Spinner Dave's Tips, Tactics, News and Views

A Great Summer!

10/20/2014

10/20/2014
I find it hard to believe that the last time I posted anything was back in June of this year. Wow! It has been a great summer for Spinner Dave's thanks to my great customers. The highlight of the last few months has been all the great fishing reports and photos that my customers sent in. I just want to say Thank You! to all of you and let you know that I appreciate the input and sharing of information. It truly does help me stay on top of what is going on in the various fisheries from Alaska down to the Northwest and California. And, not to leave out the Great Lakes. I know the guys out there have really found some great success using Spinner Dave's custom UV lure tapes and beads.
The number one stand out for the summer/fall fisheries has been the SG Series blades. All sizes of the FB blades in the SG Series sold very well and those sales translated well to success on the water for those that fished them. Throughout the summer new colors and the #5 B10 Series blade were added to the selection. Most recently, five new colors have been added in the FB 4.5 size with those colors soon to be available in all sizes in the series.
Again, Thank You! Please keep sending the photos and fishing reports. I will be putting together a few posts that will detail some specific patterns and how they worked and where. I will post on Facebook and in my emails when these are available.

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Seasonal Spinner Selection

6/25/2014

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I get quite a few inquiries about spinners this time of year. The summer salmon seasons throughout the Northwest, Alaska and Great Lakes create a fairly good surge in last minute demand for ready made spinners. Over the last few seasons I have been working on coming up with a seasonal selection of spinners that will meet the needs of the various fisheries and minimize out of stock situations. The best solution so far has been creating a new selection ahead of the summer season to meet the demand.
The 2014 spinner selection, at this point, is a bit more than half way complete and will be set by July 15th. Quantities will be limited but ample enough, in theory, to get us through the summer season without losing too much in way of opportunities to get customers what they need. The patterns available are based on previous sales history and the input from my customers so they should translate to successes on the water.
Thank you. Here's to a great Summer Salmon Season!
Check the spinners out here: Summer 2014 Sp[inn

The latest dozen spinners added to the 2014 selection.

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Offering deals?

6/5/2014

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   I am asked, quite frequently, how I can offer such great deals on my online store. The ability to be able to offer discount codes that offer 10, 15% discounts along with offers like my "Easy 10" offer ($10 off your order) are only feasible and/or cost effective because I do not have a retail walk in location.   The ability to offer these discounts is the good news when it comes to not having a walk in retail location. The bad news is obvious, I don't get to interact with my customers face to face and most importantly, my customers do not get to the vast selection of products I carry laid out in front of them in a retail store setting.
   I am in a constant state of working to improve the images and the format of my online store to make it easier for customers to order. Couple that with discount code offers, my hope is that I can make the experience pleasant enough that my customers will order and re-order without thinking twice. I also offer a very attractive $35 order minimum for free shipping that has been very well received and, as with discount code offers, is really a byproduct of not having the overhead costs associated with having a retail store location.
   As time goes on, my goal is to be able to travel to my customers by way of attending sport shows in the areas my customers live. Although I thoroughly enjoy the contact I have with my customers via email and phone, there really is nothing better than to be able to meet customers face to face. So, as it goes, I will continue to come up with some innovative ways to offer discounts and improve my delivery on the online store in an effort to give my customers every excuse to continue to do business with me.   Ultimately, that is what matters the most...I appreciate every bit of business I get to do with my customers and thank all of you for your patronage.
   I am looking forward to getting into the meat of the 2014 season. Be sure to check the home page on the online store for updates and click the "New Products" tab at the top of the page to see the latest additions to the store. There are some great products that have arrived and countless others in the works and on the way.
Thank you!
Dave

Spinner Dave's has updated the spinner selection on the online store. Along with the perennial all star patterns you will find some new spinners featuring some of the newest patterns like the rainbow and SG Series.

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Short on ideas?

