Spoonplugging by Buck Perry

[Dogface]

Has anyone ever fished with or caught fish with spoonplugs?

 

My son was given a complete set but they have never been wet. We've talked about using them and I guess we should give them a try.

[Team9nine]

Yep ? You can almost consider them like lipless cranks (traps). The smaller the size, the shallower it will run, though being metal, they’ll all sink to the bottom if you let them. Can also troll them using the same principles. Go for it.

[WRB]

Spoonplug popularity faded along with trolling for bass. Spoonplugs don't cast particularly good but troll very well maintaining a specific depth range depending on the lure size, that is what they were designed to do.

When researching bass we all tend to group them in lieu of thinking of bass as individual fish with individual behavior characteristics, I know do.The older and bigger a bass gets it's life lessons change behavior and the more individual they become.

*Back in 1974 Mike Lembeck a California biologist did a 3 year study at lake San Vicente tracking 200 bass of various sizes. Some of the bass stayed together, most didn't and had individual behavior patterns. The largest bass of his tracking study traveled across very deep water and showed up at mid lake underwater islands or humps joining other big bass. The big bass would leave and return randomly traveling at various depths, no set pattern.

After fishing for big bass over the past 60+ years and trying to understand these fish the more I learned the less I knew.

Tom  

*reference In Pursuit of Gaint Bass, Bill Murphy

[bowhunter63]

It ruled the roost back in the day. It was all over fishing facts magazine.

[Dogface]

Thanks guys! I'm going to try them.

 

Photos to follow......well maybe they will.?

'

[Team9nine]

Here's a pic for motivation  caught on a 250 on the cast.

 

[Deleted account]

18 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Here's a pic for motivation  caught on a 250 on the cast.

 

Casting trolling spoons? Next ya'll be casting umbrellas...  

The things that Mr BP wrote about, are scaled down versions of what is done in the salt, particularly for striped bass. While I don't agree with some of of his approach and assertions, there is no denying the results, which is ultimately what it's about. I know many excellent anglers, including charter captains and guides who have some pretty nutty ideas as to what fish are doing or why what they do works, and while they may not be right, they get the job done. 

[WRB]

I am not a Buck Perry deciple per se but anyone who bass fishes today benefits from his observations about bass behavior. When you consider Perry was studing bass back in 30's to 40's, the depression through WWII when fish were food not sport his research and theories are amazing. It wasn't until the 50's that the Spoonplug became a commercial lure and Buck Perry began promoting his products. 

Buck Perry deserves our respect for advancing the sport of bass fishing.

Tom

[Catt]

Buck Perry was not in the business of selling lures, he was in the business of teaching structure fishing.

 

[detroit1]

JerryL makes some good points,but I disagree with his definition of "structure". I grew up with the explanation had only to do the bottom of the lake. (flat, dropoff, hump, depression, including man - made structures-bridge, rip rap). Cover is not structure. Cover would be weeds, stumps, docks,brushpile, tire, some old fridge etc. A leaning stump in a flat filled with vertical stumps is not "structure". I do agree that it's good to fish something where 2 different things abut each other (2 different weed types, chunk rock/gravel, etc.) but I could be wrong... I never tried his no-bo line, short stout rod,or trolled seriously, but I do still have his book and a couple of spoonplugs.