at relatively low speeds for a relatively light lure that still casts decently.  The disadvantage is they do not present much of an attractive profile, and have a limited speed range. They  do nothing without laminar flow, and too much laminar flow doesn't seem to catch fish.  They also are difficult to fish deeper in the water column.

That is why spinners are often the preferred lure in a trout stream. Cast across a stream and wind slowly as the spinner drifts downcurrent. The flow of the stream keeps the blade turning and you can cover a lot of water slowly with lots of pressure waves, letting the lure drop a bit now and then to fish the slightly deeper spots.  With trout, it is all about getting the lure or fly of the right size at the depth that they are looking for,  fast enough so they have to make a quick decision, but slow enough that it is easy to run down.

I would throw a big spinner in saltwater if it was a dawn/dusk situation, and I was targeting species that liked a slow moving target at a relatively shallow depth. Work it up and down a little in an inshore boulder field.  I am sure that  it would work in many other situations, but it would not be my first choice. 

But if everybody else on the pier is tossing the same stuff, it probably doesn't hurt to show the fish something different.

Hope this helps...

-J

[MarkT]

Try a sliding egg sinker to the hook with a willow blade on the hook. Crank as fast as you want! Most Wahoo bombs come with a willow blade on the hook.

[thorhammer]

I built something like this way back, and used brass worm weights that were maybe 3/4 with a teardrop shape more than egg. they caught some big bass with slow retrieve and whomp whomp like a helicopter with that big willow.

[jurelometer]

Try a sliding egg sinker to the hook with a willow blade on the hook. Crank as fast as you want! Most Wahoo bombs come with a willow blade on the hook.

There is also the style of the Road Runner leadhead jig and Cowen's Coyote fly that  do the same thing but hang the blade off the front end, near  the eye.   And of course, spinnerbaits.  But  trailing style blades attached with  swivel have to use relatively smaller blades, and you aren't going to get that whomp whomp rotation that comes with a clevis on a shaft.
 

But I don't doubt that that a wahoo or a king mackerel wouldn't eat the setup you described if pulled fast enough.  It wouldn't be my first choice, but you never know... The fish get the final vote.

[philaroman]

many pike/musky inline spinners opt for tandem smaller blades over 1 big one
#2+#4 or #3+#3, rather than single #5...  would guess it casts/sinks better

[jurelometer]

many pike/musky inline spinners opt for tandem smaller blades over 1 big one
#2+#4 or #3+#3, rather than single #5...  would guess it casts/sinks better

Ooh, interesting!  I learn something new here every day.

Just looked this up.  Mepps claims more flash and vibration from two smaller blades (seems unlikely for the same surface area), and that it lifts more at slower winding speed, better to ride over weed bed.  This seems more likely, sort of like changing the pitch on a boat propeller.

So my guess would be more blade RPMs at lower speeds with a bit more lift (more frequency, but less amplitude).  And an opportunity to sell more Mepps to a guy with a tacklebox full of single bladed spinners

[MarkT]

Try a sliding egg sinker to the hook with a willow blade on the hook. Crank as fast as you want! Most Wahoo bombs come with a willow blade on the hook.

There is also the style of the Road Runner leadhead jig and Cowen's Coyote fly that  do the same thing but hang the blade off the front end, near  the eye.   And of course, spinnerbaits.  But  trailing style blades attached with  swivel have to use relatively smaller blades, and you aren't going to get that whomp whomp rotation that comes with a clevis on a shaft.
 

But I don't doubt that that a wahoo or a king mackerel wouldn't eat the setup you described if pulled fast enough.  It wouldn't be my first choice, but you never know... The fish get the final vote.

The original Wahoo bombs were torpedo sinkers wrapped with a tinsel skirt and a hook added to the rear. While most Wahoo bombs come with a willow leaf, I usually cut them off. Speed is what gets bit and I can crank faster, longer, without the extra resistance of the blade.

[Gfish]

I've done ok vertical jigging big Roster Tails over rocky structure, but not in the ocean. I like that all models come with hackle, and a lead body with a great paint job. More salmonid fish caught for me though, by fishing in streams and rivers like Dave explained it.

[Wolfram M]

Yeah, what I was thinking was something to cast out and pull back in for mackerel or jacks or other fish that like flashy shiny things. Something that casts like a spoon or a diamond jig, but has the flash and vibration like the inline spinner does.

I like the idea of the brass bead under the cupped stainless body, something for the body to rattle/clack against.

I don't see anyone out there making big 4" inline spinners for saltwater, so it probably isn't the greatest lure idea. I'll give it a try anyway, worst case I stand out by the ocean and don't catch fish. (Which is more often than not for me...)

[JasonGotaProblem]

I was thinking about this one. And this is admittedly crazy talk but sometimes that's the point. To my knowledge NASA hasn't yet given us a swivel that truly works well enough to fish a spoon on a spinner and not get terrible line twist.

What about something roughly torpedo shaped but with a bunch of facets, so it will catch the light like a spinning lure without actually twisting anything?

[Wolfram M]

Today was a good day, my batch of tin-plated hooks and the stainless clevises showed up. I use stainless steel TIG wire for my wire forms, so I'm gonna try to make one of these tomorrow.

I kinda goofed on the hook size, these 3/0 3X treble hooks are crazy big.

[jurelometer]

Go get 'em.  The fish get the final vote.  They may like it.  And either way, you learn something.  A no-lose proposition.

And if you catch a big king, everybody there will be throwing jumbo spinners the next time you head down to the pier 

-J

[philaroman]

I was thinking about this one. And this is admittedly crazy talk but sometimes that's the point. To my knowledge NASA hasn't yet given us a swivel that truly works well enough to fish a spoon on a spinner and not get terrible line twist.

What about something roughly torpedo shaped but with a bunch of facets, so it will catch the light like a spinning lure without actually twisting anything?

unless your facets are as preci$$$e as lab equipment,
they will cause body roll which is, in fact, what causes line twist
blade spin is just another cause for body roll (possibly, HUGE one)

pretty sure PM-style no-clevis design only spins one way, via blade shape
wonder why no one markets an either-direction "mirror set" -- that would SELL!!!