2013 Spoons... what worked? what didn't?

[Jammer]

Well, this year on the big O was certainly different than those in recent memory.  I noticed that some of the spoons that were hot hot hot in 2012 were dead dead dead in 2013.  In particular, it seemed that the last half of the season (maybe after the calcium cabonate whitening event with chalky blue green water?) everything had changed.

 

One of my best and hottest lures in 2012 was a FLT Martha Stewart magnum.  It took multiple shots with a few big kings every trip.  This year... dead.  Stingray green NBKs had always been a standy with me for years.  2013... dead.

 

A few that DID (continue to) work really well this year were Moonshine Carbon-14 mags, DW glow froggies and superglow wonderbreads.

 

Anyone else experience this?  What stopped working?  What worked great this year?

 

I'm interested to hear....

 

Pulling the boat this weekend...  need something to think about for next year.

 

JAM

[Yankee Troller]

I hear your interested in tourney fishing next season, so I can't help ya now......

[Jammer]

I know you are very afraid the Jammer team will win it all if you tell your secrets! Here's your opportunity for misdirection...!! Ha!

[BrokeOff]

saw the same thing with nbk.  not a single fish this year on it.

 

the only good king spoon we had was a mag purple killer nk behind a clear diver.  but even that dried up after july 4th weekend. and it wouldn't work on a rigger

 

all flasher/flys for us.... a-tom-miks

[TyeeTanic]

Last year the following colors were beasts for me:

 

- purple thunder or bloody death fly

- hawg wild

- chrome froggy, spotted frog patterns

 

This year:

 

- purple didn't work at all on spoons. Only had a few hits on the bloody death fly.

- hawg wild was 100% dead on spoon and fly

- hammertime and mirage crinkle flies took a lot of hits

- blue and white spoons took a lot of hits

- probably by far the best colour for us was chartreuse - spoons, flies and meat.

 

A very, very strange year. It was difficult to hone in on the working bait/color from one day to the next.

Weather never stabilized, so it was changing from day to day - last year a color would stick for at least a week

or two once we figured out the program. Not this year.

[Tim Bromund]

still caught quite a few on the stingray size NBK, but had much better luck this year on the yellow NBK stingray (yellow instead of green edge).

 

Tim

[Patriot]

Can't go wrong with Sil/blk Stinger. NBK and Purple Thunder was still doing it for us this year. Funny how the Monkey Puke has puked out for us over the past few years. I can't buy a hit on that one.

The spoon bite was better than flies this year, for us. The Sea Sick Waddler did well too

Edited October 8, 2013 by Patriot

[G-Daddy]

What worked best in 2013 - FLT King of Sting

What worked in 2012 and again in 2013 - Moonshine Carbon 14

What worked in prior years and not so much in 2013 - Caramel Dolphin

[Jammer]

I agree that the chartreuse and yellow with chrome patterns were very good this year. (Better than I remember in the past.)

Yellow tuxedo NK28

Yellow NBK Stingray

UV Icee Stingray

 

JAM

[Gill-T]

My boat was on a yellow pattern from early spring til the boat was pulled at the end of August.  Yellow NBK's, hammer flies with yellow glow beads, mountain dew colored paddles etc.  Don't know why....don't care.  I got on a yellow theme and went with it.  Murphy's law dictates that next year it will be some other color. 

[Big Dave]

Don't suspose that they are painting the wires that feed the fish at the hatchery certain colors each year , so that in 4 years that is the hot color???   Conspiracy theroy !!!!!      

[John Kelley]

My hot colors on spoons this year were Moonshine magnum Arctic Ice, Moonshine Magnum Double Trouble, Moonshine Magnum Bad Toad, and Moonshine Magnum Carbon 14. The Double Trouble really came into its own in July, and was by far my most successful color.  My best colors on spin doctors was definitely the Mt. Dew, with any green or blue fly behind it, when the sun was out, and white with green dots, and mirage fly when it was overcast.  Also scored quite a few big fish pulling white with green dot glow 11" paddles and herring rigs on copper and downriggers.  

[LongLine]

I didn't get anything on any of the NBK's...NK's, DW, Stng'rs......but then again I didn't last year either.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[Silver Fox]

Horrible season for me with the NBK'S from any manufacturer. No doubt spoons with yellow in it were king. Also caught more fish on my NK Mags than I can remember. My normal larger mags like DW, slvr stks and YECK 66's were dead and when I put the NK Mags out the fish were chewing.

Sent from my XT907 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Yankee Troller]

 The Sea Sick Waddler did well too

 

It will never let ya down!

[Yankee Troller]

Our Dreamweaver Sea Sick Waddler was a great spoon for us in 2013. Other top producers were:

 

Moonshine Green Shorts

Moonshine Carbon 14

Dreamweaver Lemon Ice

Dreamweaver Silver Glow Green Hot Tip

Stinger Nuke

Finger Lakes UV Sea Sick Waddler

 

Had a stretch in early July where Dreamweaver's Raspberry Dolphin was on Fire!

[Chas0218]

Last year the following colors were beasts for me:

 

- purple thunder or bloody death fly

- hawg wild

- chrome froggy, spotted frog patterns

 

This year:

 

- purple didn't work at all on spoons. Only had a few hits on the bloody death fly.

- hawg wild was 100% dead on spoon and fly

- hammertime and mirage crinkle flies took a lot of hits

- blue and white spoons took a lot of hits

- probably by far the best colour for us was chartreuse - spoons, flies and meat.

 

A very, very strange year. It was difficult to hone in on the working bait/color from one day to the next.

Weather never stabilized, so it was changing from day to day - last year a color would stick for at least a week

or two once we figured out the program. Not this year.

I was running purple almost everytime I was out and not a single taker, also my spooks did next to nothing when last year they did well.

 

Good:

FLT King of Sting

FLT Super Skank

DW 42nd

DW UV NBK

DW Halo NBK

 

Those were the only spoons to produce for me, and weren't very constant.

Edited October 10, 2013 by Chas0218