Making spinners?

[fish4life]

Me and a buddy are trying to make our own spinners. Just something to do till season comes around but i was wondering if anyone knows where i can get a golden "bullet" just like the ones on panther martins? Im referring to the roundish cone in between the blade adn the treble.
Any clues would be helpful
Thanks in advance.

[Sarge]

I have played a bit at making my own spinners, and it is very enjoyable. What I really like is being able to make them heavier and shorter than anything you'll find in a store, I have made at least thirty different designs, some don't work, most do.

As for the lure bodies you are asking about, you can buy many different sizes and styles at Cabelas, as well as the wire, clevis, beads,and blades. You will find that good hooks are the most expensive part of your "fish4life" brand spinners.

You will find that different body styles work better with the different blades that you chose to use, but you were on the right track when you said "bullet", because with all the new lead substitutes on the market, the chioces for bullet wieghts are endless, most of which hold their shape well, and some are quite abit heavier than lead, I have picked up many in the bargian bins, but in general they will cost more than the smaller bulk bodies.

As for wire, use the heaviest gauge that you can work with and your wire former can handle. I have been adding the smallest swivel I could find directly to the spinner to eliminate line twist and that seems to work well. Stay away from folded clevises you will be much more satisfied with the solid ones, and get a good variety of sizes to find the ones that work best for what your making. And use a bead on both sides of the clevis to act as bearings, I preffer the solid ones but if your making lighters lures you may want hollow beads.

Of course if your using inline blades (such as what are on panther martins) you won't need a clevis, but for willow leaf, colorado, and french styles of blades try different sizes to get the consistant spin that your lure size and wieght needs. Try bending the blades slightly for different effects.

Luckily I have a stream in my back yard to test new designs, and I would recommend making one or two of a couple different designs and testing them before making any quanity, find one that works for you in the situations you most often fish, and don't be afraid to take the wire cutters to the ones that don't perform and start over.

Soon you will find yourself taking apart perfectly good spinners just to see exactly how the different company make them, and saving all your old spinners for parts to make new ones. And when you invent the prototype to the most effective spinner in MN get ahold of me

[This message has been edited by Sarge (edited 03-25-2002).]