The Root River is a great fishery.   Depending on where you fish you can catch smallmouth bass,  brown trout, rainbow trout, sauger, walleye, and an occasional northern pike.  I fish the Root River quite a bit and the only spinners I utilize are  Root River Lures Inline Spinners .  You can purchase the individual spinner or a boxed set that has a variety of all our favorite spinners.  

This can be a tough one.  I usually ask some additional questions:

• Do you fish panfish?  Yes. I would recommend the Root River Lures  #3 Inline Spinners if you like to cast.  If you like to slip bobber then I recommend our Root River Lure Vertical Lures tipped with a small leech,  piece of nightcrawler., or small crappie minnow. There are two sizes of the vertical lures.  I normally use the smaller size, but on a lake with big blue gills or crappies I actually use the walleye size.
• Do you fish largemouth bass?  Yes. Root River Inline Spinners will work for largemouth, but I recommend Root River Lure large or medium bucktails.  The bucktails come with a treble hook connected via split ring.  This makes it easy to switch to a single hook if fishing in the weeds.  When ordering choose the 4/0 Nickel Single hook.
• Do you fish smallmouth bass?  Yes. Root River Inline Spinners will work for smallmouth, but for lakes I recommend the medium Root River Lures bucktail.  I especially like the double bladed.
• Do you fish walleye/sauger?  Yes.  For trolling I recommend Root River Lures Walleye Spinners.  They come in either #2 or #4 Colorado bladed with either a single hook or two hooks.  I use all red hooks.  If ice fishing or bobber fishing then I recommend Root River Lures Vertical Walleye Lures.  These can be tipped with a leech or a minnow.
• Do you fish northern pike?  Yes. This one is always the easiest for me.  I love to cast our Root River Lures Bucktails for northern pike.  You can also troll them.  
• Do you fish musky?  Yes.  Root River Lures Bucktails will fill the bill for musky’s.  We have the large and small bucktails that work great, but we also offer a #14 double bladed x-large bucktail for those places that have huge musky.

I try to keep the additional questions simple, since we probably do not know the details:

• Does the person fish streams/rivers?  If they are a fly fisherperson, then I recommend a box of our Root River Lure Stimulator Flies.  If they just like to fish then I recommend a box of our Root River Inline Variety pack spinners.
• Does the person fish lakes?  This is a little tougher, since all of our lures will work on a lake.  If they do some ice fishing then I recommend either our Root River Lure Walleye or Panfish lures.  If they walleye fish I recommend Root River Lure Walleye Spinners or our Vertical Lures.  If they are not sure I recommend any of our Root River Lure Inline Spinners.
• Does the person fish the Mississippi?   Again, all of the Root River Lures will work somewhere on the Mississippi.   If they do not have any specific information, I recommend Root River Lures Inline Spinners.  For more details on fishing the Mississippi, see the FAQ below.

This is one of my favorite questions!  The answer is that you can get started for less than $50 and probably cheaper if you already have some of the items.  Here is a quick summary:

1. Valid fishing license with needed stamps.  For example, Minnesota requires a Trout stamp to fish designated trout streams.
2. Find a place to fish.  The DNR website is a great place to start.  They have a brochure that has designated trout streams and the necessary easements for access.
3. For rivers like Root River and Zumbro River a pair of old tennis shoes or wading shoes is all that is needed.  If fishing cold water trout streams you might want waders.
4. Pair of polarized sunglasses to help see fish, see structure, and cut down on the glare.
5. Hat.
6. Light to Medium Spinning Rod and Reel with 4lb test.  The 4lb test is extremely important.  It allows you to cast further and also is less visible in the clear streams.

The streams/rivers in Southeast Minnesota receive a fair amount of pressure and the water tends to be crystal clear.  Good for the fish, but bad for the fisherperson.  My rule of thumb is if you can see the fish, they can see you.  There are a few things to help increase your success:

1. Wear dark clothes.  This will cut down on fish seeing you.
2. Sneak up to the stream.  Yes, it may seem weird, but crawling is allowed.  Fish can feel vibration.
3. Wear polarized sunglasses.  Will help spot the fish, but also will help spot fish holding structure.
4. Have the capability to cast 40′.  The longer the cast the less likely to spook the fish.  This is where a light to medium rod and reel spooled with 4lb test is critical.  The 4lb test will help you cast further and is less visible in the clear waters.

