There are some situations in which spinner rigs are more effective thanothers. When the walleyes are active and spread out, spinner rigsproduce very well. A spinner rig can usually be worked quicker than astraight rig, which is important if the fish are scattered. The fasteryou can move a bait, the more fish you can show it to. The blade willalso attract walleyes from a longer distance.Covering water quickly and keeping the presentation in the fish zone arethe key elements. Power-trolling bottom bouncers and spinnersaccomplish both. In dirty water, the fish obviously can't see as far. The blade willhelp in this condition. It throws flash and vibration, which enablesthe fish to find a bait much easier. In dirty water, use a blade thatis larger and brighter than a blade used in clear water. Orange andchartreuse blades are good in stained water; silver and white are goodin water that has more visibility. When using spinners, snell length is important. The snell length isthe distance from the swivel to the hook. When moving quickly, as ageneral rule increase the snell length. The faster you go, the lower thebait will ride. A faster presentation is usually called for in clearwater, and you want the bait up high enough so the fish can see it fromfarther away. Also, walleye are more likely to go up for a bait than godown for it. In dirty water, the walleyes will often be closer to the bottom. Thiscalls for a shorter snell that will get the bait right down in thewalleye's face. One important thing I’ve found out about spinners is that the speed isvery critical. If you’re getting bites from perch, sheepshead or otherrough fish you’re going too slow. Just bump the speed up enough so theyleave it alone. Sometimes, if you bump the speed up you don’t even haveto move spots and you’ll start catching walleyes. The bait of choice is a big juicy nightcrawler, twirling behind aspinner on a double hook rig. Leeches and minnows can also be used, butit’s tough to beat a crawler, especially during early and late spring.To drag the whole package to the bottom and keep it in the fish zone, avariety of lead in different sizes and shapes is available. Yet, thebottom bouncer, an L shaped piece of wire with a lead weight on one endand an eye for attaching the line to the other end, has been the mostpopular approach for trolling spinner rigs. Bottom bouncers work wellover rocks, sand, gravel and mud, shallow to moderate depths. Getting the bait to where the walleyes live has also been a piece ofthe puzzle. Until recently many anglers would use a 3-way rig to offerthe spinners to walleyes suspended off the bottom. The basic rig features a three-way swivel with two attached lines a 12to 24 inch drop line with a 1 to 3 ounce bell sinker and a 30 to 40 inchleader tied to your bait or lure. The drop line positions your offeringa set distance above the bottom, while the leader provides an invisibleconnection between the swivel and lure. Use a 1 2/3 to 3 ounce weight to maintain trolling drifting speeds of 11/2 to 2.5 miles per hour with spinners or crankbaits, or to hold livebait steady in current. Lighter weights 1/2 to 1-ounce work better withsubtle livebait rigs or floating jigheads fished slower with frequentpauses. The 3-way is a good rig to use when the walleyes are spread out, andit's easy to put together. Simply tie the line from your reel to oneeye of a 3-way swivel. The dropper holding a bell sinker is tied toanother eye and the line for the bait or lure is tied to the third eye. A large area can be covered quickly and effectively with 3-ways. Inwater 20 to 40 feet deep, it might be necessary to go with up to 4ounces of weight, while in shallow water only a half-ounce sinker isnecessary. The key is, enough weight should be used to maintain contactwith the bottom at whatever speed you're moving. Sometimes, when the wind is low and the fish are finicky about theoffering I will downsize to a 1/4-ounce sinker, or I will trim off ahook on a 1/4-ounce jig to replace the dropper weight. This also is theweight that I would use on a Storm Thunderstick pulled on a long snellto make these walleyes more aggressive. Experiment with dropper and snell length. The dropper is the linegoing from the swivel to the sinker. When the walleyes are tight to thebottom, use a short dropper, sometimes as short as 8 inches. Othertimes, when the fish are riding high, go with a dropper that is about aslong as the distance of the fish from the bottom. The snell is the line extending from the swivel to the bait or lure.In clear water, a long snell is usually more productive. Start with a6-foot snell and experiment from there. With the aide of my Lowrance LMS 350 I can identify good structure topull spinners through. I will keep my eye on the depth and when it islegal I will use a multi-line approach. One rod is held in my hand theother in a rod holder. The one that is in the rod holder is called a"dead stick". Often the "dead stick will out-produce the hand heldrod. A lot of the time with the dead stick you actually give the fish alittle more time to suck in the bait. Sometimes with the hand held rodI become over anxious and set the hook prematurely. The dead stick ismore forgiving and allows the walleye to set the hook naturally. Power trolling Rainbow Spinners will increase more walleyes in the boatthis spring and summer. Keep these simple ideas in mind and remember topractice selective harvest.