THE NEWS - PALLADIUM; BENTON HARBOR, MICH.
TUESDAY, JULY 15, 1958
THEY CATCH BASS
A Paw Paw lake family has joined the enthusiastic cult of spoonp1uggers and now claim, "there's no other way to fish." Dr. and Mrs. James O. Galles and son, Jimmy were introduced to spoonplugglng last year by Don Nichols, an airline pilot who roomed with the doctor at University of Michigan. Through Nichols, they met Buck Perry, inventor of the lure and had some spectacular fishing with him in Mississippi last fa11.
Spoonplugs are designed to take bass at any time, in any weather, providing the fish are there. Spoonplugging, its pupils say, eliminates the excuse of "they're just not hitting today." The spoonplug resembles a shoehorn that has sprouted wings. Sporting goods stores couldn't keep them in stock last summer when they were the hottest item on the market. To make the plug produce flash, instructions must be followed to the letter. Anglers who take a few aimless casts at a random spot aren't guaranteed success.
The Galles' last year took 48 bass from Paw Paw Lake in a little more than two months. They didn't fish every day. In October, they fished intensively in Mississippi with Perry, and their party of six averaged 100 to 15O bass a day spoonplugging. Their method at Paw Paw Lake is trolling with a 5- horsepower motor from one-half to three-fourths top speed. That breaks the old rule of fishing your bait slow, but speed is usually good in spoonplug trolling.
Dr. Galles says spoonplug trolling is "pretty good this year when we've had a chance to get out." They caught four bass weighing 12-1/2 pounds opening day. The doctor and Jimmy fished for 30 minutes a few days ago and came in with a 10-pound pike and a 4-pound bass. Paw Paw Lake isn't suited to spoonplug casting because it's too weedy according to the Coloma physician. Directions call for the plug to be "walked" along the bottom the full length of the retrieve when casting. This isn't always successful in weedy lakes. In vegetation, trolling along the edge or drop-off pays off. Speed should vary with the weather, slow in cold and fast in warm.
The inventor of the spoonplug is former engineering professor at North Caroline State who took matters into his own hands and designed a lure when he couldn't buy one that satisfied him. Along with spoonplugs (they come in five sizes), Perry also has a system for finding bass and once you've located them, they'll always hit a spoonplug, he claims. Bass spend most of their time in a "home" or "sanctuary" area which has four characteristics -- it's clean, flat, but with a crown or ridge, and there is immediate access to the deepest water in the area. Perry declares fish will not lie on muck, trash or weeds and they want their home area as flat as possible. When you catch bass in shallow water, it's because they have moved in to feed. But ordinarily they are in their sanctuaries near a quick drop-off where a spoonplug will entice them to strike, according to Perry. It you're casting and locate a sanctuary, drop the anchor and work all angles. Perry recommends a bright lure for a bright day, and a dark one for overcast or evening.
Much of the area of any lake is unproductive for bass. You can start by trial and error or find out where bass have been caught before and work from there. Designed primarily for bass, spoonplugs are also deadly on northern pike as evidenced by the experience of the Galles family at Paw Paw lake.