Steelhead and salmon fishermen tend to use casting gear when fishing with lures, especially in the Pacific Northwest. Spinning gear is more popular in the Great Lakes for anadromous fish and most trout anglers anywhere will use spinning tackle to toss lures. We will discuss both, but a case will be made for using spinning gear when fishing weighted spinners.
Normal ultralight spinning tackle calls for two-or four-pound test but you can move up to six- and eight-pound test when spinner-fishing for trout. Obviously this is over kill when fishing for ten-inch trout but when that five-pound lunker grabs your spinner and heads for the logs you will be glad you have eight-pound test on your reel.
Both spinning and casting gear can be used to fish rivers with weighted spinners. Steelhead and salmon fishermen tend to use casting gear when fishing with lures, especially in the Pacific Northwest. Spinning gear is more popular in the Great Lakes for anadromous fish and most trout anglers anywhere will use spinning tackle to toss lures. We will discuss both, but a case will be made for using spinning gear when fishing weighted spinners.
Rods
A spinner-tossing rod has to be light and limber enough to cast the lures well and be stiff enough to set a rather heavy-wire hook into a fairly tough jaw, especially salmon on their run up the river. To get both qualities choose a light to medium rod with a fast to extra-fast taper to a fairly heavy butt section. The rods I use for salmon and steelhead are only seven to eight feet long but that is a little deceiving. They are spinning rods and I build them with a very short butt section, only about three inches. Thus their effective length compares to factory-built rods, with their long butt sections, which are seven and a half to nine feet in length. Factory-made casting rods tend to have even longer butt sections.
Trout rods need to be a bit more limber to cast light lures and don’t need quite the hook-setting power. My most-used spinning rods for stream-resident trout are six and a half feet in length with a light action and just a fast taper. They are also built with a short butt section. Many anglers like very short, five feet or even less, ultra-light rods for trout fishing. Rods a foot or so longer will serve you better when toss-ing spinners for trout. You need the extra length to make good underhand, pendulum casts that we will be talking about soon.
Graphite is the preferred material but you don’t need or want rods with the super-light, super-highmodulus graphite. While sensitivity is very important when feeling what your spinner is doing or detecting subtle takes, regular (96%) or second-generation (IM-6) graphite will suffice. Higher-modulus graphite material is generally too fragile for spinner-fishing. There will be lots of very hard strikes and vigorous hook-sets that will strain the rod. And there will be times when the spinner slams into the rod, usually when the trout or salmon comes unhooked at close range, firing the chunk of metal right at the rod. Even if the rod doesn’t break on impact it will be weakened at that spot and may break on a hook-set several trips later.
Cork grips and graphite reel seats over graphite arbors will help you feel your lure working. My rods are strange looking in that they have cork fore grips and foam butt grips. The rationale is that foam is more durable and since I am not touching the butt when fish ing it makes sense to use the less expensive, tougher material for the butt.
Tools that should be in your vest include a hook sharpener, needle nose pliers, line clippers, scissors, reel wrench and screwdriver.
Reels
The reel is a very important part of your fishing out fit when tossing spinners. When fly-fishing, the reel is mostly used to store line. If you arc drifting with casting or spinning tackle you cast your offering, let it drift with the current and then reel the bait or lure back in at the end of the drift. When casting and retrieving spinners and other lures, you are actively using the reel to fish all the time. Whether you choose to fish with a spinning or casting reel it’s critical that it is durable and works smoothly. A fast retrieve ratio and large-diameter spool are very helpful when retrieving with the current. These features also help you keep up with fast-moving steel head, salmon, or trout.
I would like recommend reels but I have almost no experience with models currently available. Swedish made Cardinal spinning reels have been virtually the only reels hanging on my spinning rods since the 1970s. These reels operate in an extremely smooth fashion and, since I am still using the models I started with, are obviously very durable. They came in four sizes and I use the Cardinal 3 for trout fishing, the 4 for steelhead fishing and the 6 for salmon and for steelhead in big rivers. An American company, American Classic Sales, produced a slightly improved replica of the original Cardinal 4 called the American Classic IV. Unfortunately they have ceased making these reels and the original Car dinals went out of production in the early 1980s. The reason for relating all this is that these reels still show up on the on line auction sites and if you can find one in good shape it will be worth the investment.
