making a french spinner "inline"

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]You betcha they work in the salt. During my years in SoCal I fished spinners in the surfline a lot. Got lots of barred surf perch, a few corbina, some small calicos and sandies in some areas, and even some flatties. In fact, when the halibut are in shallow, you can catch some substantially above legal size. Tough to beach them though, with the light lines you typical fish with in the surf. Probably my most "interesting" fish I caught on a spinner from shore was a big nasty cabezone, up near Carpinteria near some rocks.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Take an asssortment of sizes, in both gold and silver blades. If you use colored bodies or dressed (hair or feathers) tail hooks, use oranges, yellows, reds, whites or chartreuse. Depending on the season and the clarity of the water, colors can add to your fish count.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you fish them from the shore, you usually don't have to wade out and power cast beyond the last wave, like a lot of the heavy surf rod guys do. There are lots of good fish in close, especially on the calmer days. Look for channels and troughs within easy casting distance. Cast just beyond them, after a wave has passed and then retrieve slowly through the deeper spots, letting the backwash work the spinner. Hang on, because the fish hit going away as they move in and out with the waves.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]During the fall, when the Santana winds blow offshore, the surf lays down and the water is clear enough on many beaches to see the bottom for a ways out. It is great sport to watch the fish chase the spinner. It scares the heck out of ya when a big flattie suddenly erupts from the sand to snarf the lure.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]By the way, if you make some big spinners, big enough for largemouth, northerns or muskies, you can sling them for offshore stuff too. I got some nice barries, bonito and calicos around Catalina on a couple of spinner tossing trips. Hooked up to a yellow once, but my 10 pound line didn't hold up to the rock he found.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I like to use Colorado or Indiana blades on the stuff for surf fishing. For bigger spinners and bigger fish, I go with willowleaf blades. You can crank them faster and they flutter nicely, without too much drag in the water. I think they look better to the bigger fish too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Oh yeah, one application for saltwater that most people would never think of...jig spinners vertically...with or without a piece of bait. They are great for shallow water bottom fish. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I actually make a line of spinners I call "jingle jigs". I add a short length of wire, with a spinner blade, to a jig head (plain or dressed). With a plastic grub added, they work fine without bait added. On the "bait bug" style, add a bit of "sweetener" to increase the effectiveness. Fish them just off the bottom, bouncing them up and down.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I also have a lot of other spinner innovations. I pour some kinds of jig heads with a length of wire coming out the top. I cut off the eye of the hook, on the finished jig head, and then use the wire to make a spinner (see pic). I also use single hooks on many spinners, to increase hooking and holding potential on larger fish. These are usually dressed with chenille, hair, feathers and/or flashabou. The single hook also makes it easier to add a piece of crawler, shrimp or other bait.[/#0000ff]
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[red][size 4]ME LIKE SPINNERS[/size][/red]
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