This is a tough question, but with a little discussion we can come up with an answer.  A couple of the FAQs above address some of the key questions:

1. What bodies of water do you intend to fish?
2. What type of fish do you intend to target?

For open water, Root River Lures have lures that address both of these questions, but without a lot of extra info, I recommend Root River Lures Inline Spinners.  They will catch almost every gamefish in Minnesota.

For ice fishing, I recommend Root River Lures Vertical Lures.  Either the walleye or the panfish size.

Agreed!  We do have a lot of Inline Spinner options.  The reason for this is the fact I fish the Root River the most and I always throw Root River Lure Inline spinners.  I have thought about reducing the number of options, but to be honest I use almost all of the spinners at some point in the year.  Here is some info that might help describe the different options:

1. Traditional Inline Spinners: Available in #4 Indiana and #3 Indiana.  2 1/4″-2 3/4″.  .09oz-.25oz.  5 hemalyke beads.  Integrated red treble hook.  My go to lure.  It is the lure that started our small business.  The #4’s have the right weight for long casts and the integrated red treble hooks rarely let me down.
2. Quick Change (QC) Spinners: Available in #4 Indiana and #3 Indiana.  2 1/4″-2 3/4″.  .09oz-.21oz.  The Quick Change option allows you to quickly change your hook configuration from a red treble to a fly, a jig, a barbless hook, a single hook, or a small bucktail.  I love these lures if I’m exploring new waters or if the fish just are not biting the normal lure.  Sometimes just switching to a fly or a small bucktail makes all the difference.  
3. Swing Blade Spinners: Available in #5 Swing and #4 Swing blade. 2 1/2″-2 3/4″. .14oz-.28oz.  White body.  White bucktail.  These lures will work on any species, but were developed for fishing white bass on Lake Pepin.  We’ve had trips where if you saw a boil (shad being pushed to the top by the white bass) and cast into it you caught a fish every time.  You can cast the #5 a mile!

And if those options do not satisfy you we offer inline spinners custom built to your specification.

The Mississippi offers a lot of options.  Here are a few:

• Backwaters:
  • Largemouth Bass: Root River Lure Large or Medium Bucktails with a single hook.
  • Smallmouth Bass: Root River Lure Medium Bucktails the treble hook or a single hook.
  • Panfish: Root River Lures #3 Inline Spinners or Vertical lures under a slip bobber with a piece of nightcrawler, waxie, or crappie minnow.
  • Northern Pike: Root River Lure Large or Medium Bucktails with a yellow or white plastic twister added to the treble hook.
• Main Channel:
  • Walleye/Sauger: Trolling Root River Lure Walleye Spinners with bottom bouncers.
• Dams or Wing Dams
  • Smallmouth Bass: Casting Root River Lure Inline spinners or if anchored a Walleye Vertical jig under a slip bobber, tipped with a piece of nightcrawler or a minnow.
  • Walleye/Sauger: Casting Root River Lure Inline spinners or if anchored a Walleye Vertical jig under a slip bobber, tipped with a piece of nightcrawler or a minnow.
• Lake Pepin
  • Walleye/Sauger: Trolling Root River Lure Walleye Spinners with bottom bouncers.  If slip bobbering then the Root River Lure Walleye Vertical lure tipped with a crawler, leech, or minnow.
  • Smallmouth Bass: Cast the shore lines with a Root River Lure Inline Spinner.
  • Panfish: Root River Lures #3 Inline Spinners or Vertical lures under a slip bobber with a piece of nightcrawler, waxie, or crappie minnow.
  • White Bass: Root River Lures #5 or #4 Swing Blade Inline Spinner.

This depends on a few things.  You want to be in contact with the bottom.

1. Number of people in the boat.  If you have more than 2 people in the boat it can be tricky trolling 3 or more lines especially when navigating turns.  In these situations I like to add an extra heavy bottom bouncer or walking sinker and have people let out just enough line to contact bottom.  The goal is to have the lines as close to the boat as possible.  Also, make sure people do not reel up when turning.
2. Weight of the sinker. The heavier the sinker the less line you need to put out.
3. Depth of the water. I tend to increase the sinker weight the deeper the water. 
4. Speed you are trolling.  The faster you troll the walleye spinner rig with the sinker will tend to come off the bottom.  I generally like to troll 1.3 mph.  If you want to troll faster then more sinker weight may be needed.