Lets talk Spinners

[ChubbyMuffin 0]

I am interested in learning new materials and patterns for Spinners. Anyone have suggestions on what wing material works best and what patterns work best on the local rivers they fish? Pictures would be great if possible. Thanks in advance.

 

Red

[riffleriversteelheadslayer 0]

I usually just use antron or Z-lon for spinner wings

[ChubbyMuffin 0]

Thanks for the quick response. Thats how i tie them now. Sometimes with Grizzly hackle trimmed top and bottom also. Just looking for something different. Fish are smart! I tried some DNA material and it didn't float well and didnt keep its shape.

[Bruce Derington 0]

Comparaduns, or parachutes work well. Sometimes I use heavy hackle then trim top and bottom.

[Crackaig 0]

The single biggest thing that I have found to improve the number of takes to spinner pattens is my "Something for Nothing" spinner. The wing body and tails are tied as normal. The difference is the way the tails are split.

Many years ago Marc Petitjean showed me how he split tails. It is by far the best method I've seen. My adaptation to the method is to use florescent green or yellow floss for the splitting.

 

Tie the tails in as normal, on top of the hook shank. With your thumb nail push against the root of the tail to split them apart,nTake a length of floss (or doubled thread) between your thread and the bend of the hook. Fold the floss around the bend of the hook and lift it between the tails. Tie down the floss on top of the hook shank. To split the tails more pull on the loose ends of the floss. The advantage is that if you look under the hook shank you now have a nice bright imitation of the egg sack.

 

The first time I used these I had a small tub with a dozen in. I was teaching a friend to fish at the time. We came across a pool of grayling rising to spent flies. Graham said he had no spinners. I handed him the tub saying,

"There's some in there." He started to fish with the new pattens and I fished with the old ones in my fly box. Old ones without the egg sack imitation. He proceeded to out fish me on that pool by about four to one. There was much leg pulling went on, before he begrudgingly let me have one of my new spinners back. Then the tally evened. The only difference between the two pattens was the egg sack imitation.

 

It is difficult to prove the effectiveness of a modification to a patten. That episode convinced me that this was a definite improvement.

 

There is one other thing that I have found increases the number of fish rising to a spinner. Its not in how the spinner is dressed, rather how you tie it on. If you tie the fly on with a fixed loop knot rather than a tight knot the spinner is free to move more with the current. For this I use a Rapala Knot. It is more difficult to tie, and needs to be replaced more often. Otherwise it does give significantly better presentation.

 

Cheers,

C.

[williamhj 0]

I tie wings with both CDC and calf tail.

[JimE 0]

When you use CDC wings, do you use only CDC or do you back it with something like antron?

 

Or did you mean you use calf tail and CDC at the same time?

[williamhj 0]

No I use the separately. I haven't backed the CDC with anything, they make translucent wings. I use the calf tail for a Hex pattern and either tie the wings up Wulff style or splay them flat more like a spinner.

[tidewaterfly 0]

Spinner!

 

 

[sunsignarcher 0]

[sunsignarcher 0]

[ChubbyMuffin 0]

Thanks for the info Guys!

 

Red