Spinner rigging--snell tying

[BradB]

I'm going to do a little practicing this weekend, and learn to tie my own spinner rig snells. I'd like to hear what you guys like for hook styles & brands & sizes, line types, and knots. I'm going to practice the double hook crawler rig and try to develop a reasonable proficiency at that.

Any tips?

[srj]

I use 14 lb supermono for leader material--it doesn't seem to fray as quickly below the clevis like many lines do. There are a number of little gizmos (rudys sneller, etc) that makes it very easy to actually snell rather than tie knots. Use any of the modern supersharp hooks with an offset eye--I usually use size 2. There are lots of colored hooks, beads and blades available. Also, a ball bearing swivel seems to help prevent the dreaded snarf.

[Juls_WI]

LAST EDITED ON May-03-01 AT 02:20PM (CST)[p]I like 17# flourocarbon for the leader material.
#2 snell hooks
and I don't use any tools to tie them. I use a snell knot which is pretty simple. Easier to tie than to explain, but here goes...

holding the hook between your thumb and finger in a verticle position, so that the eye is on top..
thread the line from the top of the eye down thru, so that you have maybe a 1/4 inch of line below the hook. Hold that tab end against the shank with your fingers. Now take the other end of the line and wrap it around the shank, starting by the eye, and working your way down the shank about 7-10 times (I always go 10 wraps). Take the end of the line and put it back thru the eye from the bottom going up.
Put your second hook on by threading the line thru from the bottom of the eye and up thru...get your placement of that hook where you want it, and hold it there like you did with the tab end of the line on the first hook. Make sure your hooks are lined up and straight in line together. Then wrap the line around the shank like you did the first one, and again thread the line from the bottom of the eye and up thru. That's it! You just made your first crawler harness. All you need to do now is add some beads and a clevis. A rule of thumb is to always have one more bead longer than your blade is from the hooks. Use quick change clevises. That way you can change blades without having to retie a new harness.

Have fun and good luck! Don't go poking yourself with those hooks...;-)

Juls
P.S. I always start with longer leaders (6-8'), so that I can shorten them later if need be. You can't make a short leader longer, but you can always make a long one shorter.

[ripper]

Everything he said. But I would tie on 3 hooks.

[Juls_WI]

Ahemmm...that would be "she said" ..;-)

In that case, if you want to add a third hook, you would simply follow the same pattern to tie on the third hook as you did for the second hook.

Juls

[mmillelacs]

I like 2 hook rigs, but i separate the two hooks far enough apart so that the second hook is down near the tail of the crawler, leaving the last 2 inches only of the crawler to wiggle

[BradB]

Thanks everybody! That's exactly what I was looking for. I am a bit surprised that Juls uses 17 pound line--wow! I would have thought that 4,6,8 pound mono would be more the range for bait spinners.

[Juls_WI]

Not when you fish waters with a lot of zebra muscles..;-)

Juls

[Fuzzy]

We use a 10 lb flouro or Maxima (depends of clarity) but our tag hook is always a VMC treble. Too many tripgrip failures to ever allow them in the boat again(on big fish only). Go with
Exchange-able clevises so you can fly change blade size and colour. Mix in smile blades. You are now in a new world of fun!

Keep the net wet!

[ripper]

Sorry Juls!!

[cmb]

I do the same but ofset the hook alignment by 45degrees or so and typicaly use #1 hooks by VMC or Mustad

[djn]

Juls,

I also tie my spinners snelling the hooks the same way, but seem to have a problem with the snell part coming undone once in a while. I have also heard off a lot of other people doing it this way so it must work alright. I think the problem is after you wrap around the hook and pull the tag end back up thru the hook there is nothing to hold the wraps unto the hook except the tension on the line. I have been bringing the tag end back thru the hook eyelet a second time and then running the line thru the loop that is created to help keep it from slidding back and loosening up the loops. The only problem with this is that the hooks don't always stay straight on the rig, they kinda hang out to the side. Any suggestions or am I the only one that has trouble with them coming undone sometimes.

[Juls_WI]

I honestly couldn't tell you what your doing wrong. I have never had a problem with my snells coming undone like that. Maybe it's the line your using? It's the only thing I can think of that might cause this. All I can say is that the line I use is pretty stiff, and is unable to work itself back thru the eye enough to let the wraps come undone.

What kind of line are you using? What pound test?

Juls

[GORD]

Quick change clevises and carry a variety of blades. If your knots come undone.. be sure you wrap them tight. A drop of glue on your knots works.

[Dunn]

Juls gave the best explanation for how to tie your hooks to your leader.

Now, for hooks I use a #4 Gamakatsu Octpus style hook. The slanted eye gives the hook a better angle to hang directly inline with the line and other hooks. The size of the hooks depends though, just go with the size that is most comparible to your fish size.

For line I use 14 lb Berkley Trilene Vanish. For a bit dirtier water, or for bigger fish that are more abrasive to the line I use a 14 lb Berkley Trilene XT.

Leader length is important. On a bottom bouncer rig I usually vary the lengths, and keep them a bit shorter then I would using snap weights off planer boards. On the planer boards I stick with a steady 6-15' lead on the harness. I like the 10' personally, but don't worry about changing to find what works for you. For bottom bouncer leads I use anywhere from 15" or so up to about 6-8'.

Good luck and if you have any other questions please don't hesitate to email me.
-----------------
Marshall J. Dunn
Bluewater Research, Inc.
(OffShore Release)
N.P.A.A. # 701

[Chad]

Brad,

Use heavier line(12-15lb) when tying spinner rigs. the reason is the the thicker line will add more bouyance. It will cause the rig to run off the bottow a little more. In most waters fish are not that line sensitive that it will effect your catch rate. The fish are going to be keying on the spinner and live bait. Basically the reason people use light line is to allow the live bait to move more natural. Spinner rigs do not require that. Thicker line will also be more resistant to wear by the clevis spinning on it.

I always like to use #1 hooks. The bigger the hook the larger the gap. You may want to downsize if you are only catching smaller fish under 2lbs but the 31 hooks are not too big. I have seen small fish on camera and they take the whole works in pretty easy. Only reason for smaller hooks would be for more action on your bait.

The nice thing about Juls knot (I use it also) is that if you decide to dismantle the rig you just back the line thru and the hooks come un tied.

Chad

[Jim/UT]

If you have problems with the knot untying, try a drop of super glue. This is a very strong knot and fast to tie, but it has been known to untwist itself from time to time. The superglue will fix that.

I use 14lb Trilene XT. If I am doing small blades I like to use a folded clevis and the last bead under the clevis is a super micro glass bead. This acts like a ball bearing, gives you super spin. I like the micro bead so much I use it on everything I tie, but I really notice the difference on the small blades (#1 - #3).

Jim

[Eyez]

Show me how you tie them sometime. I used to have that same problem with my old snell knot, but I changed knots about 6 years ago. It's nothing special, but it should solve your problem.


Eyez

[rich]

brad if you think 17lbs is we tie short rigs (same method) using 30lb nylon coated wire about 14 inches long with a cheap swivel.by using wire you dont get caffing of your leader from the celvis if you use metal celvises.