The "Buck Perry System," or Spoonplugging - Part 1

Edited from an article series in the long-gone, regional newsmagazine, "Fishing News," 1967

This is the first in a six part series that outlines the fishing methods of Buck Perry. This method is known broadly as, "structure fishing," or, as Perry called it, “spoonplugging." When first published, this was a barebones summary. I added modern updates and reinforcements for today's more sophisticated reader. All credit given the original authors

INTRO

In this installment we take The Way back Machine to 1967, 55 years ago...

    We are embarking on this journey, to look into an often misunderstood fishing method, known as "spoonplugging." It was laid down by a likewise misunderstood man - Elwood, "Buck" Perry.
    It has been said that, between Carl Lowrance and Buck Perry, only the metal fish hook has done more to ensure the success of anglers over the years.
    Perry humbly refers to his 'spoonplugging' methods this way:

    "To become good and to achieve the greatest success, the foremost requisite is   KNOWLEDGE. This is true in all walks of life, but especially so in fishing. This is because fishing has a vast number of prophets and gimmick makers, whose purpose is anything but altruistic. It covers ten distinct points of understanding, but it can be distilled to its simplest result - knowledge of what makes big fish tick, and what it takes to consistently put them in the boat." (2)

    But, as I push through these ten points, I find a curious thing: 

....here is a Fishing Hall of Fame inductee, a man that spent 50 years fishing, teaching, and proving his ideas for catching big across the entire nation  - and the name, 'Buck Perry', remains nearly unknown. 

     And for those few who may know of him, their understanding is normally limited to a few generalized tidbits, or errors. So it is my hope this will help you understand the man, the concepts, and just perhaps, how to catch bigger and better fish.

- David

 Part 1 - To Catch Fish, Find Fish

    You want to catch big fish, and lots of them, right Especially bass, but also others?

    No reason why you can't. Most of our lakes are loaded with them, and most of these big fish die of old age. They really do. 

    Why?
    Because most people don't really know how to catch them with any consistency. 

    Why do you think THAT is?
    Well, here it comes, the Elephant In The Room: there is a MOUNTAIN of talk, writing, opinion, video making, industry MARKETING and HYPE about how to cast, which lures to buy, the best color, what rods and reels to have, the best line to use for this - but never for that... “how to fish,” and so on.
Because of this, there is hardly room made for really useful facts about the fish, how they live day to day, and how to consistently find them. This is especially so for really big largemouth bass. 
    This situation is to the point that most fishermen go “fishing,” and very often end up fishing, “where they ain't."
    After all, 95% of water in all lakes, whether civilized or wilderness, contains no fish. 

     But, the bass is the "universal fish" in this country. He's everywhere and lends himself well to this effort;  so we focus on him. But, both he and our other gamefish are animals- they concentrate in certain ways, and in certain areas, based on established habits and patterns we can learn. 
    Yet, the sport fishing industry, and especially the $115 billion dollar bass fishing industry (3) fails to focus on the why, when, how and where of this, soit is left up to us to learn, and to accept.

    So, you must go to the water.
    But then you have to fish where they are, when they are there....and know it is mostly not where you think it is.
    Fortunately, it isn't terribly hard to figure it out.
    Well..., except that this study may reveal ideas and concepts that are new to you. Worse, some of these ideas will fly directly in the face of what you think everyone knows, and what you think you've learned up till now.
So the biggest challenge you will face is very often just accepting this information, and applying it.
    Now, this may not be your cup of tea; you may prefer to stick to all the tricks, tips, and endless "techniques" espoused by all the "bass anglers" out there. Or, it may just seem easier to just cast a plastic worm at docks and hope you catch something. If that's true for you, this would be a good place to exit and stop reading.
    But, if you want to try something different and invoke good odds of catching big fish, consistently, well... that takes us back to our first question:

“You want to catch big fish, and lots of them, right?”

    Years ago, we began to study less about fishing techniques, and more about the fish, themselves, – and we started catching a few, "big fish."

    Then, about ten years ago, we heard of a guy named Buck Perry.
    We have studied his fish discoveries ever since. Here is a man that knows the important facts. He doesn't talk popular ideas or espouse anything but what he has himself proven over many years. He is something of an outlaw in this, because he doesn't get into how to catch 'em with the latest lures or rigs, which colors are hot today, or what gear you own. 

    Instead, he focuses on the fish, and facts about them. He tells you what he has spent 50 years proving to himself and others (approx. 1950-2005), and thus has made one of the greatest contributions ever to the sport of fishing. 

We acknowledge a big debt to him.

Where Do Fish Live?

    Fish, like animals on land, want to live securely, and move with cover and protection. Nearly all complex, living things do, when it comes down to it.
    And for adult game fish, the deepest water in an area is their preferred habitat most of the time. It's not that log or dock where you caught a couple of squealers,.. it's deep water. 
    This is the first new idea you'll have to learn to accept.

    Deep water provides seclusion, access to food, stability, cover, and protection from threat. "Deep," is normally thought of as water in excess of 10 feet, down to about 35 feet. It can be deeper, but catching them further downstairs becomes increasingly difficult, so we primarily concern ourselves with this range of depths.
    In this deeper water, the fish gravitate to natural structural features of the bottom. Fortunately for us, they frequently leave the deep water along habitual migratory routes known mostly to them. These routes follow the contour of the bottom structure, as do the fish. From there, anything unusual on the lake bottom will act as attractive landmarks to the fish.
    The deeper water becomes "home" for the fish, and the structure leading to and from it offers migration routes for fish - like game trails - as they move to and fro around their watery landscape.

    In short, here are the first two of many Key Points that must be acknowledged...

Key Points, part one

1. The deepest water in an area is where big fish spend most of their time.
2. These fish migrate from this deep water, once or twice per day, along established routes related to the underwater bottom structure.

    Much more will be said about this latter point as we progress.

The key deep water structures that interest us can be seen in the drawing below...

(A) underwater points
(B) reefs or bars
(C) drop-offs
(D) submerged islands
(E) holes, or depressions

Thanks for reading and I hope you learned something. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss all of these installments  And, if you enjoyed it, a like and share is appreciated.

If you are interested in a no drama, Facebook fishing page, please come visit us at: Palmetto Fly n Fish

Tight Lines,

David
Palmetto Fly n Fish
All rights reserved, 2022

references

1. The "Buck Perry System," or Spoonplugging, 'Fishing News,' 1967

2. "Spoonplugging," Elwood 'Buck' Perry, 2nd Edition, 1974

3. https://brandongaille.com/24-bass-fishing-industry-statistics-and-trends/

3. Mr Peabody, Sherman and The Wayback Machine open sourced, J. Ward Productions