[Gerry Zagorski]

A little more detail on trolling Bunker spoons

Trolling bunker spoons is one of the few areas in life where size really does matter. Rod size that is ….. A 5 or 6 foot rod is fine for wire line trolling tubes, umbrella rigs, plugs and parachute rigs but you definitely need to go longer for trolling Bunker Spoons. It’s the action of the long soft bouncing tip that transfers to the spoons through the wire that give them the action they need to trigger strikes. A short pole on the other hand typically has little bounce and the bounce is well…..short.

If you ever saw a pole made especially for Bunker spoons you'd see what I mean. The poles are usually 7 to 8 feet long and have a soft tip. When the spoons are working right the tip bends a foot or so during each pulse. Every once and a while (say 10-15 secs) you will get a long deep 2 foot bend. This happens when the spoon changes direction and often times is what triggers a strike. It's the give and take of the rod tip pulsing and snapping back that gives the spoon the needed action. The reason you troll with wire instead of mono is 2 fold 1) it runs deeper then mono line because of its weight and lower diameter. 2) and more importantly, wire has no stretch so it transfers the action of the pole tip to the spoon more effectively then mono.

A few other tips.... Every once and a while take the boat out of gear and let the spoon flutter down in the water column a bit. This change in motion often triggers strikes. We were out on the Shrewsbury rocks one time trolling for hours with out a bump. Tried this and were hooked up on both rods almost immediately. Another tip is to make sure the spoon is working correctly. Too fast a troll and the spoon will simply turn in circles. Too slow and you get hung up on the bottom and the rod tip will not bounce/bend. There are 2 ways you can tell if you’re trolling the right speed. One is to troll the spoon right beside the boat and make sure it's not spinning. The other is to watch the rod tip. If you have a fast steady continuos pulse of the tip your spoon is most likely just spinning in circles. Your should have a somewhat slow pulse of the rod tip with an intermittent deep bend as mentioned above.

Lastly, you can't just set the RPMs and troll in the same direction in a straight line. Wind and current as well as the direction your trolling will effect how the spoons run. You must make speed adjustments by watching the rod tip for the correct action. You should also troll in a lazy S pattern and in different directions to see what is working best. One day we were trolling Round Shoal and the only time we where catching fish is when we were running with the tide.

Spoons are one of the more difficult things to troll correctly. What worked yesterday might not work today. They might not produce the quantity of a Shad or Tube Umbrella rig, they do however consistently catch bigger fish if worked properly.

Hang on a sec..... I think I hear my drag screaming.......


Update: A lot of people switched over to braid, including yours truly…The smaller diameter of braid gives it less resistance in the water which allows you to get down further in the water column, like wire is has no stretch and if you need more weight add a beaded drail weight. The plus side to braid is that it’s easier to work with, you don’t need a special wire line rod with car guides or a reel with a stainless spool so the wire does not corrode the spool. Lastly, you can use this same set up from trolling other things besides spoons.