2/21/2014

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   One thing I here quite a bit from customers is that they are running out of ideas when it comes to putting spinners together. So, I put the spinner together that you can see in the image above that shows both the front and back side of the blade.
Let's dissect this spinner as far as the components used and how they were used and maybe it will spark some ideas for you as you put spinners together for your favorite fisheries.
   To start with, this spinner uses two 3 1/2" squid skirts (hoochie) over the top of each other to get the contrast I wanted and to match the blade coloration. Each of the skirts has an 8mm bead underneath to give the head of the hoochie some form and to keep a bit of separation between them. the hoochies were slid down on a wire that had a #10 six bead chain. Then, I used a 6mm bead with a 4mm bead and topped it off with a 1/8" bearing bead.
   The blade, attached to the shaft with a #4 stirrup clevis was doctored up with lure tape. The base pattern is one of my most popular, the metallic pink with a chartreuse dot with a silver back. On the front of the blade I added a 1/2" transparent UV dot over the painted chartreuse dot which gives flash and UV color to the dot and being smaller than the painted dot, leaves a "ring" around the tape portion of the dot. On the edges of the front of the blade I applied two pink cracked ice color DS Tape Shapes to each edge to enhance the pink color and the flash. On the back of the blade, I layed down two pink cracked ice color "half moon" portions of a DS Tape Shape on each half of the blade. Then, I layered two hologram scale half moon DS Tape Shapes over the top of the pink cracked ice. The background of the hologram scale is transparent so the pink shows through and the flash that comes off the holographic scales is intense.
    So, when you combine the two tone skirt with the additions of the lure tape on the blade, you can see you get a very fishy looking, custom, tricked out spinner. After putting the spinner together, I added a 2/0 Matzuo sickle siwash hook onto the end of the bead chain. This "flex" method of hook has been proving very effective in both hooking fish up and keeping them hooked. In this instance I used a 6 bead chain so that the hook would hang back beyond the end of the hoochies which is advisable particularly when coho are around. I you want that hook shorter or longer you can adjust shorter by going with a 4 bead chain and if you want it further back you can add beads below the first hoochie to increase the distance the hook hangs back.
   I hope taking a look at this spinner and breaking it down a bit gives you some ideas and/or inspiration when it comes time to sit down and make your spinners. I welcome your input and ideas and I will be posting more spinner patterns throughout the spring fishing season.
Thanks!

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Two New Patterns...

10/31/2013

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    Even though I already have way too many blade patterns (not really), I have brought in a couple patterns that have been long in coming but well needed. The first (above left) features a pink that I call "Perfect" Pink. I am not very inventive when it comes to names of patterns...usually pretty self explanatory. This is "Perfect" pink because 3 different people that saw my first good sample said that is a great pink, perfect. So, there you have "Perfect pink. The pink is coupled with pearl white and the initial offering of this pattern is with a pearl back as well. This pattern will soon be available with the UV Crystal Coating as well---all I can say about this one is, when they get in stock, buy quick and buy lots.
     The other pattern shown (right) is a combination of what I call "Killer" Green and Fluorescent Red. The green is "Killer" because the first person that saw this pattern said "That's a killer green!. And, it is a killer green. This is not your ordinary Fluorescent Yellow or what is commonly called Chartreuse; it really is the true color of Chartreuse...not yellow but not green either, just the perfect in-between of those two colors. The first batch of blades with this 50/50 pattern are on hammered hex pattern brass blades which means they are hammered brass back patterns. The three most popular sizes of both the FB and B10 series blades are available now with more sizes and blade styles coming soon.
Thanks!   Dave

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Crystal UV Coated Blades...

10/31/2013

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It has been two years now since I first added Crystal UV Coated Patterns to my inventory. After a bit of a slow start, these coated patterns have taken off at a pace that has made it hard for me to keep up with maintaining inventory. In the 2012 season I had a few customers that dove into these patterns and gave them a good try. Results, particularly on the Columbia River fishery were good enough to raise my eyebrows and take notice and start working on adding more inventory. Then, after the spring season of 2013 things really got interesting. I got word from a few customers that they had previous luck and were doing well with the coated blades and word must have been getting around because by the start of the summer season in 2013 I was scrambling to try to get inventory and up to present day, I have virtually sold almost every piece of the coated inventory. Although it is a bit late, I have received the first installment of what is a very large batch of blades that will feature the Crystal UV Coating.
Even though I have an incurable addiction to spinner blade patterns, I am still kind of an "old dog" when it comes to the next "one and only" magic fish catching secret. I have been involved in the tackle industry for over 30 years now so I guess that makes me a skeptic right out of the box when it comes to new stuff. That is where I started when it came to this UV craze...skeptical. As I have learned more--by my own experiences but mostly by my customer's experiences, I have become a believer but not to the point of "it has to be UV or it won't fish". It is very clear that there is something about this Crystal UV coating that translates very well to on the water success and that, for a old dog like me, is where I start getting convinced. I have to say that I am convinced on this UV Crystal Coat thing and will be adding more and more patterns to the mix. I am even coating some plugs and getting them in the hands of some experts to see what they determine about the merits of the coating. There is a lot more conversation that could and should be had on UV in general which we will have but, the jury is pretty much in on the Crystal UV coating and it is a very positive verdict. Thanks! Dave

Check out the Crystal UV Coated Patterns Here:
http://www.sdcustomdesigns.com/Blades/Crystal-UV-Coated-Blade-Patterns-c70/

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October 23rd, 2013

10/23/2013

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Welcome to my blog/forum page. Please keep an eye out for my first official post this forum. I hope that this will be a good way for me to communicate with my customers and talk spinners and keep you up on what's new and what is coming as well as be able to share some fishing stories and keep up with the bite in the many fisheries my customers fish.
Thanks!
Dave

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A Great Summer!

Seasonal Spinner Selection

Offering deals?

Short on ideas?

Two New Patterns...

Crystal UV Coated Blades...

October 23rd, 2013

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