More than twenty years ago I was taught a great technique for rigging spinners for trout fishing. In reality this method can be used for rigging spinners for fish other than trout, but it is most effective when used in the flowing waters of a river or stream. The man who taught me this method was a bait fisherman and needed an efficient way to change from bait fishing to spinner fishing as fishing conditions changed.
The first thing to keep in mind when using spinners for trout fishing is that light line and small spinners should be employed. Your fishing line should be six-pound test at the heaviest, and your spinners should be between 1/12 and ¼ ounce. The spinners that you use should be the size of the quarry that trout normally eat, which is normally quite small.
Now, let’s get down to how to rig a spinner for trout fishing shall we? Start by grabbing the end of your line and cutting off a piece of line between eighteen and twenty four inches. Set this piece of line aside. Now tie a small barrel swivel onto the end of the line coming from the end of your rod, size 10 to 18 will suffice. Once your barrel swivel is attached, take the piece of line you cut off and tie this onto the opposite end of the barrel swivel.
At this point tie your spinner onto the other end of the piece of line you had previously cut off. What you have now is your spinner on the end of your line, and your barrel swivel twelve or so inches above your spinner. Having this barrel swivel between you spinner and the end of your rod will help prevent line twist and make the spinner perform as it was designed.
This way of rigging a spinner is very effective, but also very light. You’re going to need to add some weight to effectively cast your spinner rig. This is accomplished by adding split shot sinkers to your line above the barrel swivel. By adding split shot sinker you will get the necessary weight for casting.
This way of rigging a spinner for trout fishing helps to prevent line twist and allows your spinner to perform in the manner it was designed. This makes a huge difference in the number of bites you receive. Now you know how to rig a spinner for trout fishing. Give it a shot and find out for yourself just how effective this method is.