I’m sure there are other quality reels available today. As already emphasized the key is choosing one that operates very smoothly so that it doesn’t dampen your ability to feel the spinner working. The bail system needs to be durable as you will be making lots of casts.
As promised, I am now going to make my case for using spinning reels when tossing hardware in rivers and streams. Level-wind bait-casting reels are great for making long, accurate casts and that is why they are preferred by anglers fishing the large, broad rivers of the Pacific Northwest for salmon and steelhead. However, it takes a strong swing of the rod and a fairly heavy lure to overcome inertia and get the spool revolving which means you are handicapped when making the short casts with lighter lures that are often required in smaller rivers. Even in large streams you often need to make accurate, short casts into cover along the edges and logjams and big boulders in mid stream. The spin ning reel is really well suited for this finesse casting, as the line comes off the properly filled fixed spool with ease. The amount of line retrieved with each turn of the handle is usually greater with a spinning reel ow-ing to its large spool diameter and high retrieve ratio. There is also a comfort factor. My spinning outfits are perfectly balanced with my hand just in front of the reel while a bait-caster is always top heavy with your hand below the reel. Finally, the spinning outfit is perfect for the most accurate pre-sentation, the underhand pendulum cast, which we will describe later in this chapter.
Line
There are a myriad of lines on the market and choos ing a line can get complicated. For most river spinner fishing situations I believe nylon monofilament is the best type of line to use. The super braids and fused lines made of gel spun polyethylene can be useful in some large rivers but I have only used mono in the last ten years. Most of the time you will want to pick a very castable line because that is what you are doing a lot of when fishing with spinners. Trilene XL is my personal favorite but there are many other options on the mar ket. The properties you want are small diameter and limpness. This allows you to fish effectively with surprisingly high-pound-test line that makes landing big trout and salmon in a snaggy river possible. Normal ultralight spinning tackle calls for two-or four-pound test but you can move up to six- and eight-pound test when spinner-fishing for trout. Obviously this is over kill when fishing for ten-inch trout but when that five-pound lunker grabs your spinner and heads for the logs you will be glad you have eight-pound test on your reel. For steelhead and salmon you can move up to 12- to 17-pound test. The fish won’t notice the line when watching the flashing spinner.
For big rivers you might want to pick a low-stretch monofilament line so that you can still set the hook when the fish hits immediately after a long cast. If the water you will be fishing has lots of rocks or other abrasive cover you may want to sacrifice some castability and pick a more abrasion-resistant line.
Since you are making lots of casts and retrieves you will be working the line hard. Thus it is very important that you change your line fairly often. Line is relatively cheap but even if it wasn’t you will still want strong line that is in good shape attached to your spinner when that trophy steelhead grabs your lure. It is definitely not necessary to change all the line on the spool. I routinely just change the top 50 yards of “working line” on my steelhead and salmon reels and the top 35 yards on my trout spools. The deeper line almost never leaves the spool so why change it each time. The backing is still there if a large fish takes out lots of line. A blood knot is used to attach the new line to your “backing”. Trim the knot well and place it just under the lip of the spool when reeling on the new line. This way it will not catch the line when you make a long cast.
A supply of spinners is your obvious primary need when you hit the river chasing trout, salmon, or steelhead, but there are other items that help you be successful and enjoy your outing. Spinner components.
Rigging up for spinner-fishing is extremely simple. Unlike fly and drift fishing there are no leaders, sinkers, and swivels involved. You simply tie on your spinner and start casting. Some will argue that you need a swivel to prevent line twist, but I don’t think it’s necessary, and that its presence detracts from the spinner.
Loading Your backpack
A supply of spinners is your obvious primary need when you hit the river chasing trout, salmon, or steelhead, but there are other items that help you be successful and enjoy your outing. A vest or some kind of tackle pack that you can wear is the way to go when you are wading. While a tackle box or boxes makes sense in a boat I still wear a vest when floating in a personal watercraft or small boat as I am often out of the craft when fishing.
