The Spoonpluggers Forum

I started spoonplugging about 3 months ago. I have read the green book and have acquired a small arsenal of gear. So far with my limited knowledge I have had some success and I am hoping there is someone in my area that I could possibly fish with to help me in my journey. I live in Youngsville, NC which is near Raleigh and have been fishing 99% of the time at Buggs Island which straddles NC and Va.

If you are in my area and would like a partner let me know.

~JOE~

Joe, There are a couple of spoonpluggers in NC that I know of but not sure how close they might be to you. When I first started back in the early 70's , there were three of us that knew nothing. We read the green book, there were no clubs, no internet, no one to help us. It was years before I saw someone else on the water trolling spoonplugs and when I tried to talk to them, they wanted nothing to do with me. I will never forget that!!!!!!!!! I let them know how I felt by going up to them and picking an 18 lb northern out of the livewell and shook it at them and yelled two words that they might not have forgotten either. Eventually years later got to fish with them but that black mark is still in my brain. We put our heads down and learned ourselves which is simply the best way I know to really get good at this. 40 to 60 days on the water was the norm for us back then. All vacations and every weekend pretty much was how it went and we all had jobs and families. No 3 or 4 hour days. Daylight till dark for us, all the time. Eventually a few outings came about and there was a jamboree where two or three hundred spoonpluggers would gather and I could not wait to attend one of those. My first one, I walked around and listened and looked for someone to learn from. At the end of the day I told my wife that what I am listening to that most are worse off than I was. Everyone was looking for that guy or two to learn from. I found one or two and I hung around the one guy who I figured was the best and after a couple of days, he looked at me and said boy........... you got the fire in your eyes. He ended up helping me out a lot. But don't count on that to happen. One of the guys I learned with was lots better than me so right away, I knew I would have to fish with him. I was right. He was a lot better than me and I ended up learning so much just the first day I got in the boat with him. From that day, I was never lost on the water again. The best spoonpluggers out there are the ones that are on the water every chance they get. It's not easy but after a few years of working at it, following the guidelines, a person will have enough success and that will breed wanting to learn more. I don't know any other way to get what you want in a reasonable amount of time than just getting on the water a lot and doing what the book says. Don't feel like no one has payed attention to your post. Put your head down and just go to work doing the mechanics. Go back and re-study the material often. You will not understand everything that's in there till you experience all of it. It just takes that time on the water. Success cannot be had any other way. John

Thank you for your reply. I currently am putting $$$ aside so I can add a tiller motor to my boat. December and now January I am back to catfishing. This coming spring ,summer and fall I will once again start to spoonplug and hopefully be able to build on what I already have learned.

~JOE~

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. I’m lucky living in MN because I found a couple of local guys who took me under their wing. I also am blessed that John has been involved in my coaching and learning. But even with all the help, there is absolutely no substitute for hard work and time on the water. Keep following the guidelines without deviation and work hard to understand why you caught fish where you were successful. Spend time studying the material, watching videos of other Spoonpluggers and scouring this forum for info and motivation. Good luck and keep asking questions.

Ken

Just looked at a map of bugs island: great looking lake with everything Buck wrote about. Don’t put your Spoonplugging equipment away bc you’re catfishing. Everything buck said will relate to catching catfish too. Watch Duplex or Shell on YouTube, Get a plug knocker and get out there.

Got 2 plug knockers and they definitely work. Buggs Island is huge and a bit intimidating but so far I have found 2 humps that have produced for me. My plan is to pick a section and try to learn it before I move on to something else.

~JOE~