Ok here is the for a simple spinner bait fly that works real good. Caught lots of nice bass on it.

Gather the hardware: need small willowleaf blade, small split ring, small swivel, and 1/0 hook. I also use extra-large beadchain eyes.



Then attach the blade to the split ring and to the swivel. Tie the eyes on the hook clouser style, and then slide the swivel and tie that on the hook right behind the eyes.



Then its pretty much a clouser...




I am making a red/black one. I like to tie in lots of flash too.
Here is the finished product.


If you want it to more look more like a real spinnerbait, another idea which I have not tried yet, but I think will work is to use dual blades, something like this.

I may try that soon. (If you look closely the 2nd spinner is not attached its just next to it for demo purposes).

I am certainly not the first to attach spinner blades to flies, but I havent seen anyone use willow leaf blades. They work great. They are more aerodynamic,and they look great in the water.

very nice!

i like that

Good job - I like spin flies - they'll trigger a strike when nothing else works...

Do you like a hand-over-hand retrieve or a strip and pause? Just depends on what the fish want I suppose eh? That would definitely work well for redfish, even in off-color water.

Well yes, I would mostly fish these for bass, and the bigger ones typically like things retrieved slowly. So just a strip/pause/strip, pauses being longer if the water's deeper.


Oh, and it works good at night too. Catfish LOVE it.

excellent! I'm going to have to give that a try

I just got a wire bender from my pops that he used to use to make spinnerbaits. Going to have to get busy and tie up some varations on this thing.

I was thinking in this general direction this week, so when I stopped in Academy I picked up a package of all three sizes of the Mister Twister jig spinners that look just like a Beatle Spin. I plan to keep them in my fly boxes and try them out with woolly buggers, clousers, and anything else I can get the wire through. I'm interested to see how much more air resistance it's going to add and how difficult it may make casting. If I have some time later I'll post a pic or two.

The biggest of the three sizes with a #4 clouser weighs about 50 grains.

Yeah I am intruiged. Got a whole box of differnt shapes and sizes of blades too. The fun begins when I get to play around with the angles and length of the spinner now.

Txredraider,
I have tried those jig spinners before too. Although fishable, I think just attaching the spinner/swivel to the fly directly like I do makes it alot easier to cast.

Christian,
I agree completely, but I don't have the materials to build any one piece spinner flies at the moment, and the fact that you can put pretty much any streamer you want on the jig spinner gives you a lot of flexibility. Did I mention that these were premade and that I was a lazy, lazy man?

As for the casting, I haven't made it to a wet spot to give it a try yet. With my technique, one might not be able to tell the difference.

See this contraption

I now have the ability to make a wire that is like a jig spinner but shaped so that it could be tied in directly to the hook shank and placed at any angle off of the fly that you wanted.

Finished product this is my first "spinner fly"

Here is how it ties into the hook shank

I had to flip it around once I realized I had it backwards, but yall get the idea.

If you tie spin flies on jig hooks and attach swivel over hook shank ahead of eyes, not only will the blade spin, but the assembly will spin on hook shank as a in-line spinner bait.