As you load your terminal tackle, your goal is to have everything you will need for the outing on the river. Fishing time is precious and you do not want to spend it returning to your vehicle to get something you for got or something to repair tackle. You also want to be prepared for changing water conditions, the weather, biting insects, minor mishaps, and anything else that might affect your fishing. Having the right items for the fish and conditions as well as the fix-it materials you will need if something breaks down or leaks, will make your day on the water an enjoyable and productive one. Of course you cannot carry the kitchen sink, so you also have to be selective and not carry all the tackle you own.
Terminal gear is obviously a very important part of the tackle you carry. Luckily it’s simpler for the spinner-tosser in that you don’t have to carry sinkers, hooks, swivels, leaders, and floats like the drift angler does. Basically you just need a couple of small boxes of spinners, maybe three dozen all together. I also carry a box of alternative lures, plugs and spoons, for special situations which will be discussed in a separate chapter. We will also describe in a later chapter which spinners should be in your vest based on river conditions as well as the species you are targeting.
Tools that should be in your vest include a hook sharpener, needle nose pliers, line clippers, scissors, reel wrench and screwdriver. A hook sharpener allows you to touch up those hook points dulled by the rocks. My favorite is the thumb file with a hole in it so it can be attached to a “D” ring and be secure from being dropped in the river. A “File Saver” pouch impregnated with WD-40 will prevent rust and also keep the file from wearing a hole in your vest pocket. Needlenose pliers are handy for realigning bent hooks, flattening barbs and unhooking trout and salmon. Hemostats may also be used for unhooking fish and at times are superior to pliers-more on unhooking fish in the Landing and Releasing chapter.
Line clippers and scissors come in handy for cutting line and trimming knots. Clippers work best for monofilament and I keep one hanging from a “D” ring for quick access. Children's scissors, with the rounded points that won’t poke holes in your vest pockets, are ideal for cutting braided line. A reel wrench and screw driver are take-down tools for your reel. I also carry spare bail springs, which are the most likely parts to fail on my spinning reels. A small bottle of oil is carried to keep the reel running smoothly. Interestingly, the oil I have found to work best is synthetic automobile motor oil because its viscosity doesn’t change with air temperature. And, even though I’m using the silkiest, most dependable reels ever built, the original Swedish Cardinals, I still carry a spare reel. You never know when you might get sand in the reel or dunk it in the river in below-freezing weather.
The extra reel can be placed in the big pocket in the back of your vest but I prefer to stash the cased reel in the large pouch created by my wader belt. When a bail spring does break I usually switch to the spare reel rather than changing the spring on the water. Of course, if something goes wrong with the spare reel, you have a third backup in the extra bail springs. I also carry two extra spools, one loaded with slightly heavier line and the other with lighter line. The spare reel will have line of the same test I’ve chosen for the outing. You can switch to the lighter or heavier line if conditions change or the fish composition changes. For example, the sun might come out and you might need to fish with smaller spinners so you switch to the lighter line. Or, when trout fishing you discover some summer steelhead have entered the stream and you beef up your tackle to give yourself a chance to land the larger fish.
While it is possible to stow a pack rod m the back of your vest, I usually leave my spare rod in the car. I do carry extra tip tops, guides, ferrule cement, matches, and a small roll of electrical tape for rod repair. On a memorable outing several springs ago the steelies were pounding my spinners. The sixth fish went between my legs and I did something stupid. Rather than stepping over the line I tried to pull the fairly tired fish back up. With the rod pointed away from the fish, the angle was too sharp and the rod sounded like a rifle shot as the tip section snapped about two feet from the tip. I still landed the steelhead but I was two miles from the spotted vehicle and figured it would be at least an hour round-trip hike. I overlapped the broken pieces with the uppermost on the underside of the rod and liber ally wrapped them in electrical tape. It wasn’t pretty but I landed eight more steelhead as I fished my way upstream to the car.
As final insurance against built-up line twist, lift your spinner from the water with six or more feet of line out at the end of the retrieve and allow the lure to spin to remove any twist in your line before the next cast.
