Weighted vs. unweighted spinners

[Shaun Solomon]

I'm starting to pick up on trends in the local angling methods. Looks like most people use unweighted spinners and a dropper with some lead to help get it down. Why is that? It strikes me as needlessly complex rigging. Could anyone help me understand the reason or reasons for the weightless/dropper rig, beyond the old "that is how grandpa did it"?

Just to clarify, I have no problems with grandpa.

 

[coyo7e]

I can't effectively fish much without a weighted spinner from the bank, if i want to get more than a couple/few feet below the surface. Can't bottom-bounce spinners without weight.

The people using droppers seem to mainly have trolling rigs. So if you've got a boat, that's why. If you don't have a boat you're just begging for a horrific tangle on every other cast.

Even while trolling, there's a very specific technique to releasing your bait and then your weight and then your flashers without losing line tautness, because otherwise it just becomes a clusternest of fail.

 

[GaryP1958]

Remember all weights must be a minimum 18 inches above the lure!

 

[DirectDrive]

I'm starting to pick up on trends in the local angling methods. Looks like most people use unweighted spinners and a dropper with some lead to help get it down. Why is that? It strikes me as needlessly complex rigging. Could anyone help me understand the reason or reasons for the weightless/dropper rig, beyond the old "that is how grandpa did it"?

Just to clarify, I have no problems with grandpa.

Most experienced spinner fisherman (bank fisherman) will be using weighted spinners, designed for casting.
Unweighted spinners are used primarily for trolling where heavy cannonball weights are used to get to depth.

You may have been observing a band of n00bs trying to cast trolling spinners ?

 

[Berg03]

I like trolling spinners with weights for certain situations. Just depends where you are.

 

[brandon4455]

i fish both and catch fish on both in ever bay/tidewater i fish. i will say though,some places the fish prefer large unweighted trolling spinners and some places smaller weighted spinners work way better. i use anything between sizes 5 and 8. most places a bunch of weight isn't needed because chinook typically suspend and aren't very deep,and are very aggressive while in the salt so they'll chase. but a few select places they hug the bottom more,and in that case a half oz inline weight helps out. especially if you get strong tides where you are fishing.

it's also dependent on how big of water youre fishing. if youre fishing a fairly narrow river or bay section you don't need to cast far so smaller weighted spinners work fine. but a large river or bay you can cover more water with a weight and a trolling spinner.then you also have to factor in how slow or fast you like your spinners to roll. i like a slow medium retrieve with a lot of "thump" and vibration. most large spinners and trolling spinners have that action compared to what a blue fox has.


seems like one of those things that is just personal preference.whatever youre comfortable with will catch you fish.

my dad fishes size 5 blue foxes without weight everywhere he goes and catches fish.

but some people i know wont throw anything but trolling spinners.

 

[TimberTodd]

I like trolling spinners with weights for certain situations. Just depends where you are.

Exactly.

 

[bass]

Shaun, the unweighted spinners are for trolling. The amount of weight used is many ounces (far more than a weighted spinner). The nice thing about the unweighted spinners for trolling is that the dropper length sets how far your spinner is above the bottom. If you use a weighted spinner with a normal trolling setup odds are high that you will end up dragging the spinner on the bottom and snagging or fouling the blade.

For bank fishing, folks use weighted spinners and use the weight of the spinner and the speed of the retrieve to control the depth.

 

[Stonefish]

There are some spinners that are very light weight compared to others.
They are excellent for casting into frog water for coho both from the bank and a boat. That slow drop flutter can be deadly. My favorite is the Flash Glo.
A lot of coho have died over the years from eating them.
SF

 

[DirectDrive]

Stone, is that you ?
Flash Glo...that's an oldie.

Yep, there's all sorts of ways (and spinners) to fish for silver bullets.

Love to grip and rip the weighted stuff into the Desert Queen (Deschutes).
Summer Rite of Passage.

 

[Stonefish]

That would be me DD.

The Flash Glo is a oldie up it still produces. I always have a few in my box. Because of the light weight, they are excellent in shallow riffles as well.
I caught my biggest coho on a Flash Glo, just over 18 lbs on a Chehalis River trib.
I also really like the RVRFSHR spinners and Blue Foxes. A Blue Fox number 4 or 5 with a silver blade, blue body and small pink hoochie has produced well over the past ten years or so for me.
SF

 

[DirectDrive]

I do the homemade thing.
French.
About 1/2 oz.
#4 blade or so.
Torpedo body.
Love those freight train grabs.

Life is freakin good.
Back to the canyon this weekend.