Bunker spoon set up...

[Persistence]

LAst year I used my Brother in laws set up but he took it back to CT with him so I am looking for a bunker spoon rod/reel. I don't want to break the bank and I have a rod that I think will work well (good action) but it has all rollers. Will a reel loaded with monel work with roller guide rod? If so, what reel should I get? I know the Senators are tried/true but there are so many other nice reels out there today. What reel is recommended? Are there off the shelf rods I should consider?

Also, I need to have the reel loaded with monel and I'd like to have it marked every 100ft.

Thanks in advance for the advice

Glenn

[paul708]

most of the guys use 8' or longer BunkerSpoon rods, the rod has a BIG part to do with that type of fishing. you need the rod to impart alot of movement on the spoon..i am not sure if a roller BS rod would be your best choice,

[Seaker]

Hey Glenn,
Paul is once again spot on. The rod is from 8 to 9 feet long and very very soft. Up here on the Cape we use carbolloy guides with a roller tip. Penn 113H gets the nod for all our wire set ups as the spool will not compressed from the wire. We use dacron backing and then proceed to load up with three one hundred foot top shots of monel or stainless seperated by a short length of dacron spliced accordingly.
We splice for two reasons:
1) We know how much wire we have out by the splice and
2) Stainless work hardens very quickly and if someone were to use the rod to jig with it's all ovah when the wire parts

The rod, the balance of the lure (how it's tuned) boat speed, and current direction are the game. The super soft rod allows the angler to see the lure working properly through the rythmic pulse the lure transmits back to the tip. Nice and slow wins this race with the lure swiming side to side. A fast pulse indicated the lure is spinning and you have to reset or retune or slow the boat.

Also when fighting a nice big fish you cannot drop the rod tip to PUMP the fish to you. That dropping of the rod tip lets that big heavy lure drop up and down in the fish's mouth and sooner than later the lure will work a big hole and drop out. Just keep steady pressure and keep reeling the fish in. Slow the boat or take it out of gear if you have to but keep a tight line.

They are an awesome way to catchbig fish that love bunker.

St croix does offer a factory long wire rod or Paul I am certain could whip one up for you with your favorite colors

Good luck

[Persistence]

OK...thanks guys. A couple issues for me...my boat will NOT go slower that 3 knots (taking current out of the equation). When I ran the spoon (Reliable, large) last year it was on a somewhat soft Penn Senator rod (roller tip only) and I don't THINK it was spinning because it worked pretty darn well. So hopefully, my boat speed is not an issue.

Paul, what about a 7ft rod? Can you make something like that work? I don't think I want to go as far as 8-9ft. And what are we talking about here for cash?

Thanks for all of the info. I want to fish this spoon pretty regularly when the fish get off VA Beach and the big 12" plus Bunker are thick.

Glenn

[paul708]

yeah, there are a couple of blanks that the guys use in 7', and are happy with...but i still HIGHLY reccommend 8 1/2 for strickly spoons trolling