In-Line Spinners...NOT SPINNING...???

[Bartableman7]

I went on a terror making a bunch of in-line spinners (Mepps like).  But...I throw them in the water, and they won't spin at all, even with a good jerk.  I put on a store bought Mepps and they spin fine.  What water dynamics am I missing here?!  Wire, clevis, spinner, weight and hook.  Simple.  Not so simple evidently. Grrrr!

[A-Jay]

Pictures would help out a bit.

A-Jay

[PressuredFishing]

If Wire is bent they won't spin well. Gave up on in line spinners a while ago because they only last a few fish before they give more trouble than worth. 

 

Also if wire is to thick for clevis it won't spin, and it eye is bent they won't spin.

 

Also when making them too light or weight and blade struggles to get going

 

Crazy that they charge 4$ for some brands of in line spinners, spoons as well, it's not expensive or rocket science to make them but they still overcharge, amazon has pretty good deals on kits of spoons and in line spinners if you look there, chinesium is pretty good these days.

 

Or a small minnow lure that looks more natural is more durable and doesn't twist line is always a win.

 

 

 

 

[Finessegenics]

I don't have the answers, but I've noticed the same issues when I buy 'off-brand' inline spinners. Some just don't spin that good. 

[Mbirdsley]

I’m betting you have the hardware in tight to each other.  You need to leave a little distance from the last bead and how ever you came up with to make a loop.  The whole assembly should kinda slide back and forth when you tip the whole spinner upside down.  You don’t need a ton of room.  Just enough do that last bead can move maybe 1/32 or 1:16 of an inch 

 

you need little metal beads on either side of the clevis.  The metal beads act as bearings for the blade. 
 

french blades work the best but, colors can be lacking

 

in this photo you can see the little gap and the beads around the clevis 

 

this spinner is a river smallie killer btw 

[Reel]

The hole in the clevis might be too small an butts against a part of the wire that's a little bigger in diameter.

Are the blades as heavy as the ones on the Mepps ?

[Bird]

Your just not good at making things spin ?.

Gotta love the ambition but could we see pics of the design ?

Have you compared the hardware used with Mepps or maybe the spacing ?

[Bdnoble84]

I have had this exact same problem. Even when i do get 1 that spinns i have to work it.

[islandbass]

On 2/22/2023 at 9:43 AM, Bartableman7 said:

I went on a terror making a bunch of in-line spinners (Mepps like).  But...I throw them in the water, and they won't spin at all, even with a good jerk.  I put on a store bought Mepps and they spin fine.  What water dynamics am I missing here?!  Wire, clevis, spinner, weight and hook.  Simple.  Not so simple evidently. Grrrr!

Size of components are blade size, wire gauge, Clevis and type, length and weight of the body are factors. 
 

typically, you want the length of the blade to at least cover or slightly exceed the length of the body. The is a margin here to go slightly longer or shorter that the body, but stay close 

 

another is ensuring there is enough space for the clevis to both move along the wire shaft and spin along it. If the space is too small between the head loop (wire tie hole) and the body, this can affect the clevis’ ability to freely spin. Also, diameter of the clevis must be able to accommodate the wire shaft diameter to. 
 

another huge one is the weight of the lure body. The blade creates some lift when it spins. If it body is too heavy, the blade will not be able to create the lift required to keep it moving horizontally. It might also have a hard time spinning. The converse can also happen. Too much lift and the in-line spinner will quickly rise to the surface and “top out” if the blade is too big and the body too light for the blade. 
 

Perhaps the easiest ways to avoid these pitfalls is to build your in-line spinners as closely as you can to tried and try ones like Mepps, rooster tails, etc. master mimicking these first. Good luck and keep us posted. ??