The Spoonpluggers Forum

Hello,

I just joined this forum (see my introduction) and have a question about trolling gear. I am working through the home study guide (just finished the guide on controls and tools). I was wondering if anyone had any sugestions on moderately priced trolling rods and reels. Also, fishing lines have obviously come a long way since the study guides were written. Any ideas on what would be the best lines to use?

Thanks in advance for any help,

Tom

Tom,
The best advice is start out with Buck Perry equipment, i.e. rod, reel, and No-Bo. Everything in the home study series and in the "green book" is geared toward that. Once you get some experience under your belt, then you might think about experimenting with other equipment. Many experienced spoonpluggers still use Buck's equipment.

Thanks James. What poind test would you recomend to start with?

Welcome Tom, you came to the right place! Contact Scott Jenkins at Bucks Baits. He has everything you need.
The Penn 109's are what most use, the gear ration is slow, but good to get started with. You can get them on e-bay for about $20. You mentioned newer lines, the No-Bo is hard to beat. Following the book exactly will speed up the learning process. Experiment with other equipment later, once you understand and can do it well. Don't be afraid to ask questions if something doesn't make sense. Time in the boat will make all the reading come together quickly.

Tom,
Like Gary and Jim said. Stay with the guidelines in the book.
If you want, send me your address in a Private Message and i will let you have a couple of Penn reels at a very reasonable price. They still work great and will serve you well.
Steve

Tom,
You can't go wrong with 12 lb test. One of the experienced spoonpluggers in our club uses it even for muskies and hasn't had a problem; of course wire leader for pike and musky. If you are fishing in waters with zebra mussels use a wire leader, about 2' to 3'. One experienced spoonplugger uses 50 lb test mono leader, which works for him. Check out Steve's offer on the Penn 109s. Parts are still available for them. I've replaced the pawl on four of mine and the worm on one. Again, my suggestion is to stick with the equipment/tools recommended by Buck Perry in the home studies series. He did it for a reason. That's where everyone started.

What will be EXTREMELY helpful to you are the new videos by John Bales; available from http://spoonpluggerfilms.com/. Start with Natural Lakes: Fundamentals and Structure Situations

Tom, May I ask what states you will be fishing.I agree with all the advice you have sofar and add one more do not try to walk a sp.on rock rip rap,a dam causeway etc. Just a light tap every few ft. so you will know where you are working. Bob

Thanks to all for the wonderful advisce and help so far. It just pushes me harder to learn this stuff. Although at times I wonder if I will be able to take tyhe stuff from the study guide and apply it properly.

BV I will mostly be fishing in eastern Nebraska right now. We do go to Minnesota every year and fish. The Lake we go to is called White Earth Lake. It is approx 30=40 miles North of Detroit Lakes. I hoping to get confident enough to work on this stuff in mid-July when we go.

Thanks again and any other advice anyone can offer is much appreciated.

Tom

The material can be overwhelming at times. There is so much to absorb.
Just stay with the basics at first.
Pick a lake with good water color first.
Learn to troll and cast the shallows keeping all lure in position.
Learn to troll and cast the deep.
Dont just read the material....study it!
The rest will come with time on the water.
Buy John Bales video Natural Lakes Part 1.
It will shorten your learning curve.
Watch the video a minimum of 6 times. Research has shown that the human brain only absorbs 10% on the first viewing of any video, unless you are blessed with an eidetic memory.
Ask questions.
Go to the Jamboree and ask someone to take you out.