River Fishing For Trout With Spinners

River fishing for trout is one of my favorite times of year, but it can also be challenging to locate fish.

Spinners can be an effective tool for fishing for trout in rivers. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how to fish with spinners in rivers.

Positioning

Positioning your spinners on a river can be tricky. Unlike lakes, where fish feed and move according to predictable patterns due to cover, water temperature, wind or season, rivers have much greater fluidity. That means you need to be in the right spot at the right time in order to catch fish using either a jig, spinner, or fly.

One way to increase your chances of landing a good catch is by recognizing and targeting specific features in the river. These could include islands, rock piles, drop-offs, feeder springs or any other structure or obstruction that disrupts current flow.

Many times, natural food sources such as insects, crayfish, or baitfish will attract trout and make it easier to catch them with jigs, spinners, or flies.

Another way to locate these areas is to scout the area before casting. Use a small fish finder to pinpoint any potential targets you should target.

Many rivers feature seams or areas where flowing water meets calmer waters just outside the main channel. This transition zone is where much action occurs and often yields big fish.

Seams may not always be visible, but they are important to focus on when fishing for trout with spinners. Plus, it’s the ideal place to showcase your best spinning gear!

With the proper rod, reel, line, and spinner combo, you can catch more fish than expected. This is especially true of spinners with vibrant colors or larger sizes that are specifically weighted to attract trout.

It is wise to be mindful not to scare fish that may not be aware of your presence. For instance, if the current is strong, try casting a spinner across the seam instead, as this could cause them to panic.

For best results, cast your spinner above the seam and allow it to swing down and across like a real baitfish. For added effect, give it some twitches!

Casting

Casting is an essential technique when trout fishing with spinners. Not only does it provide a productive way to locate and target trout, but it’s also the most reliable way to avoid spooking wary fish.

Casting can be a successful strategy when trout move slowly through a river, especially during summer when rivers become choppy and slow-moving. Casting also works well on wide tail-outs or holding areas with current moving away from you.

Depending on the size and depth of the water, you may need to use heavier-weighted spinners in order to get near the bottom faster. This is especially true if the stream is moving quickly or is deeper than average.

A typical spinner rig setup involves tying the mainline (braid) onto an 12- to 18-inch leader of fluorocarbon line and attaching it to a small barrel swivel. This in-line swivel allows you to add either braided or fused line as a short leader and helps prevent line twisting issues that can arise with traditional reel-mounted swivels.

Casting a spinner upstream requires positioning yourself above the best-looking holding water and then releasing your lure with an even, upward current retrieve. It may take some practice, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll catch more trout while being less likely to scare them away.

Another way to boost your success is by tipping your hook with a short section of an aromatic-filled worm, such as the 3-inch PowerBait Trout Worm. This creates an effective scent trail in the water and encourages more strikes than using just a tipped spinner on its own.

Tipping the hook with a worm can be done in the middle of a lake or along a stream or river bank. It works best in clear waters and usually requires several casts.

When fishing for trout, try spinning two colors simultaneously: bright and muted – to represent the fry that trout feed on. Doing this gives you an indication of which colors to fish and what colors the fish prefer.

Retrieval

When fishing for trout with spinners in rivers, it’s essential to master the correct retrieval method. The most effective way to master this essential skill is through practice; different techniques exist depending on your lure and water conditions.

Successfully fishing with spinners requires finding the optimal retrieve rate for your lure, which is determined by its blade size, shape and weight. All these elements combine to determine how quickly a spinner sinks and generates sonic vibrations as it floats in water.

Generally speaking, wide blade shapes produce more cranking resistance (drag), which causes the lure to sink faster than narrower ones. Conversely, narrower blades offer a slower sink rate and maintain high action and vibration as they are retrieved.

When fishing for trout with spinners in a river, one important element to consider is the current in the water. This can be essential when casting and retrieving your lure since it will move it around and tempt trout into striking it.

Make the most of the current by fan casting downstream near structure such as eddies, boulders and other cover. This is an effective way to spread your lure out and cover all corners of the pool.

This technique is especially successful when fishing in swift-moving water. Furthermore, you can cast up and across the river to locate potential fishing spots on the opposite shore.

To fish for trout with spinners, the fastest method is the cast-and-retrieve technique. This simple retrieve technique is widely used by anglers.

Several methods can be used when retrieving a spinner: jigging, jerking, and twitching. Whichever option you select, make an accurate cast and reel in slowly, so the blades begin spinning.

If you’re uncertain of your retrieval speed, testing it out a few feet in front of you is an effective way to determine it. This will give you insight into how long the lure spins and how much it rotates. With this data in hand, you can decide the ideal retrieval speed for your spinner so that more bites from trout occur.

Presentation

Spinner fishing is an effective and simple technique that anyone can learn and use. All you need to get started is a basic setup of rod, reel, and line plus some lures.

Presentation is key to success when fishing for trout with spinners in a river. Varying your lures’ size, color, and action will increase the odds of getting more bites from target fish.

For instance, if fishing a shallow section of a riffle and the water is moving quickly, use a heavier spinner to keep your lure in the flow. A lighter lure may not be as successful and could drift over top instead of staying put.

Another effective presentation is to flip your spinner upstream in front of structure in the river. This causes it to flash through the water and attract trout that have developed specialized organs called lateral lines that pick up vibrations in the water column that indicate prey.

You can also flip your lure over rocks or boulders to attract trout that are hiding behind these objects in the river. Doing this allows your lure a natural entrance into the water without spook the trout as other casts may do.

Similar to many other fly-fishing techniques, the size of your lure plays a role in how well it catches trout. Generally, 1/8-ounce or smaller lures work best when fishing for trout with spinners in rivers.

It is often more crucial for a lure to be small than its weight, as smaller baits tend to attract larger fish. Animals judge how much energy a prey item is worth to them based on its size and whether it can survive in the wild.

Additionally, use a lighter-weight line than what you normally use for trout fishing. This will make the lure stay in the water longer and increase your odds of getting struck.