I always keep polarized sunglasses in a case in my vest. While I am usually wearing them, it’s good to have a place to stow them if you are fishing until dark and to know that they will be there for your next outing. A small first-aid/personal-comfort kit in a resealable plastic bag is easy to stow and can make your day on the river more pleasant. Mine includes lip balm, Band Aids, aspirin, toilet paper and, during the month of June, antihistamines for my grass pollen allergy. A small plastic bottle of insect repellent should be carried during spring and summer if mosquitoes or black flies are present. I minimize the surface area exposed by wearing a lightweight, tightly woven nylon long sleeved shirt. Water and some high-energy food are also important when making a long wade or float. Freezing water in a plastic bottle, keeping it in the wader pock et, and drinking it as it thaws works well. Candy and granola bars are easy to pack for energy. Another plan, which I have been employing in recent years, is to carry celery and carrot sticks in a plastic bag. These veggies supply both sustenance and water. Usually I also add grapes to the mix. Bananas and apples also work well for these tasks.
The large pouch in the back of your vest or backpack is a good place to store a compact wading rain jacket. If it’s cool or cloudy and threatening to rain, I just wear the jacket. But if the weather changes and the sun makes an appearance it makes sense to stow the jacket in order to keep you from getting wet from sweating. Speaking of staying dry, it’s important to have a wader-patching kit in your vest. We will go into greater detail on wader care and patching in the wading techniques chapter.
Additional items that I carry, but are optional include a pen and some cards to record river conditions and the location and size of fish caught. I often use the backs of old, out-of-date business cards. Several are kept in the small plastic “wallets” that are often given out when you purchase your fishing license. While of ten the size of the fish is just estimated, a DeLiar type scale and tape is carried to measure exceptional specimens before release. Water temperatures are taken with a bi-metallic type pocket thermometer and recorded. Usually just the start and end temperatures are noted but sometimes intermedi-ate temperature might be important. While I normally stay with the stream, there will be times when cutting cross-country is the plan and a compass will keep you on track. A small flashlight will help you stay on the trail to the car if the fishing is so good it keeps you on the river after sunset.
A camera will be an optional item for most anglers but as an outdoor writer it’s an especially important item for me. In my opinion, we could easily make a case for the importance of having a camera in the vest or on the boat for all river anglers. It al lows you to record many great memories by capturing action shots and photograph-ing fish when they are freshly landed and still alive. “Having proof” makes it a lot easier to release those trophy steel head, trout and salmon. Compact, point-and-shoot digital cameras are ideal but even one-time-use film cameras take surprisingly good photos when there is ample light. A recloseable plastic bag will protect the camera when not in use and a long strap that you can put around your neck will keep you from accidentally dropping the camera in the river when shooting. Of course, you can always buy a waterproof model and not have to sweat an accidental dunking.
There is an infinite variety of vests and tackle packs on the market. Pick one with pockets big enough to hold your largest items and enough pockets to keep things organized. If you are a year-round salmonid chaser you will want two. A lightweight mesh type for the summer trout fishing and one of larger capacity for cooler weather and anadromous fish. While cotton is comfortable it’s not very durable so I suggest one made of nylon or a polyester blend for longer life.
Spinner-fishing Techniques
"Slow" is the key word when casting and retrieving weighted spinners. It’s important to take advantage of the spinner’s ability to have action or spin at a slow rate of retrieve. The longer you keep the lure in the strike zone the more effective it will be. And, a slowly spinning blade is more effective than one that is whirring at a blurring speed.
When casting upstream or quartering upstream you need to retrieve your lure just enough faster than the current to keep it spinning. This may seem too fast for the fish when the current is really ripping but remember trout and salmon are also in this quick flow and can catch up with your spinner quite easily. Casting across stream or quartering downstream and sweeping your spinner across the current is a very effective technique and should be employed whenever you can get alongside or above the fish-holding location without alerting the trout, salmon, or steelhead of your presence.
When you tie on a spinner it’s important that you lubricate the line with water or saliva and pull the knot together slowly. Then, really test the knot severely to make sure it is a good one, and periodically recheck the knot as you fish.
