Spinner Rigs are one of the most effective live bait rigs for covering water. They also work great with a variety of soft baits as well.
A spinner rig will usually include a monofilament snell then a blade and clevise with some beads, and usually a multiple hook harness. The Snell length can vary depending on the situation. While most retail rigs use monofilament for the line, some anglers make their own and will use flourocarbon, braid or one of the newer super lines. Some rigs are made for pike and/or muskie and it will be made of wire to prevent bite-offs.
Spinner rigs (also known as crawler harnesses) are very popular for trolling. You can troll for many different types of fish, but most anglers use these rigs to troll for walleye and panfish.
Live Baits
Leeches, worms and minnows work great. Other bait fish will also work well on these rigs.
A curly tail grub and spinner rig is a great combination if you want some action. Depending on the size of the grub, you may end up catching panfish, bass, trout, pike, walleye and many other fish too.
While the action with some of these soft plastic minnow baits doesn’t look too great, you don’t need a lot of action to draw strikes since the spinner is doing most of the work. You’ll be surprised how on some days you will catch just as many fish or more with one of these minnow baits that doesn’t have a swimming tail verse a minnow bait that has a swimming tail.
Smaller swimbaits can work great on a spinner rig, however, most spinner rigs are not made large enough to hold a swimbait on it’s hooks. You may have to make your own, however, a better option would be to use an underspin and swimbait.
A spinner rig and leech is a good way to fish. Most anglers use this technique for walleye, but you will catch some panfish and bass too.
Some curly tail worms fit these spinner rigs great and can be used for walleye, bass and other fish too.
A spinner rig can be effective with finesse worms, especially when fishing for walleye and sauger. Some of the finesse worms with a curly tail look very good on a spinner rig.
Some of the finesse-sized floating worms look great when casted or trolled on a spinner rig. It’s a great setup for walleye and bass, but will catch big panfish and other fish too.
Spinner rigs and/or underspins are great for casting and trolling ringworms. A steady retrieve works great for walleye and northern pike. You will also catch plenty of bass this way too.
Like the swimbaits, most spinner rigs aren’t made for the average sized swimming worm. So, either make your own or search for manufacturers that have some rigs with larger hooks. The better option may be to just use an underspin and swimming worm.
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