I was just wondering if there was any good books out there on how to make spinners? I fished the Vedder this year and saw guys using colorado blades and they just knocked the coho. I was using a Blue Fox spinner and was hooking fish but not as fast as they were with there colorados. I was just wondering if there was a good book or if anyone wants to offer up some info on what components to get and how to put them together would be greatly appreciated. Hope to hear from someone, thanks!

Check out one of the recent issues of STS Magazine. I believe Dave Kilhefner wrote the piece.

here is a good website to check out for making spinners. They have a .pdf you can download that shows you how its done.

spinner making

While the spinner may play a small role in the catching of fish, presentation is the real key! You can have the fishiest spinners in the world but if they are not "in the zone" they wont do squat!...

Hi
I make a lot of my own spinners and have had a lot of success with them. I suggest you look at Mortac. They are out of Granite falls (have a web site) and also some of the shops like Ted's and 3 Rivers carry the parts. The blades are thicker/heavier than Viberex and get down better. I have also heard of people taking Viberex's apart and making them heavier. Also take a look at their Stilly spoons. They work well on Coho

Get Jed Davis' book on Spinner Fishing for Steelhead. It's a classic. He has lots of information on making spinners and using them effectively. Most fishing tackle stores have it, including Fisherman's Marine, GI Joes, and Sportco.

The most important part of making your own spinners is to do it inexpensivily. Because if you're going to fish them effectively (i.e., "in the zone"), you're going to lose alot of them. That gets pricey if you're using Vibrax at $3.00 apiece. Homemade spinners can be made for less than a dollar each. At that price, losing a bunch isn't as painful.

The Colorado's are one of the easiest to make but the trick is to use a slow retrieve spinning reel.

Personally,

The number one thing to remember when using any spinner is……slow, slow, slow, and slower!

The speed that you retrieve your spinners may react differently with different types of blades. But Coho are suckers for slamming a spinner that is worked dead slow! The slower, the better!

I can't tell how many times when I was guiding that my clients were standing right next to me using the same exact spinner, rod, and reel that I was using and never had a strike. I would hook 5 to 1 more coho then they would. I would tell them time after time to slow down there retrieve, but after a few casts they were right back to cranking it fast just like before.

Regardless of the lure that you decide to use, if you're fishing for salmon, remember to wind it slowly….especially if your after coho

Cowlitzfisherman

I fish more for steelies, but have had the opportunity on occasion to sight-fish for coho with spinners. I completely agree with Cowlitzfisherman (I thought that would never happen :p ).....Slow is the key to coho. They will chase a spinner like steelhead, but they will only do so at a slow pace. I actually prefer Blue Fox blades over Mor Tac because they're lighter and have a little more surface area. Simply put, I can fish them more slowly than a Mor Tac or comparable blade. Often, I'll buy the Blue Fox's on sale and cut the blade off to put it on a Mor Tac body for help getting it down. I wrote Blue Fox once to see if I could buy their blades separately and they didn't respond.
Good luck

or use a mor tac body with .22 blade from fisherman's shack instead of mor tac .32....