New Method to Bass Fishing is Working!

ThomasCobb123

Senior Member
Buck Perry and Spoonplugging

I worked for Buck Perry back in the mid-sixties doing promotions all over the southeast.
The lakes at that time had very good water color and the deepest we had to go for the big schools of bass CONSISTENTLY....was 35 feet. It was quite easy back then to get 100 bass a day and never get out of the 12-15 feet range. As long as careful attention was paid to the SPEED required to force a strike. Speed refers to the velocity with which the lure moves through the water which can range from zero speed to about the time you think the fish can't catch it. Buck was never about trying to get fish to bite...only to get them to strike.
Myself and four other Buck Perry associates actually put Jackson Lake Georgia 'on the map'. For years, the masses had proclaimed it was fished out or ruined due to pollution or whatever. Until we got hold of it that is. We made sensational catches. Marinas that were virtually dormant sprang into business year around. We did the same on Lake Lanier and Clark Hill.
Times have changed.
With the clear water we have here in Georgia and Alabama (Florida doesn't count, it's another story entirely) now we're forced into working depths of 45-60 feet to locate the schools of BIG fish. That means the use of wire line to get the lures down there on a long breakline.
And, as always, most fishermen will not do it. They will say..."I catch plenty of fish drop shotting, pitching, flipping, ledging, whatever. I don't need that stuff".
And as always, most fishermen do not do genuine mapping on a piece of paper with sight bearings or gps lines recorded...sketching the breaklines with the sharp breaks. Very little has changed. But man, the prices of equipment are something to behold. (as fishermen continue to try and buy consistent fishing success)
Buck always said..."the true facts concerning successful fishing will never be popular or even DESIRED by the majority of fishermen". Being young and foolish, I thought he was crazy saying that...but he was right.
He went to his grave being rejected by millions. He was a very close friend of mine and an absolute genius.
 

sbroadwell

Senior Member
I only have a few spoonplugs left, and haven't used them in quite awhile. But, trolling used to be the WAY to catch bass. I remember the big Bombers and such. Caught a bunch of bass at Jackson and Clark Hill with that technique back in the day.

Last year, I was up at Clark Hill fishing for hybrid with topwater lures. Got slow in the middle of the day so I thought I would try some trolling. First pass got a nice 3-4 pound hybrid.
 

Grampa1114

Member
I believe the method fell out of favor due to Tournament rules not allowing trolling. Kind of a shame.
 

The mtn man

Senior Member
New method? Done that all my life.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
My grandpa used to catch most of his bass like that in the 50s.
 

ThomasCobb123

Senior Member
I believe the method fell out of favor due to Tournament rules not allowing trolling. Kind of a shame.
I was working in Buck Perry's factory when Ray Scott called him back around 1967, I think it was. Ray asked him what could he do in all his planned B.A.S.S. tournaments to keep the Spoonpluggers from winning everything.
Buck told him..."All you have to do is knock out the trolling. None of the participants will be able to interpret bottom structure fast enough or get the correct speeds to force the fish to strike if you ban trolling".
And that's how it all came about for the tournament scene. And the red herring was to just say "it's unsportsmanlike".
Nevertheless, Blake Honeycutt, who had worked for Buck also there in Hickory, NC, won a tournament at Eufaula with one of the largest total weights ever. (this was back under the old 15 bass limit laws).
Buck didn't have much use for the tournament guys, except for one...who he said was one of the finest and most sincere men he ever met. That was Rick Clunn
 

JackSprat

Senior Member
60 years ago, my father would troll with wild shiners, bass miners if the shiners weren't available.

One of the first bass I ever caught on a big lake was a bone collared Bomber lure, Lake Lanier, ca. 1962 - one of the hottest lures on the lake.

Tournament rules killed trolling just like using a net. I have never understood what was sportsmanlike about not using a net to land a big fish.

I remember my dad and his buds throw out a couple of Bombers, troll just deep enough to have them tick the bottom every now and again, have a cooler of cool ones, and enjoy the day.

Troll along, drink an adult beverage, every so often, real in a fish

I think bass fishing got infected with the Puritan ethic that if you weren't working to catch fish, it wasn't really fishing.

Sort of like "jigger fishing" which isn't allowed in tournaments either because it is too effective.
 
Top