Last chance to ask

[joseph radunz]

Well, unfortunately looks like this may be the last chance to ask a group of spoonpluggers this question-

What is your favorite spoonplugging story of all time?

Could be a giant fish you caught, maybe the first school you got into, best lesson you learned, a catch so phenomenal that if it wasn’t from a spoonplugger you wouldn’t believe it, or a catch that if you weren’t a spoonplugger you couldn’t imagine possible, anything.

Let’s hear em, one last hurrah!

[site admin]

probably the funniest one for me....

Many years ago (mid 1990's) I was catching a lot of muskies in a lake in central Il (Otter lake). Rarely do you see another person trolling. SO when I saw an old timer out there trolling. I stopped and talked to him. He wasn't a spoonplugger, but was doing a fairly good job trolling the structures. I rarely ever tell the locals how many fish I catch. Mostly because I feel it does no good and it seems to piss them off or they think your lying or exaggerating. This old timer was a nice guy and I told him that I had an earlier trip that year where I caught 9 muskies in one day, and on the next trip I landed 10 in a day. Fast forward to the following year, I met a guy that was pulling his boat out while I was launching. Most people fish bass at this lake. When the guy saw I had a large net he asked if I was fishing for muskies. I said yes. His eyes opened up wider and said enthusiastically he did too. I asked him how he did. He was very excited to tell me he had (2) follows that day. I decided to stroke his ego a bit and replied back enthusiastically with a wow, that's great! I asked if he ever managed to get any in the boat on other outings. He said he had one day that he had 2 fish! I acted in disbelieve and let out a big WOW, that's great! That's amazing! Then I asked if that happens much out here. He said no, but he heard a story of a guy that caught 10 in one day. I said VERY enthusiastically "no way, that's impossible!". He said," yeah, I think it was BS too". "Ain't no way anyone could catch that many in a day, it must have been for the season". I said yeah, I don't believe that either. (The old timer obviously talked about my success with others). I so badly wanted to tell him you're talking to the guy that caught the 10 muskies in a day! I finished launching and headed out with a big smile on my face.

[John Bales]

Joe, I have many. I suppose the highlight of my life was when John Zaborney and I went to Florida and ended up stopping at Mr. Perry's house to see if he would give us some direction. We ended up staying at their house that night and while Jeri was fixing us breakfaast, Mr. Perry left the table for a while. What he ended up doing was hooking up his boat to the Rv and came in and said he was going to show us a few lakes. John and I spent the entire time fishing along side of the man for almost a week and I just cannot say enough how much we enjoyed spending time with the guy who invented all the stuff we know as spoonplugging. John and I caught the crap out of the bass on the first lake we went to. We had some 6-7 pounders and Buck took pics and told us to throw them back. We didn't come in till dark and Buck had his RV at the ramp with his lights on so we could see to take the boat out. John Z fixed everything that broke that week. We both agree that trip was the highlight of our lives. John and I slept in the back of his pick up and the evening of the first day the night time temps got down to 31 degrees. After that no one caught a single fish, not even Buck Perry. We fished several lakes and got to look at the Florida muck lines. Learned a lot that week and never dreamed we would be fishing along side of Buck Perry, our hero. John
I also have to include this one. Deb and I caught 70 musky in 6 days on the Detroit River. I have to include that . We had 5 or 6 over 50 inches and on fathers day, my son and I went there for the day and my son caught a 55 1/2 incher that weighed 40.40 lbs. And all the big bass catches we made on several lakes in Michigan. It was like no one had ever knew they were there. All of these memories are just memories because every one of them have been sprayed so bad that the fishing simply sucks in all of them now. Those in control of this should all be in jail. I'm done now.

[joseph radunz]

Amazing stories, like I said , if you weren’t a spoonplugger hearing the story from a spoonplugger you probably wouldn’t believe them. Since I asked the question - I’ll put a few of my memories in - like fishing a slot lake close to home we put 64 pike in the boat in a hair over 3 hours digging up the bottom of the slot, a series of days fishing the Rum river, my cousin and I had the smallies pinned down with totals of 64,64,65 and 68. No wall hangers but the smallest was 18” biggest was 21”. Or a 4 hour tour on the Mississippi in June one year 3 of us caught 146 lbs of walleye in 4 hours. All 4-8 lbs. But as far as lessons learned, I learned the value of a good rifle site (these were the days before gps and waypoints). I was fishing one of the few reservoirs in Minnesota. It was one of the only lakes in the area so it was loaded with recreational boaters. I put up with it because it was loaded with fish then. I was trolling the channel breakline with an 800 and some bone head and family ripped right behind me at full speed, they were so close the cut off my line. I was so hot about it I hunted them down with all intentions of choking him out but decided against it when I saw his 2 little kids. I made him give me $20 for my spoonplug. After I cooled down I hooked up another 800 and went back to work following my same line sight. First pass I picked up some garbage off the bottom, as I reeled it up I realized I hooked my spoonplug! So I got my lure back and made $20!! I laughed to myself for a half hour. I’ve heard people say you are trying to hit an area the size of a bathtub, I realized then and there that if your line sight is good you can hit an area the size of an 800 spoonplug. I’ve never forgot that lesson.
Been too many good times, hope they never end. Thanks for sharing fellas. Hope we can hear a few more.

