What Are The Best Spinners For Trout Fishing?

A question that I often get asked is, "what are the best spinners for trout fishing" and my answer usually consists of some manifestation of "it depends", so in this post I will outline some of the best spinners that I personally have used to catch trout so that you can make sure that you have at least one of these choices available to you the next time that you head out in search of some trout. Are these the only spinners that should be used? Of course not, but they are the ones that work for me and I know that they will do the same for you.

The first thing to remember about spinner fishing for trout is that using the exact same spinner all the time is usually not a very good idea. You want to experiment with spinner size, color, blade color, and even hook color depending on the season and what the trout are doing on a particular day. The second thing to keep in mind is the size of the spinner that is being used. In almost all instances when I am spinner fishing for trout I like to use a spinner that is fairly small, like 1/32 or 1/16 of an ounce.

In the spring of the year, when water flows are usually high and/or muddy I prefer a spinner with a slow action. One of the best manufacturers of in line spinners with a slow action is Panther Martin . I prefer my spinners to be "dressed" because I have always found that "dressed" spinners are more effective for freshwater trout, and in the springtime gold or black spinners seem to be a great way to go. Dark or florescent color pattern seem to work quite well during the spring of the year.
 
As we move into the summer and especially the fall of the year, faster actions spinners such as Rooster Tails and Mepps spinners begin to become more effective. During these times of the year the best and most effective spinners also seem to have silver or spotted blades and color patterns such as pink, white, and green are the way to go in the clear water conditions that are often found during the summer and fall.

The bottom line is that the best spinner for trout fishing is the one that catches trout on the day that you are fishing, which means that you need to have at least 6-10 different choices available to you in your fishing vest so that you can experiment until you find the best for that particular day. My general rule of thumb is to try one configuration for 30 or so minutes and if I don't catch any trout, I switch spinners until I find the one that the trout are looking for on that particular day.

How Effective Are Spinners For Trout?

I headed out to my favorite trout river this morning (the swan river) to do a little early season trout fishing before the river becomes too high and muddy to fish and I quickly discovered that live bait (usually my trout bait of choice) was not going to be effective.  So, after an hour or so of fishing without as much as a nibble, I surmised that between the air and water temperature, I needed to try something with a bit more of attracting power if I wanted to fool a lethargic trout or two.

 In situations such as this many times spinners are an effective trout bait choice, so I tied on one of the new Panther Martin marabou spinners . These spinners are said to be particularly effective on cloudy days, and this was a cool, cloudy day.  It didn't take long (about 30 minutes I would guess) until I had a nice eralt season rainbow trout on the line. 

I kept fishing spinners for the next couple of hours and caught a total of 8 rainbows.  None of them were huge, most were between 10 and 12 inches, but on what ended up being my next to last cast I hooked and landed a beautiful 17 inch rainbow trout.  All in all it ended up being a productive day on the river.  It's always good to get a productive day on the river in before the run off begins and the rivers become Un-fishable for a number of months. 

I'm often asked the question, " how effective are spinners for trout" and I often say, "it depends".  What I know for sure is that on this day spinners were not only effective, but were very effective for trout. 

Spinner Fishing - 3 Of The Most Effective Inline Spinners

If you spend any serious amount of time on the water attempting to catch fish, you undoubtedly know how effective insects can be as bait, but unless you are a fly fisherman, insect imitation baits can be hard to find and difficult to use. This is where inline spinners and spinner fishing come into play. For spin fishermen inline spinners can be as effective as artificial flies for fooling hungry fish, whether you are talking about trout, large and smallmouth bass, pan fish or even steelhead.
While there are various spinner fishing techniques that can be employed while using inline spinners, it is vitally important that you have an effective spinner choice attached to the end of your line. I have been using these unique fishing lures for more than twenty years and in that time have tried what seems like hundreds of different inline spinners while spinner fishing. Below I will outline 3 of the most effective choices so that you can make sure you've got one or all of them available to you the next time that you head out onto the water.

1. Worden's Rooster Tail - The Original, Tinsel, or Gold Blade Rooster Tail's fish-catching ability and construction is legendary. Superb detailing, excellent coloring and the hand-tied hackle tail provide a bait with as much detail as a hand-tied fly, which can take virtually any spinner fishing technique "to the next level."


2. Panther Martin Spinners - Panther Martin Original, Red Hook, Dressed, and FishSeeUv spinners are time tested and proven as being some of the best fishing lures for spinner fishing that can be found anywhere. The blades of these lures have a convex/concave design that literally attracts fish to them.


3. Mepps Aglia & Black Fury - The Mepps Aglia spinner is the original French spinner and has caught more trophy fish than any other inline spinner. You can get them plain, dresses, or w/ their popular "black fury" blades, all of which are effective for almost any species of freshwater fish.

The bottom line is that inline spinners and spinner fishing need to be a part of every serious spin fisherman's arsenal and the aforementioned choices are all "must haves."

Casting Trout Spinners

For the spin fisherman who enjoys fishing for and catching trout, such as rainbow, brown, and brook trout, one of the most effective techniques that can be employed involves casting small spinners. Casting trout spinners effectively involves more than simply casting a spinner into the water and retrieving that spinner if you want to consistently catch trout and in this article I will reveal some tips and tricks that will help you take your spinner fishing to the next level.

The first tip is to always tie your spinner directly to the end of your fishing line. If you are worried about your line becoming twisted, a small barrel swivel can be tied onto the end of your line and then a twelve to twenty four inch leader should be added with the spinner being tied to the end of the leader. Try not to use a snap swivel as it can disrupt the natural action of the spinner.

Next, make sure that you are using very light fishing line (I prefer two or four pound test) anytime that you are casting trout spinners. Trout have very keen eyesight and will shy away from anything that appears "out of the ordinary" and visible fishing line would certainly qualify as something "out of the ordinary" and will cost you bites from inquisitive trout.

The depth at which you fish your spinner is of the utmost importance as well and there are two ways to add weight to your line anytime that you are casting trout spinners. One is by adding a little lead tape twelve or so inches above the spinner itself and the other is by adding a few split shot sinkers to your line the same distance from the spinner. Although it's sometimes more difficult to find, lead tape is the better choice as it gets "hung up" much less often than split shot sinkers.

Finally, make sure that you vary the speed and motion at which you retrieve your spinner. You never know what "action" the trout will prefer on a particular day, so experiment with your retrieve until you find the method that's working best for the day that you are casting spinners. As you are reeling your spinner in try "snapping" your rod tip from time to time. This action imitates a wounded bait fish and often triggers a bite from a hungry trout. Make sure that you add these simple tips and tricks to your trout fishing memory bank for the next time that you head out casting spinners for trout.