The Spoonpluggers Forum

Ive noticed more and more good YT providers pulling the plug on their own clips' comments sections, and i dont blame anyone for doing so, especially spoonpluggers. Obviously many anonymous fishermen can be "a jerk on one end the rod waiting for a jerk on the other end." But what are some other reasons, in your cases? I imagine many comments are simply misdirections from people who dont get the point, but who think they do. Such as, "How can you label that spoonplugging when you were using a different lure?" And so on. Any funny stories?

Ben,
I dont know about youtube comments, other than there are just some guys out there that are arm chair experts when they get behind a computer.
The facts just get in the way it seems.
When i ran my Predator Guide Business, I would get all kinds of comments from animal rights groups, tree hugger types, and just plain idiots making comments on my web site.
Buck made a statement many years ago, that you cant tell someone that dont know, they dont know. I would simply delete their comment, never give them another thought. They WANT to argue with you. Sometimes the best comment back is to not comment. You are talking to a wall for the most part with these people. They really dont know, they dont know.

Spoonplugging is an all inclusive word. Boiled down the its simplest form it is: Knowing what makes a fish tick and how to catch him CONSISTANTLY!

I care not HOW you go about doing this. What lure you use, or what equipment one uses, doesnt matter. Just as long as you and I are fishing in the right place, at the right time, and fishing in the right manner.
Buck set Guidelines down on WRITTEN form for the BEST way to do this. The Spoonplug was designed to provide the BEST way, so to speak.
As long as you can control Depth and Speed, AT THE SAME TIME, then you are Spoonplugging.

This is my answer to you on what Spoonplugging really is. Some get all butt hurt when this is pointed out to them. Fine! It is their problem at that point. So I ignor them and let them wallow in their ignorance.
I have proven beyond a doubt that the concept of Spoonplugging works the best for me. And thats all that really matters in the end.
Steve

Steve, You are exactly correct in all that you said. I had a 2 1/2 hour talk with Mr. O'Malley a few days ago. He always mentions the good old days and many of his stories I have heard before but enjoy hearing them every time. In his later years this mean tough guy ended up fishing with a preacher. Terry talks about spring time fishing in the Fox Chain in Chicago. He talked about throwing spinner baits in the shallows in the early season or rattletraps, or jig fishing the sandy beaches where the hard sand exists. He told me about learning about how effective the suspending jerk bait is back in the feeder coves in the reservoirs during the pre spawn .
Our discussion brought up how our natural lakes have cleared up and the weeds have gone deeper and we have lost most all of our good water colored lakes. I asked him if he thought he would ever launch his boat around here in our clear lakes. He told me that he used to work really hard during the week on his job so on his days off, he didn't want to work extra hard to catch a fish. He would rather fish a lake with no weeds and some good color.
Terry ended up telling me this after the two hours on the phone. He said this...…………. Spoonplugging is not about just trolling spoonplugs. It is about having enough knowledge to know what the fish do in all of the seasons, and knowing what to do to catch em. That knowledge don't come easy or fast enough but once you have it, it's the kind of satisfaction that is nice to have.
Some of you might have taken the time to watch Duplex's video where we are drop shotting. We knew where we were going to catch the fish before we even wet a line. We got it all from Buck's material. It's all there for anyone to study and then put in some effort, which is the hard part.
There's always that guy who will try and degrade you when you are having great success at anything. Try to find another group of people who are so willing to help others get better at this sport.
I can't imagine how many fisherman wanted to crucify Mr. Perry during all of his travels. I doubt if any of us would have kept it up as he did. I am pretty sure it was our success that kept him motivated. John

Ben,

I've got to agree with Steve's comment. It says it all. Since I've been posting videos, I may have pulled the plug on a 1 or 2 guys. It's been awhile and I always regret having to do it. As Steve noted, the best response is simply not to respond at all. I've had a guy commenting pretty negatively over the last 3 or so months. I will give him credit for using his real name; most won't do that. I get a notification whenever someone posts and when I see it's him, I don't even read it! He comes across as being very upset that Spoonplugging hasn't worked for him: can't do anything about that. It didn't work for me when I started but I persevered and it has made all the difference in my fishing success.

What I don't understand is, why are these guys watching? I made the videos for Spoonpluggers with little or no experience. Maybe it would help get them over the hump. I was helped plenty by members of the Illinois Spoonpluggers. You could go to a meeting, talk about your fishing success, or lack of it, and get feedback on what you were doing right and/or wrong. Today, rather than join a club most people go to YouTube to find help.

What a lot of fishermen don't understand is that Buck was the genius behind today's fishing. Think Structure, the importance of maps, weather, sonar, the list goes on and on. Back in the 50's and 60's EVERYONE was a Spoonplugger! If you read the biography of fishermen in the B.A.S.S. Hall of Fame, many of them credit Buck Perry for the work he did. Al & Ron Lindner's In-Fisherman is all Spoonplugging called by a different name. Both Al & Ron stood in line to buy Spoonplugs when Buck hit the Chain of Lakes in 1957. The rest, as they say, is history. Buck always said that most fisherman want it easy. They want to buy success. It can't be done.

Over the years, I've had many positive comments from those who have watched my videos. Buck shared. I'm trying to share. But as he said, you can take it or leave it. Doesn't matter to me. I AM A SPOONPLUGGER and always will be.

Don't have any funny stories but I was on the river a couple of weeks ago and I saw this guy trolling the shoreline. After I launched, we ended up near one another and I asked him how the fishing was. He said, "you're the guy on the video, aren't you?" He had watched the river series, lived nearby, and decided to give it a try. He caught some fish too!

I've been noticed a number of times on on the reservoir where I'm catching the walleyes, crappies, and stripers. The only problem is they've figured out the structures I'm fishing and now sometimes, I can't get to fish them!

My video with the most views is the one I did in Tampa, Fl. It's had over 12,000 views and all I'm doing is catching small fish from the shoreline.

John and I have also experienced the downside to fame. When we're together, we'll often stop other boats in the area and ask if they recognize us from YouTube. Haven't had a positive response yet. Go figure!

Jim

Keep the videos coming... I really enjoy watching them ... Yes, I am a newbie at spoonplugging and can use all the help I can get... I know spoonplugging works as the proof is in the livewell!

Jim, thats funny enough, "Do you recognize us from youtube?" Heh, heh. Personally, i value being anonymous and i have avoided ever registering with facebook or other social media (only with educational platforms like here.) It might be different if or when i suppose social media would make me a million dollars.
(And thanks, John B, Steve C.)