spinner making

[bauer buoy]

I would like to get into making my own casting spinners. I've been looking at all the materal and the spinning tools to get. what is the price difference of getting all that or buying the lures themselves. I need some good advice before getting into something terrible. I know it will cost more just to get started. But will it be cheaper all the way around. :pray:

[CRD4Liberty]

Tool wise it doesn't cost much to make spinners. All the bends can be made with a decent set of needle nose pliers. I use the LeadMaster pliers I've had on the boat for years to bend my wire.
Components are considerably more expensive than they were when Jed Davis and others were experimenting with spinners. Still there are combos you can come up with that aren't readily available on production spinners that are very effective, especially for summer steelhead. Years ago a #5 silver winter steelhead spinner cost about $.51 to build, I don't even try to find out how much I spend for one now, still I think I don't do to bad if I don't figure my time into the equation.

[Nonates Buckheninigloo]

Pliers and good wire cutters. Try bimart
Body , blade, hook, shaft, bearings, clevis that is what you will need to make one spinner. Try R&B and tell him how much you want to spend he should be able and willing to put together a package based on where and what you will be using them for.
Now add in colored tape and tubing per time of year and water conditions
you may be paying close to the same as store bought but the quality and service you get localy cant be beat. I ussualy spend no less than forty bucks to get an order to cover me for the season, and i always have some left over.

:twocents:

[Todd]

Definitely learn to make your own...a pair of needlenose and your fingers are all the tools you need.

Besides buying higher quality components than most commercially made spinners come with, you can also experiment with different size/finish combos.

Buy enough materials to make a pile of spinners and you might end up spending as little as half of buying quality pre-built spinners!

Fish on...

Todd

[Hunt'nFish]

I agree......definately worth making your own. You can make differant patterns for differant water depths & current flows. I used to fish the Big D nearly every weekend from Aug on and found that I could make just the right spinner for every hole. My favorite was a Metric pattern w/ a variety of blade styles and sizes to sink and bounce perfectly w/o getting hung up too much.

Back about 91, I bought one of the local wire tools from BC Anglers on McLoughlin. (At least that's the name I recall) Money well spent. Produced piles of spinners of all sizes and colors over the years and landed a pile of chrome on them as well.
I used to make a Metric clone for about 25cents and laid many of them at the rock alter of the Fish Gods.

Question....is that outfit next to Fishermans Marine in OC still there?
What other places can you find spinner parts in bulk bags?
Local always seemed cheaper than mail order back then. Is it still so today?
Hunt'nFish

[steelheadslayer]

That outfit next to OC Fishermans is gone, BC Tackle is it's name. I've heard they moved up to 82nd and then just have mailorder now, I can't confirm this.

I get all my components from Rob Brown at R&B Tackle. Tell him what you need and want and he'll have the right suggestion on sizes, colors and methods on which suystem you're fishing. His components are top notch and the price is very good with an ifish discount.

PM him and see what he can do for you. I use ther Twis Tech wire former, they are a lot more now than when I got mine.

[Michelle K]

The place is called B C Angling Post, and it is now located in Gladstone (east of 205). It is not mail order only-you can still walk in and get what you need. Fisherman's Shack in Monmouth also has a good selection. Don't know the address but they have a website if you want more info about them.

[steelheadslayer]

Thanks for the clarification Michelle, I was just going by what rumor mill gossip I heard. Glad to hear you guys are still in business.

[shorthair]

You can get parts at jansnetcraft online reasonable prices too. :cheers:

[Hunt'nFish]

Thanks Michelle! Yep they are the ones that I've gotten all my stuff from....including their wire forming tool. Well worth the investment.
I will also say, because they partnered w/ local screw machine outfits, thier prices beat what you could get mail order. Particularly if you bought by the 500pc packs. And since I supplied my family w/ their spinners, I had no problem using them up. Even made a little bit to re-invest in more material.

Spinner making is a lot of fun. Even made up some shrimp spinners & Thumpers for salmon.
Also used the skill to make bottom walkers for walleye.....but honestly I can buy them just as cheap.
Hunt'nFish

[Jakiedog]

Be careful about buying pre-cut short lengths of wire. The tackle shops will cut a 4" length and package 25 or so. Some have one eye already complete for you. The problem lies in the fact that that wire was previously in a 300 foot roll. The cut wire still has a bend in it.

So if you buy a package of wire, open it up, roll one end in your fingers. If the other end flails around, you know it's bent. Don't buy it.

BC angling has 3' straight sections that I buy. Another local shop sells the pre-cut packaged ones that are bent. Beware...

[tatered]

all good info! Pliers are a good way to go. If you were to consider a tool for making spinners I would consider the twist tech. You can really grind them out in 1/4 the time plus make a lot of other things as well. It is an investment and I would try the pliers first. Just my :twocents:

[Pacific Fisher]

You will be able to build better spinners for 1/3 the cost of retail. Make sure you buy genuine silver and gold plated blades.
Round nose pliers wrok a little better than regular needlenose.

[jig4herring]

I would like to get into making my own casting spinners. I've been looking at all the materal and the spinning tools to get. what is the price difference of getting all that or buying the lures themselves. I need some good advice before getting into something terrible. I know it will cost more just to get started. But will it be cheaper all the way around. :pray:

The best place to buy your spinner parts is directly from the mfg, The Worth Company, minimum order is 100 of the same parts. you can get everything you need, they will also send you a catalog.
Thats where all the distributors get their parts. Terry Salem :twocents: