Secrets to fishing spinner patterns

[Rusty Spinner]

My admiration for this fly is well known, but I find that so many anglers struggle mightily with this pattern and give up on it. I've seen just that while both guiding and fishing with buddies. Granted, it is not an easy pattern to see on the water with the exception of the Green Drake spinner, the coffin fly. Anglers would catch a ton more fish if they really learned to fish this critical pattern during mayfly hatches. I had out two of my favorite clients recently and we began early in the morning with fish rising steadily to sulphur spinners. Both clients are pretty good anglers, but they just couldn't see the flies and the subtle takes to their flies and I went into guide mode to fix the problem.

Here's where the tricks begin and there are several. First, I tied on a dun and added the spinner as a dropper and told them to watch the dun and set on any "twitch" they detected on the dun pattern. That took care of this dilemma on sulphurs and both began landing fish early. There are other methods as well. You can add a white post and tie up a spinner to match the hatch with a parachute style. Or, and I keep going this way more and more after I learned this tip from Matt Grobert, I like to tie the wings with snowshoe rabbit's foot fur. For some reason, that material is easy to see on the water, floats like a cork, and doesn't put fish down like some other materials do. Lastly, when you're not quite certain exactly where your spinner pattern is, follow your line and leader with your eyes and set if any fish rises "in the vicinity". More often than not, they just rose to your fly.

And remember, if fish are subtly rising and sipping "something", a spinner to match the hatch (often a rusty spinner, but not all spinners are rusty colored) will often do the trick. Forget the silly caddis bouncing about because I can assure you that the caddis are not what the trout are keyed on with that type of rise form. Fish more spinner patterns and double your catches!

 

[Trout Guy]

Good info rusty. I like to tie my spinners with a Orange/pink post to help with night time visibility.

 

[tompg]

I've done pretty well at eliminating wind knots for most flies but I still make a mess of my tippet pretty quickly when fishing spinners. Can you add to your already good advice for this problem?

Thanks,

Tom

 

[JeffK]

Wind knots? My first suggestion is maybe to use heavier tippet. The lightest I use is 5X (except 6x for tricos). That skinny 6X tippet which everyone seems to use tangles like crazy IMHO. Few people agree with me, but I use 5x for 16 sulphurs and go to 4x when casting size 12 dries - even on the Delaware and spring creeks. Need a decent tippet to turn a fly over.

The casting suggestion is to always remember it is the stop of the rod that makes the line go. Accelerate smoothly and then use an especially abrupt stop. Don't jerk your rod to get it going and do a weak stop. That will throw knots easily. Want to get the line going smoothly as possible and stop suddenly to roll out a nice tight loop.

Finally, for dead drifting dries - and spinners need an absolute dead drift - try aiming for a spot 2 ft or 3 ft above the water and let the fly gently float down from a spot above the water.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

I've done pretty well at eliminating wind knots for most flies but I still make a mess of my tippet pretty quickly when fishing spinners. Can you add to your already good advice for this problem?

Thanks,

Tom

JeffK's advice is spot on. Remember, you're typically fishing spinner patterns early or late without the sun on the water, so you can go up one tippet size in strength. Sometimes you will need 6X, but often 5X or even 4X will do just fine. Also, fewer false casting will reduce the spin you get on your tippet. I agree wholeheartedly with Jeff on casting. Most anglers have the bad habit of very gently casting a dry fly, especially when they don't need to make a long cast. Don't do that, cast your fly like you mean it or you will never get your leader and tippet to turn over. I don't care if you need to cast 20' or 70', accelerate through the cast and stop suddenly and transfer that energy from the rod to the fly to lay out the line straight. If you're still getting line twist, and you will with a poly wing or snowshoe or hackle wing spinner pattern, then take the time now and then to let it untwist. Also, by not forcefully casting your fly, you will lose accuracy and therefor wind up drifting over or near the fish far too often, making them fly shy. Make that first cast count, and if you cast too far, simply slide the fly into line and let it drift over the fish's head.

 

[JeffK]

I guess great minds think alike! Some days I even pull back a little to get the fly line to really lay out. The old hand squeeze is the subtle version, but a even a little pull back with the wrist can help. Easy to overdo it, but need to get the line out straight.

BTW, I see a lot of spinner feeders right where a foam line pushes the bugs against the bank, especially if there are overhanging branches or downed tress for cover. These can be real tight spots where you need to punch a fly in. No gentle flips here.

 

[flyI4]

All good stuff.

Also, as Corndog pointed out a few weeks ago, having a variety of spinner patterns is important and is arguably the ONLY fly you need (but in different pattern styles) during any given day. Having CDC wings, hackle wings, bring zylon wings for night time/non picky fish, and so on will allow you to catch fish on spinners that are perceived as both cripples & spinners. Hackle wing spinners are especially good for taking fish during a hatch when the spinners are not on the water yet.

A little trick during a tough hatch is to cut one of the wings off of a rusty spinner and fish it as a cripple. It looks just like a dun that has had the wing crippled to the side and the fish will eat it up. You'll want to use a spinner that has a thicker wing for this because the 1 wing has to be dense enough to float the fly. Also, this trick gives you a reason to have spinners in not just "rusty" ,but the actual body color of the dun. This way, the fish will be more likely to mistake the fly as an emerger/cripple.

 

[GARYB]

I like using a spinner in the morning when nothing is hatching yet. Once the hatches are steady trout eat spinners all the time
not just the evening spinner fall.

 

[lightenup]

I didn't know there were any secrets.....I tie them on my tippet, cast it, if I am lucky I will get a dead drift and catch a fish....

 

[Trout Guy]

A little trick during a tough hatch is to cut one of the wings off of a rusty spinner and fish it as a cripple.

Now thats something new that I have to try! Good shit bro!

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Now thats something new that I have to try! Good shit bro!

Or dub the body to match the current hatch, but tie it spinner style and then cut off the one wing. That's another great cripple pattern. Especially on early, cold spring days or on windy days when there are lots of cripples on the water. Insect cripples that is, not mental cripples like so many that post here

 

[Thursthouse]

Or dub the body to match the current hatch, but tie it spinner style and then cut off the one wing. That's another great cripple pattern. Especially on early, cold spring days or on windy days when there are lots of cripples on the water. Insect cripples that is, not mental cripples like so many that post here

Pretty sure this is directed at me :dizzy:

 

[madison]

Rusty,
Snowshoe rabbit is deadly for the wings, you are preaching to the choir my man!
A tan or grey spinner sometimes is key when those delaware fish are putting on the full Douch Mode
Mads