Brrrr........it must be in the 50's with the wind chill..........a wee bit cold this morning for the morning ride so maybe another cup of joe and talk some fishing. Shock brought up jig spinners as a windy shore fishing option and I agree wholeheartedly.

Jig spinners are going to be a focus for me this summer and to that extent I have "stocked" up. Tough to find a jig spinner to add to a jig which is quality. I detest the typical cheap double wire wrap of most jig spinners complete with cheesy crummy barrel swivel for the blade.....blah! Double wire wraps create oval tie off points instead of round which means you have to go up on your lb test to create a secure connection (same as a split ring). Very hard to find an "R" bend tie off complete with a ball bearing swivel for the blade........but I stumbled on these which fit the bill very nicely.

slayer products

Now with an "R" bend a loop knot or free swinging presentation isn't really an option.......or is it? Get some aquarium air tubing and cut a tiny collar of sorts and slip it on and over the "R" bend. As per the loop knot.......I am a fan of the perfection loop knot but as with any loop knot you sacrifice some strength. So the simple discreet solution is to add a fas-snap and clip to your "R" bend. Nice!

I like Shocks set-up of a 3/4 or 1 oz jig head and a jig spinner in the wind. But if that wind creates a bow in the line a jig spinner which is tied direct via a knot may come in slightly twisted to one side. That will not happen if your lure is free swinging.......better!

As per trailers I also agree with Shock that a twister tail is tops........I like Kalins and I like them big. The 5" model is what I like........Shock likes white (tough to beat) but I like the white with the red collar. But I like all the colors actually ;-)

The Slayer bent arms come with gold blades which should be option #1 but I have spent a little bit more than I should of on custom blades and have matched blades, jig heads and grubs.......purty little works of art. Blade size and design (willow vs colorado) is up to the angler as a myriad of options are out there.

As per the jig head I go premium (of course I do). Jig weight is up to the circumstance but I demand a wide gap black nickel super sharp hook. I have been monkeying around with custom paint jobs via powder paint and they are sort of sweet especially the heads which were already painted and another differing color added over the top. Groovy baby!

Another tip is to use a touch of super glue to secure the plastic to the jig head. Otherwise after several fish or repeated casts they will start to work loose and slide down.......no good! Don't let the teens use the glue........hard to reel with your thumb and forefinger glued together ;-)

Anyway........jig spinners are hugely effective and take walleye, smallies and pike. Plus they are largely snag free and easy to fish........throw them out and ease them in. While perfect for a beginning or young angler (single hook is also good) they will take trophy fish and should not be dismissed lightly. Quite a few years ago in Boundary waters Journal there was a full page picture of a gal and a rather huge walleye.......I believe that fish was taken on a jig spinner and a white power pro grub at the base of a falls in Woodland Caribou PP........they do work and that rather well.

I like Steve 'Slevad' spin JIGS.

I use jig spinners religiously in the summer. I usually slow troll about 1.7 to 1.9 mph. Walleyes, crappies, bass, sunfish and of course pike will hammer these. I usually tip the jig with a fake minnow.

I have a cabin in the Alexandria Area and I do quite well with all species of fish on jig spinners but I've used them in the boundary waters on three different trips and haven't had as much success as I was hoping....and I can't figure out why.

MT,

Which Slayer Spinner bade setup would you suggest for walleye fishing?

The "Junior" and "Original" both come in #4 blades ( Colorado is what I prefer) . But Junior comes in a smaller R-Bend spinner and "Original" with a larger R-bend spinner. Both models are used for targeting REDFISH.

jig spinners has always been 1 of my favs, and it's 1 of very few lures that can run through milfoil infested lakes , like we have in the metro area. as the year moves on i'll move from a 3" tail to a 5" twister type tail.

quote Wally13: "
MT,


Which Slayer Spinner bade setup would you suggest for walleye fishing?


The "Junior" and "Original" both come in #4 blades ( Colorado is what I prefer) . But Junior comes in a smaller R-Bend spinner and "Original" with a larger R-bend spinner. Both models are used for targeting REDFISH.
"

Your guess is as good as mine........in the past I have used Northlands Mimic minnow jig spins to good effect and have only in the past few months put an intense focus on this. Although the Slayer jig spins target the Redfish crowd I don't see any particular reason they wouldn't excel in fresh water. The Slayer jig spins have a slightly thicker wire which would hamper vibration from smallish blades but I don't especially gravitate towards small blades anyway.......... It just occurs to me I am advocating something I have not even used yet (lol)........now thats confidence! I have done quite a bit of experimenting with all sorts of trailers and have come to the conclusion that a twister tail is the way to go. A 5" Mugambo grub and a 3/4 oz jig head with a slayer arm looks flat out deadly. I suppose we shall see but sometimes you can just tell.

