By: Mark Romanack
The Yakima Bait Spin n Glo is the perfect bait float for live bait rigging with nightcrawler. Not only is this float buoyant enough to keep the bait up off bottom, it spins at the slowest speeds providing flash and action even when fishing at the slowest speeds.
The iconic Spin n Glo is a buoyant bait float and attractor that is tailor made for many walleye live bait fishing applications. The buoyant nature of the Spin n Glo allows anglers to present live bait close to bottom without the fear of snagging or picking up debris. At the very same time, the Spin n Glo rotates at even the slowest speeds, helping to attract walleye day in and day out.
In tough bites when walleye won’t touch traditional spinner blade harnesses, the Spin n Glo makes it possible to back down the speed and still enjoy fish attracting flash and action. On those days when the fish are snapping, go ahead and speed up. The Spin n Glo can handle all common trolling speeds, slow and fast.
The Spin n Glo is available in 10 sizes and literally hundreds of color patterns. The wings of the Spin n Glo are now available in white, black, silver flash, chartreuse flash, pink flash and glow. That’s amazing when you take into consideration that the wings on the Spin n Glo are hand cut and the bodies are hand painted by craftsmen one at a time!
Walleye fishermen will find that the most practical sizes of the Spin n Glo for live bait rigging include the No. 10, No. 8 and No. 6 models. These sizes are ideally suited to creating a host of live bait rigs that are deadly effective on walleye found in natural lakes, rivers, impoundments and also the Great Lakes.
BUILD YOUR OWN
Many walleye anglers prefer to purchase Spin n Glo bodies and tie up their own live bait rigs. Available in bulk packs of 12 and 25, this is the most practical and economic way to stock up on your favorite colors and also to create a tackle box full of custom live bait rigs.
The type of bait used makes a difference in how Spin n Glo live bait rigs are tied. For fishing nightcrawler, it’s best to snell a pair of No. 4 or No. 2 octopus style hooks onto a 10 to 15 pound test fluorocarbon leader. Leaders for fishing walleye with live bait rigs range in length from 24 inches to 72 inches depending on the application.
When fishing near the bottom with walking style sinkers, bottom bouncers or three way swivel rigs, harnesses in the 24 to 48 inch range typically function the best. When fishing live bait rigs for walleye suspended in the water column, slightly longer 48 to 72 inch long harnesses are advised.
Many anglers who target suspended walleye, modify their live bait rigs to feature a No. 2 octopus hook on the front and a No. 6 treble hook at the back of the harness. Harnesses that feature a treble hook do a better job of hooking light biting walleye. Unfortunately, treble hooks are not a good option for fishing near bottom as they tend to pick up debris and also snag more often than single hooks.
To insure the Spin n Glo body rotates smoothly at all speeds, it’s important to thread a small glass or plastic bead onto the harness before adding the Spin n Glo. This bead acts like a bushing and insures the Spin n Glo can rotate even at the slowest trolling speeds.
When leeches and minnows are used for bait, a single hook rig is preferred. For fishing leeches a No. 6 or No. 4 octopus hook is ideal. When using minnows a slightly larger No. 2 or No. 1/0 size hook will be required depending on the size of the minnow.
A livewell fills up quickly when anglers use the Spin n Glo bait float from Yakima Bait. Ideal for all forms of live bait rigging, the Spin n Glo is an iconic tool for catching almost anything with fins.
SPIN N GLO WALLEYE COLORS
Spin n Glo bodies are available in hundreds of body and wing color options. Some of the most productive walleye colors include chartreuse, lime, metallic silver, metallic gold, pearl, flame and various combinations of these colors. The traditional white wing models of the Spin n Glo are top sellers, but don’t overlook the silver flash, chartreuse flash, pink flash, glow and black wing colors.
The beauty of Spin n Glo is anglers have almost limitless color options with which to experiment.
RODS, REELS AND LINE FOR LIVE BAIT RIGGING
Live bait rigging can be achieved using both spinning rods/reels and baitcasting rods/reels. When fishing with lighter weights such as walking sinkers, spinning tackle is ideally suited to live bait rigging. A seven foot long medium to medium/light action rod, paired up with a 2500 or 3000 size spinning reel is near perfect for live bait rigging applications. Both monofilament and super braid lines in the 10 to 15 pound test range can be used for live bait rigging options.
When heavier bottom bouncers, bottom walkers and three way swivel rigs are needed, a baitcasting rod/reel combination is the best tool for the job. The ideal tool for for fishing these heavier trolling sinkers is a slow action rod that has a very light tip. The idea is for the rod tip to bend easily telegraph bites, without allowing the fish to detect pressure and drop the bait before the hook can be set.
Rods ideal for fishing bottom bouncers and larger in-line trolling weights need to be longer than the typical walleye rod. A baitcasting rod that’s eight and a half foot long and featuring a medium to medium/light parabolic action is perfect for detecting light strikes while trolling at slow speeds. Rods designed for back-trolling plugs are often ideal for fishing bottom walkers and in-line trolling weights.
Monofilament and co-polymer style lines are the best fishing line for live bait rigging with bottom walkers and bottom bouncers. These lines have just enough natural stretch to function perfectly for slow speed live bait rigging applications. For the best results select lines ranging in size from 10 to 15 pound test.
ROOSTER TAIL SPRAY SCENT
One of the advantages of fishing with live bait is the natural fish attracting scent they provide. However, after fishing a nightcrawler for awhile the natural Earthy odor washes off.
Using Rooster Tail Spray Scent is a great way to recharge live bait rigs with fish attracting scent and get the most from live bait investments. The Garlic Nightcrawler scent is popular with walleye anglers. It only takes a couple squirts from the pump bottle to create a natural scent stream in the water that lasts for 30-40 minutes.
WRAPPING IT UP
Factory produced and custom tied walleye rigs are deadly effective, but they also require special care to prevent them from getting helplessly tangled in a tackle box. One of the best ways to store walleye harnesses is to wrap them around foam boards that easily fit into utility style tackle boxes. This storage option allows anglers to carry lots of ready to go rigs in a tiny space and also to separate rigs for different trolling situations.
SUMMARY
The Spin n Glo is a floating attractor that could not be more perfectly designed for walleye live bait fishing. The ideal bait float for fishing low and slow, Spin n Glo closes the deal no matter where walleye are found.