Nog-love the spoon but I have a few questions. You are a commercial troller and these were tested on a troller-does that mean they have to be fished at commercial troll speeds? I note that they weigh almost a 1 oz and are heavier than most spoons of comparable size -What's your take on troll speed for sporty's with this spoon-also bare or behind a flasher and if so what leader length-5 ft?
Excellent Question! And right therein is a lot of the reason they took so damn long to develop!
We first worked these spoons up to give the
Right Action at 2.7 knots. Once that was achieved, we began to play around with the various bends and depth of concaves to apply that
Right Action over a wider range of speeds. At first, going
faster was an issue, whereas moving them slower presented little in the way of problems. In effect, what we were seeking was something that could be run effectively at hootchie / flasher speed, up to approaching that of plugs.
Then of course I moved the project to a sports rig (
many in fact). Again, we sought that same
Right Action at a wide range of varying speeds.
Several years of playing with the parameters, and last year we finally developed one that produces the
Right Action anywhere between
2.2 to 3 knots. Beyond 3 knots (ie the idea of running these alongside plugs) works, but in the odd occasion they may spin. There is a remedy to that by relaxing the bends ever so slightly, but I would not suggest doing so unless you are dedicating
That spoon to
That task. These are TOUGH to modify, and once done, Tough to bring back!
Slower than that, almost right down to dead sockeye slow, the action is
exactly what we were seeking.
I have run them occasionally behind flashers, and while that will work (5 - 6 foot lead) that was not my intent from neither a sporting nor commercial application. On the commercial rig, it tends to do best when swum solo, usually above (and behind) a short flasher below. Same is true for sportfishing. Either solo, or IMHO even better just above and behind a dummy flasher, is where it Shines. And a hell of a LOT more FUN fighting just the fish (and not the flasher) in that application.
Cheers,
Nog