Bunker Spoons aren't as popular as they once were twenty or twenty five years ago. One of the reasons was probably because the lack of menhaden in our area for a long time. They remained popular in New York and New Jersey over that time though. Some claimed that the bunker spoon was a good imitation of small winter flounder and small fluke which a bass would easily eat. When trolling on wire line, the accpeted theory is for every 100-feet of wire, you get ten feet of depth. Paulie is right when he says that you need to allow for the extra weight of the spoon which, depending on the kind, style, and make, can be as much as ten additional ounces of weight. The 100-ft./ten feet of depth is only a beginning point. A lot depends on the type of boat, its speed, the current, wind, and more when trolling. Using T-Bar trolling out-riggers will get you deeper and sticking the rod in the rod holder point towards the sky. That 45 to 60-degree angle is always disregarded by most fishermen. From the rod tip to the point of entry into the water is dead length, meaning that you need to account for all that extra wire that actually isn't in the water and going down. Having the rod in a t-bar holder can increase the number of strikes 10-fold as the line of entry to the water is more even and easier to calculate than sticking up pointing at the sky as much guys troll. Trolling wire is not for everyone. The tackle is heavy, the rods are heavy, the wire is heavy, the fight of the fish pretty much sucks unless he's huge, and if you don't have a lot of experience using it you tend to loose an awful lot of fish. Remember, wire has no stretch to it, so opening a hole in the fish's mouth is very easy to do as he pulls against all that weight. Trolling two or three hundred feet of wire is work. Make no mistake about it. Mated on dozens of boats over 35 years and its work. It's also not much fun, in my opinion. Is it effective? Yes it is. Is it fun, no it is not. There are a dozen other ways to get a lure deep and have fun doing it. Planers, drails, lead-core, and more are effectrive when you learn to fish them correctly. Problem is it takes time and patience to do it right and today noboby seems to have that for anything, mcuh less fishing.
Jimmy: I gotta tell ya, I love pulling wire, probably because this is my first year and I have never done it, even on someone else's boat. Took a couple of times out to get the knack of doing it right but the first hit is AWESOME!!! I had a 29# 15oz 2 Saturdays ago in 23 feet of water and the fish screamed 100 feet of line off. Of course, after that, the fight was almost non-existant. I guess the weight of the wire just tires them out very quickly. I am pulling Montauk Bunker spoons that weigh 15 oz each. They really wobble with a big sweep as they move. Seems like it just makes the fish angry. The other thing I figured out pretty quickly is you need to keep the boat in gear after you hoohup or you will loose the fish. Need to keep a lot of pressure on the wire.
Seems like with the water as warm as it was and the bass laying deep, wire is the way to go for now.
Paulie: Won't get an agrument from me, wire is definetly very effective when the fish are deep. Sometimes, as you suggest, its the only way to get down to them. the first strike is very violent becasue nothing gives, its like total shock, BANG, he's either there or he isn't You're also correct in saying that you need to keep the boat in gear to keep tension on the wire otherwise the fish will throw the hook easily. Like anything in life, new things are almost always exciting. I've done it for so many years that I don't care for it anymore and have learned other methods to get deep that offer more fun in the process. Almost anything takes some amount of work. If I'm going to work, I just want to enjoy the end result a bit more. Probably never should have mated on the charter boats doing wire all the time for so many years, that kind of kill my excitement for it. At least the bluefish are beginning to show now. I'm gonna catch a cooler full and drop them off at Clammers house for him to cook. I know how much he loves them.
I like it a little less when I hook a piece of crap on the bottom. $45.00 down the drain. That's the other thing with these big spoons when they snag, THEY SNAG!!I spent 15 minutes trying to get loose. Moved the boat all over the place. Finally cut the wire. This was yesterday morning way down the Bay in the dark.
Paul. You know my dislike of wire. Too many hours snapping parachutes in the back of the boat.
one important trick. make sure if your wire is 50lb test monel or stainless, that your leader is the same lb test, not higher. That way you can snap the leader if you hang a pot or bottom. Dont lose that expensive wire, especially once you have it all premarked!
