The Spoonpluggers Forum

Hi I'm Joe . I am just getting into Spoonplugging. I first encountered this method seeing Don Dickson's infomercials back in the 90's. But I had a young family and couldn't afford to keep ordering the tapes. Spring forward to 2014 and my wife and I just decided we are to old for horseback riding and sold our beloved 4 hoof friends. But that was her passion. Now it's my turn! I started searching for Don Dickson and "Structure Fishing", that led me here. I've since poured over as much material as I can get( thanks for ALL the down loads ), Just purchased a boat yesterday and my son and I are going out today to get started at our favorite local lake. Is anyone familiar with Bear Lake in Waupaca County, WI? Also I just purchased my first set of spoonplugs from Buck's sight but I'm having a hard time finding lures to use in the mean time. Any suggestions?

Welcome aboard, Joe, and congrats on the new boat! Lots of great info on these pages to browse through. If you're not already, another thought would be to join National (NSOA.info) and be able to get access to all the old back issues of the National Newsletter. Lots of good stuff there, too. Can't help you with the Wisconsin fishing as I'm stuck down here in Indiana As for lures, you might get lucky by searching for a tackle shop that sells Spoonplugs up that way while you're waiting, or perhaps finding someone local that can help you out. Keep in mind, Buck said you can Spoonplug with any bait, though the SPs will get to do the yeomans work once they arrive. In the mean time, it seems Shad Raps, Pointers, and the DT series of baits are also pretty popular for trolling purposes. Some of the Norman's line of baits, too. Those can all be had at most any local sporting goods store.

-Brian

Welcome to the board Joe. You've come to the right place. While you wait for your Spoonplugs, the Rapala DT series is used by many on this board. They are designated DT 4, DT 6, etc. to indicate the running depth. Do a search on the board for "Rapala" and read what people have posted about them. For casting, blade baits, e.g. Silver Buddies, Cotton Cordell Gay Blade, Bass Pro Lazar Blades, etc. are excellent for "jump baits". For jigs, here's what John has to say about Custom Bass Jigs.com, "Wade Brinkman is his name and he makes the best jigs in the country bar none."

MEMORIZE what John Bales' posts. If you haven't already done so, read the article Basics of Structure Fishing, from the June '85 issue of Fishing Facts. You'll find it in the Buck Sez forum. All those articles in Buck Sez are a wealth of information. Another good source of information is http://www.spoonplug.net/. Click the link to Clubs at top, select "IN" read the IN club newsletters. John Bales has an educational article in every one of them. John also makes and sells blade baits as well as his JB1 and JB2 spoonplugs. John makes the highest quality lures you will find anywhere; stainless steel bodies and top quality hooks: http://johnnyb-lures.com/

Bear Lake? That's so far north I'm surprised the ice is off the lake!

Ahhh yes Bear Lake, where else can you get a sandy beach and park your boat at your own campsite. anyway thanks for the tips guys. Yes I've read almost all of what "Buck says" in those articles. Now I have my work cut out learning the local lakes so I can take my wife out and put her on the fish right away. She won't sit still for all the mapping and interpreting and so forth. But my 10 yr old son loves being in the boat doing anything, we'll get educated together.

Welcome to the board Joe!
I can add anymore than Brian and James already has.
Study the material. the Home Study course is a must have.