As the designer and builder of literally thousands of weighted spinners over the last 14 years, I have learned a lot of things about how to catch fish using spinners as my main or sole tackle offering. When I go fishing, I don't think bait. I don't buy bait, I don't defrost bait, I don't rig bait, I don't even carry bait. I "pack my spinner boxes".

During the cold water seasons, spinner choices can be boiled down to basically a size 5 or 4 French bladed spinner with a genuine silver-plated blade and a bright body in either a metallic or a painted finish.

Spinner fishing has been written about VERY little. Here's a taste of some spinner fishing wisdom I am going to pass on. If you apply these ideas, you will catch more fish than you ever have before on spinners.

Tip 1-Pack you spinner boxes. Not your bait box. Leave the float, drift, or fly rod at home. Carry a spinner fishing rod only. Fish "hardware-only" seven times in a row, and you'll be on your way to better spinner success.

Tip 2- Sharpen the hooks on all lures at home. EACH and EVERY point on a treble hook must be honed with a small, fine-toothed hook file. Hook sharpening is a little bit art and a lot of science. Replace any hook that is not at least 90 percent good. If you want to say "Fish On!!" more often, carry a hook file streamside. Always.

Tip 3-After all the spinners you are going to take are sharpened, wash them with warm water, a toothbrush, and some liquid dishwashing detergent. Hang the scrubbed lures inside the rim of a big, heavy drinking glass. Rinse the lures two or three times with hot water, dump the water after about a minute, and hang the lures to dry from the accumulated heat. Smelly,greasy,dirty,old spinners do not spin reliably, and may have offensive odors. This step is NOT a joke. I am deadly serious.

Tip 4-Standardize on spinners. It is better to have "more" spinners in fewer patterns than to have many patterns. In cold water, from 30 degrees to 50 degrees, in any season, a silver-plated blade in size 5,4,or 3 will catch fish. Day in, day out. A genuine silver-plated blade is the key. Silver-plated blades are available in either matte or semi-matte or "frosted silver" finishes, as well as in mirror-smooth. But the key is that real silver has been plated onto a blade. A genuine silver-plated blade paired with a body finish in metallic blue, bright fluorescent red, yellow , or green will all work well. So will a lure designed with a body that is also silver plated, and which gets its color from hook shank tubing and lure tape on the BACK side of the blade.

If I had to generalize on size I would say 5 on big rivers, 4 on big rivers down to large creeks, and size 3 in the smallest rivers and creeks. Depending on the river you fish, you might see better results with one color or another, but silver paired with blue metallic, or fluorescent orange or red or fluorescent yellow will "generally" be solid,solid performers.

In the Mepps line the newly-developed See Best line of spinners offer some very solid patterns and finishes, and the Normark Blue Fox "Vibrax" line is quite good with its silver-bladed patterns with a body in either metallic blue, fire orange, fluorescent yellow, or fluorescent green.

Tip 5-Carry and actually USE some scent products on your spinners. I have had good luck with Dr. Juice Salmon & Trout scent, ProCure anchovie, sardine, and shrimp/prawn oils, Mike's brand shrimp scent, and numerous flavors of Catcher Company's Smelly Jelly paste-type scent, as well as Smelly Jelly Sticky Liquid scent. I believe that a well-washed, odor-free spinner works well, but adding scent gives that little bit of "extra" triggering power. Scent does not imitate bait--it masks human odor and "triggers" fish.

Tip 6-Use strong line when spinner fishing. I recommend 12 pound test for all steelhead and salmon fishing--at the minimum. Heavier lines, in "premium" or co-polymer styles offer greater strength per diameter, and allow you to pull snagged lures free.

Tip 7-Tie good knots! Carry fingernail clippers to re-tie knots frequently and quickly. After each severe hangup of the lure or each fish landed, re-tie the knot! Learn and use a doubled-line knot or two. My favorite is the doubled-line Uni-Knot. There are other knots, but doubling the line is a secret to keeping your lures so they can fish for you.

Tip 8-Cover water carefully, then move on. Spinners attract fish quickly, and the first few casts will usually be productive. If they are not, keep moving and cover new water. Don't grow roots!

Tip 9-If you are losing a lot of spinners, switch to a stronger line. Spinners do not, I repeat, do NOT demand ultra-fine line to catch fish. Spinners are not bait, and are not posing as food offerings, and despite the need for light leaders when using bait, spinners will work well on 12 to 17 pound line, even in clear water.

Tip 10-Get a thermometer. Take some notes on water temperature, lighting, water surface and degree of visibility of the water, and EXACTLY where fish were hooked and where fish were not hooked. After a few trips, you might start to notice a few patterns.

Tip 11-Fish EVERYTHING, at least a little bit. Do not overlook any water. Some of the most unlikely areas will often hold a fish, and a quick few casts with a spinner can often hook you up. Rapids, riffles, slow pools, the water right near the bank--fish it all, and move on. In high and off-color water, pay great attention to slow water off the main current.

Tip 12-Realize that as you fish spinners more and more, you will lose far,far fewer lures as your skill at presenting and at getting "unsnagged" increases. If you stick with 12,14,15,16,or 17 pound line you will soon see that "finesse" is not a matter of line diameter, but of overall skill in presentation and of doing a few simple things right.

Well, there it is--a quick dozen tips on how to catch more fish in cold water conditions. Perhaps other articles will follow this one. Tight lines!

Derrel Hewitt

( Editor's Note: Derrel and I have been pen-pals for almost ten years now and my family is looking forward to his visit this August. We have been exchanging fishing tackle and tips, triumphs and techniques almost daily since we became friends. His attention to detail is nothing short of amazing and he can provide much insight to a wide field of angling and photography subjects. 
Grant Ferris)