Sk8man

I hear you.....the temps become much less relevant now as they stage to move into their spawning habitat and they need to be "coaxed" to hit out of aggression rather than the feeding response and this is much more so with mature kings... the younger silvers are probably more into the feeding.

My hunch is on the "nobody homes" and the "on and offs" that they may not actually get the HOOK in their mouth and merely have the spoon or swivel in it and then open and drop it or the hook catches them in the face and rips free when they run with it so it doesn't actually hook their mouth good. When you look at some of the fish chasing videos it looks like they often swipe at it without connecting and I've had numerous instances of them hitting my dodgers in the past (teeth marks in tape)

Most of the rest of the Sutton's that are like the 44's and 22's are various representations of sizes of sawbellies (Alewives). The real silver used in the finish is not necessarily the most durable but reflects about the best in all water conditions. They are great spoons and can be used nearly anywhere (e.g. Finger Lakes Lake O or Canada etc.) I once caught a real nice Striper at Cape Cod with a Sutton #88 (larger wider spoon). I have always carefully changed all the trebles over to stainlesss single Mustad siwash salmon hooks- but sizing of the hooks is important as it affects the action of the spoons as they are pretty light. The trebles that come on them are pretty weak and certainly won't stand up well to larger fish like salmon. I also "tune" the spoons after changing the hooks where necessary by making selective bends in them while running them at the side of the boat. There is a lot to be said for "old school" especially when the new stuff isn't "working". Hopefully we are all still learning... Best of luck to you Pap. Les

The short rods sound like Seth Green rods ("boat rods"). The dodgers and squid sound like about 70's and 80's stuff and are still used on occasion by us dinosaurs The Sutton #71's were supposed to imitate Rainbow Smelt and are still used and work despite the fact that smelt are now in very short supply in most places where they once were found in abundance. The blade numbers were just proprietary numbers used by Luhr Jensen for ordering/manufacturing purposes they do not relate to the numbers you are talking about for Colorado and Willow leaf blades used for spinners etc. The Daiwa 27's were mainly used as downrigger reels in the early 80's. Some of the charter guys I used to fish with back then on Lake O felt that they were easier to use than the 47H's because they were smaller and lighter and didn't turn over in the rod holders like heavier reels but they didn't use the wire, copper and braid much back then so capacity wasn't as big as factor as it is now...and we mainly used 12-15 lb mono then so they held quite a bit. A lot of the stuff you are describing sounds very usable today especially when the usual stuff isn't working.

It could just be possible that none of it matters to the fish it is just the closest thing that looks vulnerable at the right time and nearby

You have some good points there.....Dodgers and squid have worked for decades here and in the northwest U.S as well for Pacific salmon. When you boil it all down it is much like the technology thing in general "the latest greatest new thing"...everyone has to have it but do they really NEED it? These things attract many more fishermen than fish (e.g. latest spoon colors and names for them...do they resemble anything in the fishes environment?). It is big business and all of us "bite" on it but many of the old standbys do still work (despite folks selling the older stuff off on here for next to nothing). It's all part of the excitement of the sport though.....but some of us dinosaurs still roam the seas and hold on to our antiques ...just in case....kinda like holding on to your old suit with the narrow or wide lapels with the thought that they will come back into style someday

The key to what Matt said is: ("gives us a starting point for future reference"). Always good to have reference points from which to do our own experimentation with our own boats and setups. Thanks again Matt for sharing the info. Les