Joe

[SeaMonster]

Gentlemen-
Too many good times and too many good stories regarding Spoonplugging.
I will say this I have thoroughly enjoyed the 40 years of fishing, learning, meeting other spoon pluggers, and bringing some new people into Spoonplugging.
Best memories have been:
Minnesota Spoonpluggers monthly meetings at a Sgt. Preston's bar near the 3M building;
Spoonplugging lesson with John Bales days before the Indiana Outing (this was prior the name being changed);
Meeting the Zaborney brothers;
Getting into schools of fish while casting;
Having my boat partner catch a human skull;
Daily visits to this website;
Spoonplugger get together at Frans lake home;
Simply getting into a boat for the first time with the likes of Bob Jackson, Clem Freeze, Joe Radunz, Fran Myers, Ken Smith and all the others who shared their time, knowledge, and gave me boat rides - so glad our lives crossed paths!
I will relive all these good times in my rocking chair with big ol' smile on my face; hope you do the same.

[Joetrain]

Here’s mine. I’m new to the game. Just started this past summer. I acquired the green book from a friend and he gave me a starter set of spoonplugs. On my first outing I trolled a mid lake hump and caught 2 huge white perch and 3 blue cats that were all about 8 lbs. I couldn’t believe it. On another outing I went back to the hump and caught 3 more cats from one spot using a CC spoon hopping it off the bottom.

~JOE~

[Steve Craig]

Mine have been several.
First one was on Lake Waveland in Indiana. It was my first REAL BIG school of LM Bass. I caught 51 bass in a little over 2 hours from the Contact point at 17 feet breaking into 23 feet of water. One of my best days ever.I have no clue just how many bass were in that school!

Next would be I caught 30 Smallmouth on 32 casts to a spot no bigger than a pickup bed on a finger that broke from 32 feet into 70 feet of water. First 2 bass weighed over 6 pounds each, and the smallest went just over 4 pounds! Happened in Canada a few years ago.

Catching my first 10+ POUND LM on Canyon lake in Jan 2021 trolling a Spoonplug.

Catching an 11 pound LM and a 10.28 LM while fishing with Josh Jones in Texas while learning the FFS technique! The sad part was I lost a 13+ pounder at the boat!

Last, happened this past year, also in Canada with my son. Got on a hump that topped out at 28 feet, and with FFS, set on Scout Mode, followed a school of Smallmouth around that hump and caught over 40 bass. Nothing huge, but respectable in the 3 to 5 pound range in a very short time. Watching my son laugh every time I told him to "cast there", and he catches a fish!

Ill take these memories with me into eternity!

[Bink]

Too many great memories…
I had a very unique Spoonpluging introduction. Growing up in the city of Chicago no one in my family fishes and I knew very few people that fish. My uncle’s drug dealer happened to be a Spoonplugger and somehow we ended up on Lake Michigan with him when I was about 3 years old. 8 hours and no fish and I final convinced them to let me hold the rod. In very short time I had a 25lb king salmon on and I was hooked for life. From that day on I was always invited to go( mostly bc I would bring gas $$$ and wouldn’t make a peep).
We traveled, slept in a van & fished all over the Midwest every summer. They’d sneak my into strip clubs and bars every night after we stopped to call my mom from a pay phone to tell her where we were and how that days fishing went. Couple good bar brawls at white Lake Michigan.
Bought my fist 6hp motor from the local mob bookie when I was around 12. Convinced my friends dad to let me bring it along to there cottage on Portage lake in Oneckma mi. Dragged some old crappy boat out from the woods behind their cottage and proceeded to catch a limit of Walleye the first night. They didn’t believe I caught the fish from their lake. Their family had been going up there for 80+ years and had never seen a walleye caught there.
Our local KMart had a green box on their shelf well into the 1990s. I would go and buy it and use it for a day or two and return it bc I couldn’t afford it.
Started a Boat launch on fire so we could launch on Lake Michigan in February.
Had to get my first fake ID when I turned 16 so I could rent boats on the fox chain.
Drove to Webster lake In Indiana when I was 16. Planning on renting a boat. Boat rental guy said absolutely he would not rent me a boat. I pleaded with him telling home I was going to be Spoonpluging and following contour lines. When I said I was a Spoonplugger he immediately said you must know what you’re talking about and rented me a boat.
Took a bunch of acid and rented a boat on one of our local cooling lakes. When we left the dock it was flat calm. Drive all the way to the other end of the lake and fished for hours. Soon and I started back 50mph wind picked up and the Truman show began.
Best memories now are talking my boys fishing. 27 days until opening day here to make more memories

[MuskyAddict]

Dude, I want to go fishing with you!
Ken

[Bink]

Ken come to Hayward first two weeks of July

[MuskyAddict]

That’s tempting. I haven’t fished that area in years. The wife and I are planning our vacations this year and I’ll see if I have any days left to get out of work. I should retire. Work is sure getting in the way of fishing.