Inline spinners are a popular choice among anglers for targeting a wide variety of fish species in just about any body of water. These lures mimic the appearance of prey fish and they can be highly effective at enticing fish to strike. Read on to learn what an inline spinner is, how it works, and why this style of lure is so versatile. We’ll even throw in some tips on choosing the right one for your needs.
What is an inline spinner and how does it work?
Spinners are a type of fishing lure which have a rotating blade that can spin freely around a central wire axis. As you reel a spinner through the water, the twirling blade causes a lot of flash and vibration in the water that attracts the attention of nearby fish.
The flash from a shiny metal blade rotating in the water mimics sunlight reflecting off the scales of a swimming baitfish, the spinning motion is comparable to the erratic movement of injured prey, while the vibration can be felt through the lateral line of a fish, helping them to hone in on your lure.
Along with generating flash and vibration, the spinning metal components produce an audible tinging sound in the water, making the lure that much more noticeable.
Watch the underwater clip below to see the flash and hear the ting. Too bad you can’t feel the vibration.
Furthermore, when reeled in a stop and go fashion, the drastic difference in action between a spinner starting and stopping can activate the prey drive of a fish. This is similar to a dog chasing after something that begins running, or a cat pouncing on prey in a moment of vulnerability. You can retrieve other lures similarly, but few have such a dramatic change in action.
When combined, these features can make inline spinners irresistible to fish, especially aggressive predator species such as trout and bass, which are well known for being provoked into reactionary strikes.
Top Strike spinners maximize all of those attributes. The propeller turns more rapidly than conventional blades, and it always spins – even on the slowest retrieve. It also helps ensure the main blade always does too. You’d be surprised how many spinners just don’t want to start turning.
Additionally, the top of the propeller throws a forward flash that’s extremely visible when reeling through feeding lanes where fish are looking up-current for their next meal, and the bottom of the propeller helps reflect light off the main blade.
If you’d like to read more about our design choices, we’ve written an article detailing the reasons why we think these are the best fishing spinners available today.
Why spinners are so versatile for fishing
If you’re wondering what types of fish will bite a spinner, the answer is simple: essentially all of them. One of the reasons that inline spinners are so effective is their ability to be used in many fishing scenarios. They’re one of the most versatile lures anglers have in their arsenal and they can be used to catch panfish such as bluegill, perch and crappie, as well as game fish including trout, bass, pike, muskie and walleye.
Spinners can be fished in every type of water, whether it’s moving or still, murky or clear, shallow or deep. This includes rivers, streams, lakes and ponds. Just find where the fish are holding and you’re likely to pull something out.
They come in many sizes, blade shapes and color choices to help target the species you’re after, fit the water you’re fishing, and adapt to the weather conditions or time of day.
This type of lure can also be reeled with various methods to alter your presentation style. You can reel fast, slow, or somewhere in-between. You can reel with a stop and go pattern or jerk the rod while you’re retrieving. Then there’s flipping and jigging. Heck, you can even rig a spinner up to troll behind a boat.
Does the color of a spinner matter?
It can be overwhelming to wade through all the different types and sizes of inline spinners available today. Let’s go over some basics on choosing the right spinner for your needs. There are two main factors to consider in selecting a spinner: color and size. Fortunately, both of these are simple enough to sort through.
In our experience, silver or gold are the best picks in most situations. Their reflection is highly visible and they do the best job at mimicking the appearance of light shimmering off the scales of a baitfish. In low light situations such as fishing at night, switching to black, dark blue or dark purple can present a contrasting silhouette that is more visible.
Bright colors like white and chartreuse are generally productive as well. Other colors make sense when you know that your target species tends to be attracted to them. It’s also worth knowing the local food sources and feeding habits for your target species so you can match the color of what they are feeding on. Sometimes it can pay off to swap colors when you simply need to change your presentation.
All of that said, a 2015 study conducted on largemouth bass suggests that there’s not necessarily a huge difference in results between color selection. Visibility probably matters more than anything, though different colors can be more or less visible in different conditions. You’ll have to experiment.
Does lure colour influence catch per unit effort…?
The contemporary tackle box for recreational angling is packed with lures that cover the full spectrum of colours with the assumption that colour influences fishing success. Yet, there is little research that identifies how lure colour might influence capture rates or size-selectivity… Here we tested the effects of lure colour on catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE)…
Lures comprising six colours in three colour categories (i.e., dark bream ‘blue’, leech ‘black’; natural cigar ‘red’, wasp, bright pearl ‘white’, sherbert ‘orange’), which were individually fished for 20-min intervals multiple times per day. Data analysis revealed that CPUE was similar across individual colours and categories. However, bright colours appeared to selectively capture larger fish than either dark or natural lure colours.
Fisheries Research Volume 172, December 2015, Pages 1-6 – via ScienceDirect
What size spinner should I use?
Choosing the right spinner size can be a little more challenging but if you’re only going to buy one weight we think 1/4oz spinners give the most flexibility. They’re just light enough to work through pools in shallow streams and just heavy enough to get down deep in a lake. They’re also small enough for panfish to bite and yet you’re just as capable of reeling in a trophy steelhead.
Sizing down to 1/8oz or 1/16oz makes sense if you want to work through every little pocket and riffle in a stream. These lighter spinners can also be easier for a beginner in shallow water because they don’t sink as rapidly and aren’t as difficult to keep off the bottom, especially if you’re making long casts. They’re also great for enabling slower retrieves when fish are sluggish in colder water.
Conversely, if you’re fishing parts of a lake that are more than 20-30 feet deep, sizing up to 1/2oz or beyond will make it easier to cast farther, get to the bottom sooner, and ultimately cover more water in less time.
Final words
The ability of inline spinners to generate flash, vibration and disturbance in the water is backed by nearly a century of success in catching fish. The variations in blades, sizes and colors make this style of lure great for targeting a wide range of species in every type of water. Given their utility and effectiveness in so many situations, it’s easy to see why spinners have remained a favorite among anglers around the world.
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