Spinner Rigging for Summer Walleyes
Spinner rigs add flash, vibration, motion, speed and enhanced attraction to livebait or soft plastic trailers. They cover water quickly, and trigger strikes even amidst abundant forage. As such, they excel for summer walleyes once water temperatures rise above 70 F in early- to midsummer.
James and I recently had the pleasure of fishing on Lacs Lake in Minnesota, a hotbed of spinner fishing experimentation and development for walleyes. We were using a spinner rig, which is a great presentation option for not only catching but locating walleyes.
What is a Spinner Rig?
A spinner rig is a combination of a spin and a live bait rig. It has a small hook and a tiny blade, and is designed to blend the coverage, flash, and attraction of the spinner with some amount of finesse. It is pulled at a faster speed than a spin or live bait rig, making it a great option for covering a lot of water quickly.
When to Use a Spinner Rig
Spinner rigs are especially effective in midsummer when forage is abundant. The water temperature was 72 degrees when we were fishing, which is prime time for using a spinner rig.
Results
We had great success with the spinner rig. We caught a number of walleyes, including a big one that James caught. He nailed a spinner rig going about 1.2 miles an hour with a night crawler on it.
Conclusion
Spinner rigging is a great way to catch walleyes in the summertime. It is a versatile technique that can be used in a variety of fishing situations, and is especially effective when forage is abundant. We had great success with the spinner rig on Mille Lacs Lake, and I’m sure you will too!