I have used them in the canal in front of my house and they look absolutely dynamite! I may have even caught a few small bass. I picked up both the short arm and the full size........I don't have enough experience to suggest one over the other. They both seem like they hold promise.

I have went through numerous other models (at least 4) before I landed these. I will need to look into what Overthehill (what hill? I don't remember no stinkin hill) suggests > the Steve Slevad spin jigs.

Checked out the Slevad jig site.......Nice........looks like good jigs at a good price. He has some underspin jigs much like a Roadrunner set up......I have that base covered and thats a whole other story ;-)

I have always used jig spinners in small streams for members of the sunfish family... but you guys have taken it to a new level! Trolling with a very heavy head...mogambo grubs....following with my learning hat on.....

quote bassnet: "I have always used jig spinners in small streams for members of the sunfish family... but you guys have taken it to a new level! Trolling with a very heavy head...mogambo grubs....following with my learning hat on....."

Beetle spins! They are still used here on Lake Okeechobee to catch Shellcrackers in the spring. I couldn't figure out why my guide buddy was spanking me until I closely examined his beetle spin..........he had traded out the original swivel for a ball bearing model.......apparently it made a huge difference. Just after ice out in Michigan we used to catch bass in a golf course pond with larger beetle spins. That was pretty much all they would hit early on.

The bigger grubs want a bigger jig head IMO to keep them in the strike zone. My focus with jig spinners is primarily walleye (although they will take everything) so I want that lure near the bottom. QM and I mostly think alike with big bait=Big fish so I like the mugambo grub which is sort of fat. This package, 5" grub / 3/4 oz head, complete with the Slayer arms are perfect IMO.

If a guy wants a bit more finesse (#3 blades) you can look at the hildebrandt or Betts jig spins. But they have the double wire tie off which I generally dislike plus they have a cheap swivel for the blade. Aha!........I have just described the Mimic minnow jig spin which caught plenty of fish for me (double tie off / cheap swivel) so go figure. A word of warning.......at Tackle Warehouse they sell Kahale jig spinners which at first seemed like the ultimate light wire finesse jig spin,,,,,,,complete with R bend and ball bearing swivel. But the wire is very brittle and actually breaks in half while testing a knot!!

As per trolling I really don't see jig spins as my first choice. A strong exception would be a sparsely weedy flat or weed edge where I would ease along as the spin jig is fairly weed resistant and would make an excellent choice. Rather, I see Spin jigs, chatterbaits and Underspins as somewhat similar prospecting tools just bumping and easing them around near the bottom.

Taking notes on all of this!

quote HighnDry: "Taking notes on all of this!"

These have been around for a long time and are probably worth giving a hard serious look at as they definitely work........much like BP's little Cleo and QM's Lucky 13.........blasts from the past which flat out catch fish.

The in-fisherman crew had an article years and years ago about using short arm "Bass type" spinner baits with the skirts removed and using lip hooked live whole creek chubs as the trailer. Very good rig and quite versatile........even after the bait dies from repeated casts it still works. Cut a tiny round piece of hardish plastic to stick on the hook after the bait is on (to keep it from being cast off).

The simple fact of the matter is walleye are very susceptible to spinner blades for whatever reason. Probably more walleye caught on crawler harnesses than everything else put together if you really think about it.

I have probably about a 1/2 dozen (OK maybe a dozen) going for the trip this summer along with an equal amount of Chatterbaits and Underspin type jigs.........all similar tools I suppose. More casting this summer and a bit less trolling.

quote ynneb9: "I use jig spinners religiously in the summer. I usually slow troll about 1.7 to 1.9 mph. Walleyes, crappies, bass, sunfish and of course pike will hammer these. I usually tip the jig with a fake minnow.


I have a cabin in the Alexandria Area and I do quite well with all species of fish on jig spinners but I've used them in the boundary waters on three different trips and haven't had as much success as I was hoping....and I can't figure out why. "

I will render a guess.......your trolling at your Alexandria area cabin lake has a continuous flat bottom? If you are trolling jig spinners in canoe country and not scoring I would say you are not fishing them near the bottom which, IMO would be a must and why I wouldn't reach for them as a trolling option............ unless it was a sparse weed flat or weed edge (fairly shallow). In that instance I could still ease over the tops of them as they typically feel secure in the weeds.

I picture using Jig spinners in canoe country right near the bottom, say within 18". Not saying it can't be done trolling just might be harder is all than casting them.