Somewhat similar to spoons are the spinners which revolve on a wire shaft or a swivel. They are also very effective lures for many fresh- and salt­water fish and an angler should always carry a good assortment of these lures. They are easy to make and very inexpensive when made at home.

Here again, it doesn't pay to make the spinner blades themselves. The time and effort spent in cutting them out isn't worth it because you can buy all the spinner blades you want from many of the mail-order supply houses. They have them in stock in various shapes, sizes, and finishes and also carry the other parts needed such as wire, swivels, beads, clevises, body forms and weights, and split rings. You can buy the spinner blades by the dozen, gross, or thousand lots. Some of the blades cost about one cent apiece in the larger quantities. These are already stamped, shaped, and plated. You couldn't possibly make them for much less by cutting out the blades from sheet metal and then plating them. By buying the finished blades and the other parts all you have to do is assemble the spinners.

Spinner blades come in various shapes such as the Indiana, Colorado, Willow Leaf, June Bug, Kidney, and Propeller types. See Fig. 62. They usually run in size from No. 00 to No. 7 and up. The lower the number, the smaller the blade. Numbers 00, 0, and 1 are small sizes suitable for trout and panfish, while the larger sizes are best for bass, pike, lake trout, and salt-water fish. You can get the spinner blades in various finishes such as gold, nickel, brass, and copper. Some are also made with hammered fin­ishes.  Still other blades are made from pearl or mussel shell.

To make completed spinners you also need spring steel or stainless steel wire for shafts. The spring steel wire is usually coated with tin and is quite suitable for fresh-water spinners. The stainless steel wire is better for salt­water spinners. This wire is supplied in various diameters from .018 to .035, the thin gauges being used for small spinners and the heavier gauges for the larger fresh-water spinners and all salt-water types.

You also need beads, which are used on the wire shafts to act as bearings. These beads are made from different materials and come in various sizes. The light beads, made from pearl, glass, plastic, or hollow metal, are used for most spinners where no extra weight is required. The solid brass beads are used for spinners which will be cast. Instead of solid metal beads you can use body forms made from solid metal to provide the weight. See Fig. 63. They can be ordered from fishing lure parts suppliers, or you can make your own by obtaining solid brass rods, then cutting them into short lengths and drilling a hole through the center.

Spinners also require clevises, which hold the blade so that it can revolve freely around the wire shaft. There are two types, as shown in Fig. 64. They usually come in two or three different sizes for small and large spinners.

Split rings are also needed in various sizes when making spinners. Barrel swivels such as those shown in Fig. 65 are also required in different sizes. Some of these split rings and swivels can be bought in fishing tackle stores, but you can save money if you buy them in larger quantities such as gross lots from a mail-order house.

The basic spinner, which can be used for trolling for many fish, is the Indiana blade on a short wire shaft shown in Fig. 66. To make this spinner, cut off a length of wire for the shaft and form a locking type eye on one end. For this you'll need diagonal cutting pliers and the round-nosed pliers (the small jeweler's round-nosed pliers are best for this work). The first step in making the locking eye is to form it with the round-nosed pliers about an inch from the end of the wire shaft. Then form the catch on the end of the wire. See Fig. 67 for the steps in doing this. Chapter 12 on leaders and con­nections will also give you tips on forming eyes and snaps for spinners.

After you have finished the locking eye, slide about two metal or glass beads on the shaft, then add the spinner blade on a clevis and slide it up the wire shaft. To finish the spinner, form an eye on the end of the shaft to which the leader or line will be attached. The spinner is ready for use after you add a plain or feathered treble hook to the locking eye at the tail.

Another way to attach the hook to the spinner is to use a sliding coil spring or sleeve which slides on the shaft up to the eye and holds the wire together. See Fig. 68. These coil springs and brass or copper sleeves can be bought in various diameters from the mail-order houses. Still another way to attach a hook to a spinner is to form a permanent closed eye on the end of the wire, then slip on a split ring with a hook, as shown in Fig. 69.

The basic spinner above makes use of a single blade. If you want to add another blade to the shaft, use a slightly longer wire and after slipping on the first blade add a small metal bead which you then solder to the shaft above the first blade. Then slip on a loose bead or two and your second blade be­fore forming the eye at the front of the wire shaft.  This is shown in Fig. 70.

Another popular and effective spinner is the "June Bug" type shown in Fig. 71. The June Bug blade has an extension cut from the blade itself, and this keeps the blade revolving at a fixed distance from the shaft. This spin­ner works very freely and smoothly even at slow speeds. When making this type of spinner use the large red ruby cut glass beads as bearings on the shaft, and add a barrel swivel to which the line is tied. At the other end, at­tach a long-shank single hook such as the Carlisle pattern. Anglers usually use this spinner with the hook baited with a minnow, strip offish, pork rind, or a gob of worms. You can also make this spinner with two blades by using a longer wire shaft and adding a smaller blade up front, as shown in Fig. 72.

The propeller type of spinner shown in Fig. 73 is also good to use for trolling at slow speeds. You can buy the propeller blades in the largest sizes from the fishing lure parts suppliers. The two propeller blades used to make this spinner are spaced so that they revolve freely without interfering with each other.  You have to solder a metal bead to the wire shaft to keep the first propeller blade away from the rear one. This type of spinner is usually used with a feathered treble hook attached behind it.

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