Big Epp Posted October 31, 2021 Report Share Posted October 31, 2021 This winter I'm going down to the Gulf and hoping to do some surf fishing. Do you think if I made an inline spinner with say a 3/4 ounce barrel sinker on the back and a relatively small (size 2?) French blade that it would be aerodynamic enough to cast really far and then stable enough to retrieve effectively? I've never done anything other than bait rigs, and I'm hoping to try something different this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Epp Posted October 31, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2021 (Drawing not to scale) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD_mudbug Posted November 1, 2021 Report Share Posted November 1, 2021 (edited) It depends on how stubby the barrel weight is. If the weight is more like a stubby blunt-ended cylinder, the bait could tumble. The beads may help stop tumbling if they are solid. If the weight has more length and taper, it is more likely to fly true. In my experience, the blade does not affect the casting distance much on a single blade inline with a heavy body. The blade just flops back and the body leads the way on the cast. I made an inline spinner with a size 8 Indiana blade and a LPO 1 oz lead body for pike/musky (top spinner). It casts really far even with the bucktail. The LPO bodies have a nice taper on both ends. That spinner can spool 100 size freshwater reels. Any trailer or dressing will hurt distance some, except maybe some tubing on the hook. French blades are easy to get to spin. I think the size 2 blade will spin. My concern is the blade is too small to attract bigger fish. For a 3/4 oz body, I would try a size 3 blade, maybe a 4. I would bring several option to to try. If you will be using a surf rod rated for multiple ounces, I would be looking for 1 to 2 ounce bodies with a size 5 French blade so you can launch some bomb casts. I have a spinner with a size 5 French blade with two 3/8 oz lead bullet weights for a body (3/4 oz total body weight, bottom spinner). It casts far. Occasionally, it wobbles in the air and I don't get maximum distance. I think that is from the 2 weights separating on the cast. You can stack two 3/4 oz weights but that is not as effective as one big single weight. If you have heavier barrel weights, you can give them more of a taper with a file. My favorite lures for distance to get past the surf are a heavy jig head or bucktail jig with a paddletail or big grub, pencil poppers which are tail weighted (Cordell Pencil Poppers are $9-10 for the 1 oz and 2 oz models), the large size Super Spook, and Daiwa SP minnows. You might want to try those. We are allowed to use 2 rods where I am . I usually have a bait rig on one rod and I cast lures with the second rod. Check to see if you can use 2 rods there. Edited November 1, 2021 by JD_mudbug typo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Epp Posted November 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2021 Thanks JD. I will probably try a 2 rod setup if I can. Only one will be a true surf rod (12ft), while the other will most likely be a 7ft ugly stick. I've seen people using 2 rod setups, so I'm pretty sure that's legal where we'll be. I'll try a few different options and see what works! I made one the other day, and it looks pretty interesting, definitely short and fat. I like the way you used the two bullet weights, I think I'll try that on the next one I twist up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted November 1, 2021 Report Share Posted November 1, 2021 20 hours ago, JD_mudbug said: It depends on how stubby the barrel weight is. If the weight is more like a stubby blunt-ended cylinder, the bait could tumble. The beads may help stop tumbling if they are solid. If the weight has more length and taper, it is more likely to fly true. In my experience, the blade does not affect the casting distance much on a single blade inline with a heavy body. The blade just flops back and the body leads the way on the cast. I made an inline spinner with a size 8 Indiana blade and a LPO 1 oz lead body for pike/musky (top spinner). It casts really far even with the bucktail. The LPO bodies have a nice taper on both ends. That spinner can spool 100 size freshwater reels. Any trailer or dressing will hurt distance some, except maybe some tubing on the hook. French blades are easy to get to spin. I think the size 2 blade will spin. My concern is the blade is too small to attract bigger fish. For a 3/4 oz body, I would try a size 3 blade, maybe a 4. I would bring several option to to try. If you will be using a surf rod rated for multiple ounces, I would be looking for 1 to 2 ounce bodies with a size 5 French blade so you can launch some bomb casts. I have a spinner with a size 5 French blade with two 3/8 oz lead bullet weights for a body (3/4 oz total body weight, bottom spinner). It casts far. Occasionally, it wobbles in the air and I don't get maximum distance. I think that is from the 2 weights separating on the cast. You can stack two 3/4 oz weights but that is not as effective as one big single weight. If you have heavier barrel weights, you can give them more of a taper with a file. My favorite lures for distance to get past the surf are a heavy jig head or bucktail jig with a paddletail or big grub, pencil poppers which are tail weighted (Cordell Pencil Poppers are $9-10 for the 1 oz and 2 oz models), the large size Super Spook, and Daiwa SP minnows. You might want to try those. We are allowed to use 2 rods where I am . I usually have a bait rig on one rod and I cast lures with the second rod. Check to see if you can use 2 rods there. Have you tried super gluing the two weights together? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD_mudbug Posted November 2, 2021 Report Share Posted November 2, 2021 Not yet. I will give it a shot. The problem is laziness. Most of the casts work fine with the 2 weights so I haven't done anything to it. It's just an occasional wobbler. I was thinking JB weld could work too. If I have to build another with 2 weights, I could glue the weights together on scrap wire, sand the JB to smooth to get rid of the seam, paint and epoxy the 2 weights as a single unit. I figure if I clear coat both weights together it will hold. I still have some LPO 1 oz bodies left. I could file of those bodies down to get it to 3/4 oz. I don't have enough stuff on my LPO shopping list to put in an order yet. Once I get enough on my list, I will add some 3/4 oz lead bodies. Around where I am, I can't buy lead sinkers under an ounce in stores anymore because of the lead ban. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Epp Posted November 7, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2021 The first body i made consists of a 3/4 ounce barrel weight and a ~1/4 ounce bullet weight. I wanted to paint them, so to keep the pattern consistent I glued them together with some gel super glue. It held fine for a handful of test casts. Once I get the design right I'll clear coat them together for added security. I'm going to test it with a different blade, because the one I used was too small. If it still doesn't work I'll add beads. I'll get a picture up when I get one working. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william cohen Posted November 13, 2021 Report Share Posted November 13, 2021 TU Member 16 Posted 6 minutes ago Tried gluing 2 3/8 together with crazy glue ,same proflle as mudbug. Put the spinning wire thru the weights to preserve the hole. Mine didn't hold ? What does LOP mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD_mudbug Posted November 13, 2021 Report Share Posted November 13, 2021 (edited) LPO is Lure Parts Online. Unless you need that particular weight spinner body right away, it's not really worth the effort of gluing 2 weights together. Unpainted lead bodies or finesse sinkers are fairly cheap. https://www.lurepartsonline.com/Lead-Lure-Bodies_2?quantity=1&custcol_beads_eyes_paint_size=78 Edited November 13, 2021 by JD_mudbug missing info 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