When sweeping your spinner across the current you need to retrieve only enough line to keep the blade turning on your lure. If quartering downstream you may not have to reel at all. When the spinner gets directly below you it will tend to rise due to its resistance to the flow. You can keep it down and extend your presentation by slowly giving line at a rate slower than the current which keeps the blade turning as it continues down through the holding water. Your overall spinner fishing goal is to keep the blade slowly turning through as much good holding water as possible for migrating anadromous salmon and steelhead or feeding trout. We will describe the best holding water and how to fish the various types in a later chapter.
Casting accuracy is an important component of river fishing for trout and salmon because the closer you present your spinner to the fish the more-hook ups you will have. The compactness of the weighted spinner makes it easy to cast and you need to take advantage of this. The conventional overhead and side-arm casts do the job in large streams, but when you really want to get close to the cover you should employ the underhand, pendulum cast. It’s the only cast to use in small streams and creeks and it will allow you to get your spinner close to the cover-hugging fish in larger rivers.
The underhand cast is accomplished by letting your spinner hang about four feet below your rod tip. The spinner is swung back in a pendulum motion to load the rod and then rapidly swung forward and released. This is similar to the lob cast a bait-angler might make except that with major wrist action you line-drive the spinner to its target.
A major plus for this cast is that you always have your lure in sight. It also travels in a low trajectory over the water so that you can cast underneath overhanging trees and other vegetation. And, obviously, you don’t worry about obstructions behind and above you or to the side like you do with overhead and sidearm casts. Since you are watching your lure head for your target you can make mid-air corrections by moving the rod and slowing or stopping the lure’s progress.
Rigging
Rigging up for spinner-fishing is extremely simple. Unlike fly and drift fishing there are no leaders, sinkers, and swivels involved. You simply tie on your spinner and start casting. Some will argue that you need a swivel to prevent line twist, but I don’t think it’s necessary, and that its presence detracts from the spinner.
A spinner does temporarily twist your line but as long as it does not just spin continuously in one direction line twist will not build up and cause problems. In river fishing, the blade on your spinner will usually bump a rock or the bottom on most casts. Each time this happens the torque developed in the line by the spinning blade will cause the spinner blade to spin in the opposite direction when it starts again. If you are fishing deep water with sweep casts you can get the spinner blade to change direction by giving it momentary slack to stop the blade from spinning and then starting again. After a long down-stream sweep you should start and stop your retrieve several times as you reel your spinner back in for the next cast to keep line twist from building up. As final insurance against built-up line twist, lift your spinner from the water with six or more feet of line out at the end of the retrieve and allow the lure to spin to remove any twist in your line before the next cast. If you still feel the need for a swivel, use a small black one. You can also incorporate one in your home built spinner when building them (see Chapter 10).
My usual knot for tying on the lure is the Trilene knot but the improved clinch knot will also work well. You want a knot that is strong but not one that is 100% and these knots break at about 90% of the line strength. The reason is that when it becomes necessary to break off a snagged spinner you want the line to break right at the lure and not leave a bunch of line in the river. This involves technique and we will talk more about getting unsnagged in a later chapter.
When you tie on a spinner it’s important that you lubricate the line with water or saliva and pull the knot together slowly. Then, really test the knot severely to make sure it is a good one, and periodically recheck the knot as you fish. Also check the line near the knot for abrasions. I routinely retie my spinner after each fish, as well as when I notice some abrasion near the knot. Obviously you will be retying when you check your knot and it breaks. You absolutely don’t want a trophy trout or steelhead to find a bad knot or frayed line for you.
In recent years I have added an item to my terminal tackle when fishing with spinners. A small, black Duo Lock snap is tied to the end of my line most of the time. A #2 is employed when fishing for steelhead and salmon and a #1 or #2 is used for trout. The reason is that it allows me to easily change spinners if the condi tions tell me a different lure will be better. If we have to cut and retie we often decide not to bother but if the switch is easy we will put the better spinner on the end of our line. The next chapter is all about picking the right spinner for what you find around the next bend in the stream.
Excerpt from the book Spinner Magic by Jim Bedford.
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