The Spoonpluggers Forum

Welcome Shep. There is a great deal of information already on this forum and plenty of spoonpluggers willing to answer questions.

Best of luck
Ken

John, I’m seeing firsthand what spraying has done to Sarah. They spray the curly leaf pondweed early in the spring. The pondweed provides a deeper break and cover for the post-spawn fish to recover and migrate back to their sanctuary. When that’s gone the fish have to adapt. As you’ve said many time...

Good observation, John. That is the kind of observation that can only be made by spending a lot of time on the water - enough to notice a stalk of coontail leaning. Nicely done. One thing I noticed this year is that the thermocline in my lake is set up 7-8’ deeper than last year. It’s only my second...

That’s very interesting, Steve. I did not know that. That’s something to consider when I’m trolling over rocks. Thank you.

Thanks Brian and John. This is just one of many questions that rattle in my brain. It seems that the more I fish I may get an answer or two but I also think of a half dozen new questions. Last season I observed that I could troll a breakline with a Spoonplug and catch nothing. But if I turned around...

I’ve been curious for a while of the correlation between depth and speed on the fishing situation. We all know that depth and speed are the most important of the 5 things we can control as fishermen. I believe Mr. Perry said it makes up 80% of the determination of our fishing success or failure. I’m...

Welcome to Spoonplugging, Joe. Get ready to catch more and bigger fish than you caught in the past. I agree with John and you’ll do well to heed his words. He is a veteran, a teacher and a legend among this group. I just finished my 1st real season of spoonplugging, with the right tools and effort. ...

As a newbie, a seasonal report won’t have the level of impact or intrigue as one that is provided by the pros on this forum. I have the numbers of my catches because I log every trip; but for me it is more satisfying to focus on what was learned. Below are a few comments and observations after what ...

Wow Scott! Nicely done. She’s a beauty. Now I have some ideas on changes to mine.

Bink wrote: ↑Sun May 21, 2023 8:23 pm Ken
Don’t worry about following the breakline with the boat….. work more on keeping your plug on the breakline. Your boat will never be glued to the breakline

Thank you. Yes, an important distinction that the guys here in MN keep emphasizing.

Thanks to the assistance (and prodding 😂) from Fran Myers and John Bales, I was able to acquire a 15’ Troller Pro Structure over the winter. I had it out a couple of times crappie fishing this spring but yesterday was the first time using it in an attempt to follow contours, breaklines and weed-line...

It’s a great question Joe. You and I fish the same waters and struggle with the same invasive species. I’m sure you’ve seen this too but I’ve notice on Tonka and other MN natural lakes that the zebras (another invasive species) weigh down the stalks of milfoil (American and euro Asian) and knocks do...

One thing that was reinforced over and over again last season while I was trying to map a structure is that contour lines on our map chips do an okay job of showing us the general vicinity of structure but are often not Ben close to accurately showing the breaks, breaklines, and drop-offs. And I cou...

Very interesting. There is so much to learn. Some days (most days) I wish I was still in my 20’s so that I had a lifetime of learning ahead. I hate that my lakes are 3’ or more thick with ice cover right now. I can’t wait to get out there and learn more. Thanks for sharing this video. I’m reading “L...

Great info guys for us northern natural lake guys. I was out yesterday on a bay on lake Minnetonka that was post turnover. I worked deep steep breaklines and stacked SP’s from 8’ to 25’ adjacent to a 31’ hole. I also cast a jig over a steep drop off from 23’ into 32’, adjacent to a 45’ hole. Finally...